Gosh, money is always a sticky subject isn’t it? And when youre talking about planning your wedding you are probably going to be discussing money and spending way more than you are usually comfortable with.
The first thing most couples ask or look at when choosing vendors is how much they cost. It is always a fair starting point to have some idea of your outlay but price should be only one factor when considering who to hire for your wedding day.
Consider a photographer who has had 15 years experience, invests in further education, brings a plethora of equipment and has a second shooter as standard, works full time in the business and produces your photos in 3 weeks verses a brand new to the industry photographer who has one camera and uses a free editing app, has a full time job and will get to your images in 3 – 4 months. You obviously wouldn’t expect them to be even remotely a similar price because you’d have to see the value you were getting from the first photographer. Of course if your budget only allows for the second photographer thats perfectly fine, but you’d have to understand, you get what you pay for.
In a similar vein, if you look at venues two dimensionally you could compare prices; however, venue one provides multiple ceremony options, a rain plan and multiple days. Onsite accommodations, all amenities, is situated on secluded lands, is climate controlled and has no hidden extras versus a renovated barn situated in a field with no a/c and you have to bring your own tables, chairs and toilets – they obviously cannot possibly cost the same. A castle will probably be a more luxurious venue than a tent or the beach and will therefore cost more to rent.
When you are looking at any vendors you should consider what value they are bringing, years of experience, what their price includes, whether they vibe with you, what options they offer. For venues also consider the aesthetic, the ambiance, the list of items included such as chairs, tables, arbor, decor, a/c, kitchen and yes even sufficient toilets. Not all venues are created equal.
Often when you opt for the cheapest price on offer, you end up spending way more time and money plus so much stress than if you select a more professional professional.
Imagine this, you book an outdoor venue in July, (the temperature is 101F) with a covered space for the reception – no a/c and no kitchen.Oh and the one dressing room is across the lot in a separate building. And it rains!!! Either you are all going to huddle under the covered space,after you and your tribe have raced from the dressing room to the main venue trying not to get soaked, wilt in the humidity and then do a room flip for the reception, or you’ll suck it up and hire an emergency delivery of a tent along with walls and a/c for $3000. Plus your caterer now has to prepare your food either in the rain or in their truck which complicates matters for service and they have already told you the venue with no kitchen incurs an additional fee. The Venue seemed a reasonable price back when you booked it and no way were you going to spend the ridiculous price the alternative venue charged. You know, the venue that provided a rain plan, a/c a full kitchen, two dressing rooms and plenty of areas to take photos in even if the weather was less than wonderful.
Again, obviously, you have to have a budget that works for you but I hear of many many couples who’ve ended up spending way more than they needed because they went with the “cheaper” option only to find out they now need to add additional things they hadn’t considered.
How does $35K on decor sound because the venue needed uplifting?
How does $1500 on chairs sound because the venue doesn’t provide them?
Or $3K on a tent?
Or $2500 on toilets?
How about having no photos for memories because the vendor screwed up the usb and didn’t save to the cloud?
Or the memory of dad stressed out making floral arrangements and bouquets for two days because it was “cheaper” but now you have no memories of him with his “little girl” enjoying the day? Or dad acting as a planner with no time to enjoy everything coming together. – Both of these I have personally witnessed and both dads said they regretted their decision.
Seriously, when you are considering vendors, really do your research, trust your venue to provide amazing contacts and make time to understand that price and value are not the same.
If you are looking to compare value of venues please see my venue comparison workbook under resources, I’m sure you’ll find it helpful
