How to Find the Best Wedding Vendors for Your Day

When we chat with potential clients, many times we’re asked about our preferred vendor list or how we go about suggesting vendors for our clients. The truth is, every couple wants to know how to find the best wedding vendors, but the best wedding vendors for one couple may not necessarily be the best for another.

We don’t necessarily have a “black book” or a preferred list of vendors. While it’s true that we have developed deep relationships with many Boston wedding vendors in the area over time and love working with them, they are in no way an exclusive list or the right fit for all of our clients. And that’s simply because in order for us to find the best wedding vendors for our clients, we need to 

When we’re thinking about the dream team of vendors for our clients, we’re looking for 5 things – the first two are obvious, do they fit availability and budget criteria, but the other 3 are a little more abstract. Those three things are approach, aesthetic and aura.

For approach, we’re looking at how that vendor works with clients – what is the experience like? Do they thrive off of multiple in person meetings, or are they okay communicating through email? Do they prefer to limit the number of meetings? How do they handle changes to the proposal, and what is the billing structure like? And, do these things jive with our clients’ planning style? Some clients love being able to do everything remotely, and others prefer in person meetings.

For aesthetic, we’re looking at our clients’ vision and design plan and looking for vendors who on their own accord, design within that vision. There are SO MANY talented wedding vendors in the area, and while it’s true that most vendors are flexible and creative enough that they can do just about anything, we really want to find vendors who enjoy designing an aesthetic that matches our clients’ visions. :

For aura, we’re thinking about personality. Will this vendor make our clients feel appreciated, important and will our clients feel comfortable approaching them? What’s the mood like when we walk into meetings with them? Are they formal and structured, or are they loose and more conversational? There isn’t a right or wrong here, we have clients who enjoy both styles – we just want to make sure we’re making the right match! :::::: When we find a vendor that’s new to us, we do our due diligence to make sure they’re a fit. This includes getting to know the vendor in person, asking around for references, and making sure the photos on their social feeds and website are of their own work (we’ve talked about vendors legally using photos of other professionals’ work, and we’re not fans of that practice, so at the very least we like to let our clients know when that happens so they can make informed decisions).

You see, it’s more than a simple email. There’s a lot that goes into it, which is just one very small reason it takes over 150 hours to plan a wedding!

 

Photo by Novella Photography from Maura + Patrick’s wedding.