I agree with all the above. One of the biggest mistakes I see, is brides/couples getting family and friends to do the job of a professional. At the end of the day, it all comes back to trying to save a buck.
I believe the most common mistake(s) a bride and groom make is acting out of emotion. For the most part I understand that a wedding is a very emotional day for a wide array of reasons; however, the emotions one has before the wedding day can make one make some pretty drastic decisions and choices. I hear so many people say that a wedding day is the most important day of one's life, specifically brides. I am not trying to be insensitive to a bride or the bridal market as a whole but don't you think that we as vendors and many brides themselves have gotten themselves all worked up for an event that will last 6 plus hours and actually seem like 6 minutes when it's all said and done?
The truth of the matter is that an actual wedding day is the first day of hopefully a very long journey together for a couple. The wedding itself (exchanging of vows) may be the most important moment in one's life and that is only true if they are in fact aware and conscientious of the actual vows they are taking.
As a married man myself, I look back at my wedding day and I try to think about what I (we) could have or should have done differently. For the most part we agree that we would not change a thing but with that said, my wife and I also realize today that the only thing that really mattered was us and our vows made to one another. We joke (half kidding) that we should have just got married somewhere far away and then have come back and had a small intimate party with very close friends and family. We also tell one another that after we said our vows, nothing else really mattered.
We too made various decisions out of pure emotions and we know now that when that happens we're reacting more than we are responding. I know as vendors and suppliers we often rely heavily on emotional responses but I think that when one does react rather than really respond to us, we typically have some bumps in the road leading up to the "big day." I think that my team and I have focused more on having one respond to us and making a decision to utilize our services more on a cognitive level than an emotional one.
I know a bride wants to look her very best on her wedding day and I think my wife looked stunning; however, she was most beautiful when I placed our baby girl in her arms for the first time. I know the food is so very important but the best meal I ever had with my wife was on our honeymoon when we were eating from a buffet, granted it was a good buffet and it was the surroundings we were in. I know the dress is important but I think my wife looks great in a pair of sweats and one of my tee-shirts.
My point again is this, our society has made weddings a very emotional day and a long journey leading up to them. I love reading things from brides on this website and others that state things like, “I feel like this is too easy and I feel like I have done just about everything I had to do, but my friends were so stressed out when they were planning their weddings. Am I doing something wrong?” I always want to write them and tell them that they are doing everything just right!
I agree with many other vendors here. Brides are very budget carefull these days and are basing their decisions on price and not service. Like every other vendor here says, you get what you pay for. I know other DJ's in my area that charge more than I do who give a worse service so MAKE SURE TO DO YOUR RESEARCH. Ask the wedding halls you are using who they like and do not like. Read websites carefully. Ask questions and most importantly, MEET WITH YOUR VENDOR before hiring them. Calling around and just getting prices in NO WAY will help you make the RIGHT DECISION.
This is "spot on" and not just for DJ's. Especially meeting or at a minimum talking directly with the vendor about your ideas and plans. Brides and grooms can get a much better feel for the personality and competence of the company by meeting/talking with vendors. A good vendor will be open, honest and provide options that will help the bride and/or groom make their decision based on more than just price.
I think that it is common for people to go for a Package and then get disappointed with some aspects. If for instance one gets a Hotel with food, drinks and a Toastmaster it may seem like a good deal. However sometimes on the day one can become irritated or worse by the fact that they have no control over these individual parts of the wedding and in the case of a Toastmaster who is part of the hotel it very likely that they are really banqueting manager too so may have conflicting priorities. One dos not have to spend a lot more to get individual components and it is worth shopping around.
I think the biggest mistake would be not doing your research. There are lots of great suppliers out there and there are lots of scam artists! If you are considering buying things online, be sure to go to trusted sites. Often you can find great deals online, and in today's economy, price is important. You don't want to go into debt or have your parents go into debt and then be stressing about that debt for years to come. I represent several online bridal gown sellers. I have reviewed their dresses and checked out their testimonials and I suggest you do the same. Check out my site and see how happy the brides have been with the quality of the gowns and the great service they've received. I wish you the very best. Remember, this should be fun!
The number one piece of advice I always give to my clients is to work with vendors that they are comfortable with. The DJ/photographer/videographer/coordinator/whatever could be the greatest in the world, but if they don't vibe with the clients, it just won't be a good experience for anyone.
Generally speaking brides often make many mistakes simply because they are buying on emotions and impulse too much. Since weddings are a very emotional time, between the love, excitement, and their motivation to rush into planning their wedding, they often times forget that a little more research may have saved them a little more money, or got them better quality than what they got for their money.
Many brides try to budget their weddings so they pay less... after all, who doesn't want to pay less?! BUT sometimes you really do get what you pay for. There are some things that you just should not cut your budget on... as a wedding photographer I know first hand that wedding photography is one thing that you don't want to try to be cheap on. You don't want to pay too much, but you don't want to take the cheapest photographer you can find either. Do your homework, see their work, check their references, and MAKE SURE YOU LIKE THEM... If they are not someone you get along with, no matter how good their prices are, chances are if they are not someone you would be friends with, your guests wont care for them much either, and this will show in your wedding photos!!!
To sum things up, I would just suggest that brides keep their emotions aside when it comes to planning their wedding and keep things strictly business. Research rates before hiring someone, and when you narrowed down one to three specific vendors (like wedding photographers) then make sure you do your homework on them, see their work, meet with them in person and get a feel for them personally and professionally, and don't take the cheapest vendor just to save money... sometimes people charge more because their reputation is worth that much more than someone else... this is a once in a lifetime day... don't make your dream wedding a nightmare!
