Choosing Your Vendor Team

There are probably tons of wedding vendors to choose from in your area when you get ready to assemble your "Vendor Team" as I like to call them. My vendor team is a collection of vendors that I normally do business with. Vendors who share my work ethic, target market and ones I trust. I'm very selective with who I will and won't work with because at the end of the wedding celebration, I'm the one my clients will look to for answers.

Where do you start and how do you know which vendors to recommend to your clients?

We posted earlier this week about networking with the stars...the best of the best wedding vendors in your area. Chances are you've read everything you can get your hands on about them...you know their web address by heart and you've more than likely been blogstalking them for awhile. (Um...FYI? I'm innocent...I NEVER blogstalked anyone!)

Three main principles to keep in mind when assembling your team:

Find diverse vendors that can handle all kinds of weddings and traditions. Being well versed in all the different specialties vendors offer increases your value as a wedding planner. Get to know your vendors personally. Find low, middle and high end vendors to satisfy all budgets so you can match them to your client's needs by their SPP...style, price and personality.

Learn and know the meaning of the buzzwords that are used for each vendor category:



Nuff said!

You don't need to be an expert in each vendor category, but you do need to know the basics and be knowledgeable about each vendor type. For example, a photographer whose specialty is family portraiture may not work well for your client because they aren't experienced in photographing a wedding. A DJ who spins records at the local club will fail miserably at a wedding if s/he isn't used to reading the moods of a wedding crowd and knows when to change the pace of the music.

The better you know your vendors, the more valuable you will be to your clients!

Next week we will talk about what to do when you've booked that first initial consultation with a potential client. Have a wonderful time networking and remember...

Aspire to Plan!