Setting expectations with your wedding vendors.

Wednesday Wedding Advice:

This is a sad, but VERY TRUE STORY!
This week I got a very sad phone call from a bride. She called not to inquirer about my wedding photography, but rather to ask me my opinion. You see her wedding was a few months ago and she just got back her wedding video. Unfortunately, she felt like that video wasn't what she was expecting. The videographer had been referred to her from her photographer (NOT ME and I will keep them nameless) and she just booked with them without doing much research or looking around. In fact, while the referral was a major part of her decision, a lot of it came down to shopping just on price.

Her issue was she believed the videographers missed some major shots of her wedding that she was expecting. However, in the video package she purchased, it's hard to say whether those particular shots should have been included. It's a really tough situation for anyone to be in. Even though our conversation lasted nearly 30 minutes, I wasn't able to offer her much help. She was looking for a solid confirmation that she was in the right to go after the videography company. I couldn't give that to her. For one, I didn't have any real details, no idea what the contract said, and only her side of the story. Second, videography like photography is an art form. You are hiring a professional photographer or videographer for their talent, skill and artistic vision. That's why it's important to do your research. Make sure your professional wedding vendors have the same goals and vision you do.

Regardless of who is a fault a couple of things are very clear and are great lessons to learn, especially if you don't have to learn them the hard way.

The first is to have clear communication with all of your wedding vendors. From the venue to the florist to the DJ and photographer. All this bride had to do was mention she wanted a particular shot to her videographer. This would have insured the videographer got that shot and if they didn't, well then she would have a much better case. It also could have been solved by the videographers saying, "Do you have any specific shots you want us to get?". Either way would have saved this poor bride a lot of trouble and a lot of tears.

The second lesson is to do your research. While I'm not going to name names, I will say that I believe this is a case of you get what you pay for. One look at this particular videographers website, the samples and the pricing told me that this person wasn't that good. If you find a vendor that is priced well below the normal for your area you need to stop and ask why. If a photographer, videographer, DJ or whoever is charging less than half of what the industry standards are for the area it's a sure sign something isn't normal and you need to do some more research.

The third big lesson here is that there are no do overs in a wedding and if you choose the wrong vendors to make your day amazing it's going to cost you. The money you save upfront is almost never worth what you loose in the long run. In this brides case all she can do is wish she'd done more research on the company, had better communication with them and seen some of the early warning signs.