No matter who does it, selecting vendors for the various aspects of a wedding is a huge job. Whether the bride and groom make the decisions or it’s a joint effort including you, Mother of the Bride, hours and hours of work can go into narrowing down the best choices.
Try this time-saving tip, MOB: Once you get one or two vendors secured, ask them for their recommendations in other areas. For example, if you’re sure you’ve found the perfect florist, ask which caterer he would recommend or vice versa. The vendors in any given region work the same weddings at some point or another and become very familiar with each other’s work. They know who excels—and more importantly, who doesn’t. Ask them to give you their best recommendation.
Asking vendors for insider info can come in especially handy if you’re planning an out-of-town wedding. When you’re unfamiliar with the vendors you need to book, you feel like you’re starting from scratch, and asking reliable vendors for their advice can save you tons of time. Both of our daughters had out-of-town weddings, and I wish I had learned this tip early-on.
One word of caution, though, MOB. Make sure the vendor you ask is not getting any kind of kick-back from the recommendations he makes. How do you do this? Come right out and ask—but instead of using the term kick-back, ask “Do you receive any commission from services you recommend?” You employ tact, MOB, but you also get the info you need, right?!
*You might also like to read “Time Management: Give Yourself a Break, MOB”.
*Flickr photo by abnormalbeauty, Creative Commons License
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