Okay, maybe ‘wedding vendor curse’ is a bit dramatic, but it is a common fear among wedding couples that something horrible will happen on their big day because of a wedding vendor mishap. Whether you dream that the flowers will arrive wilted, the chairs won’t make it in time for the ceremony or the officiant is a no-show, you’re not alone!

Whatever that nagging fear is regarding your wedding day, the easy way to defeat that nightmare is to hire an Arizona day-of wedding coordinator! If anything does come up, your coordinator will handle with quickness and discretion.

But, in addition to hiring a wedding coordinator, let’s walk through a few tips to ensure that you’re hiring the right wedding vendors from the start. Arizona wedding professionals that you can trust, jive, and connect with. If you can eliminate some common errors during the selection process, you’ll be having less sleepless nights as the wedding day approaches.

How to Trust Your Arizona Wedding Vendor

You not only have to know the right questions to ask when selecting wedding vendors, but you also need to know what the right answers should be. Here are three effective ways to trust the Arizona wedding professionals you select…

1. Get Referrals from Friends: Now, I’m not going to say that every time you get a referral from a friend it’s going to be the perfect vendor fit for you, but it does help to have some outside opinions from those you trust. Hearing how they treated your friends during the planning process and on day-of, will be a huge indicator of how you’ll be treated. In addition, next time you go to a wedding here in Arizona, take notice of the vendors. How’s the food? How’s the music? How’s the setting? You’re no longer just a guest at your friends’ weddings. Nope. You are now a ‘secret shopper,’ staking out those wedding vendors and taking mental notes.

2. Seek Insider Info: If you have a wedding coordinator that is taking care of everything before the big day, they’ll have that insider knowledge to not only get you the best, most reliable vendors, but also ones that meet your specific needs. If you’re on your own in terms of finding wedding vendors, one of the best things that you can do before meeting with that vendor is to do your homework in knowing the following:

●     Exactly what you want in terms of theme, color, etc.

●     Price comparisons so that you know you’re not getting over-quoted.

●     Expectations in terms of professionalism, scheduling, follow-ups, etc.

●     And you’ll also want to know a bit about the industry. Meaning, if you’re speaking to a florist, you’ll want to have a general idea of what seasonal flowers will be easy to come by and which flowers will be shipped from out of the state. That little bit of knowledge will keep you from being taken advantage of.

3. Reviews, Reviews, Reviews: In this digital era, it’s impossible not to find reviews on the vendor you’re interviewing. So, take time before the consultation to look for online reviews from their previous clients. The best sites for reviews within the wedding industry are Wedding Wire, The Knot, and Google Reviews. This doesn’t mean all their reviews must be glowing, 5-stars. Every once in a while you’ll have a vendor and client that just didn’t jive or had a miscommunication which might have warranted a bad review, but for the most part, they should have positive feedback or steer clear.

Bottomline

I hope these tips aid in your Arizona wedding vendor procurement process. Besides following the above guide, remember to always follow your gut. If you ever feel that something is “just off” then walk away. Unfortunately, there are scammers out there that will take your deposit and disappear the next day. So do your due diligence in researching them thoroughly to ensure they’ve been in business for a substantial amount of time and have legitimate client reviews to back up their professionalism.  

Happy Planning, Janet