Every girl dreams of the perfect wedding day! Finding the perfect wedding dress to look gorgeous in for her husband-to-be to lock his eyes on her coming down the aisle or even picking the color palette for her wedding decor. While finding the perfect attire is an easy task for most Brides, finding the perfect team to run the wedding day can be one of the most difficult parts of planning a wedding. Finding a vendor team that you can trust with not only one of the most important days of your life, but also a significant financial investment that most couples families or possibly themselves save up for years.
The average Alabama wedding cost about $19,000-$30,000. That’s a lot of money to most people. How would you feel if you invested that money with a scam artist? We all have seen it happen before, where a bride & groom invest their money, only to find out that they have been ripped off and sold promises that “so-called” wedding professionals can’t keep. “BAMBOOZLED”. It will probably be one of the most gut-wrenching experiences EVER, to show up on your wedding day, that only happens once by the way, to find nothing but a fiasco! I’m sure you would be crushed and “highly pissed” as us Southerners would say.
Well, at this point I’m pretty sure you’re asking yourself, What can I do to avoid having the “Worst Wedding Ever”? Here are a few tips that you can take along with you to plan “The Best Wedding Ever”. You didn’t think I was going to let you leave without giving you the goods right?
Photographers:
When picking your wedding photographer be sure to ask them for their portfolio of weddings they’ve done. There is a distinctive difference between a lifestyle photographer and a wedding photographer. Most photographers can do both, as well as detail shots of your room, but there are some that specifically specialize in wedding photography. It will be such a bummer getting your photos back from your wedding day and the photos are over edited or not retouched at all. Ask your photographer if they are familiar with shooting in dimly lit areas. Don’t hire your “Uncle” just because he has a new camera he bought over the holidays.
Talk to your photographer and get to know them, dont let your wedding day actually be the first time you meet with them. Don’t be afraid to ask for a meeting, expressing your action plan for your wedding day shots and timeline flow is imperative because you want to get the most coverage possible. Also making sure that your style aligns with the photographers shooting style. Cheap photographers are always a no-no! Never sell yourself short on your wedding photography because you have to look back at these photos for years to come.
Cake/Catering:
No one wants the Leaning Tower of Pisa for a wedding cake let’s just be clear about that! Be sure that the person you pick to do your wedding cake is familiar with transporting cakes in different climates. Especially the Alabama heat! How awesome is that cake you picked from Pinterest, only to show up on your wedding day with no dowels in the tiers to support the cake structure. Or how about the gorgeously decorated cake that taste like no sugar was spared! Do a cake tasting PLEASE! If the person refuses to give you a tasting RUNNN!! That goes with your catering options as well. Do a thorough testing of the dinner that you will be serving yourselves and your wedding guests. Presentation is everything as well, proper catering tools like chafer dishes instead of aluminum pans on the table would look much more pleasing to the eyes! Just saying.
Stay Tuned For Part II….It’s Going To Get Juicy!!
Planner/Coordinators
Wedding Designers/Decorator
DJ/Entertainment
Picking The Right Venue
Written By: Madalyn Sankey
