Daily quotes like these are
being said around the world:
"wedding vendors are
overrated!" "We
can have our family and
friends do the same thing in
every category way cheaper
or free!" "My
friend said he would be
doing the DJ'ing for only a
$100 or so bucks because he
knows EXACTLY what DJ's do!"
"My cousin is going to be the
coordinator because she
plans
all of her kids birthday
parties!" "We can do
our invitations ourselves!"
"My caterer is our Aunt
because we really like her
Thanksgiving feasts!"
"I'm going to do my own cake
because it is as easy as
Betty Crocker in a box!"
"Our flowers can be
bought at Vons or online because
flowers are just flowers
nothing special!" "For
video we are going to
have a "hand held"
camcorder walk around with
us by my cousin, because
that is sooooooooooo easy!"
"And, my best friend always
takes
such funny pictures of us at
parties, we are going to
have her as our
photographer!"
"We are saving soooooooo
much
money!" "Can you
believe
it?????"...................
Now...
OUR HONEST OPINION! We
are not experts in any of
these categories but ours
only! Also, we do know
what
we have seen ourselves and what
most of our brides tell us
afterwards! If you
feel like adding anything,
you are MORE than
welcome to do so! This
is all about educating
future brides! Read
this THOROUGHLY and when you
get to the bottom
of this article; you will
then understand :)
Now.... First rule in life
----You get what you pay
for! This saying will NEVER
change!
DJ'ing isn't just DJ'ing -- It
is MC'ing and running the
show, making a fabulous
party and reception you
remember when
you walk away and talk about
it for years to come because
that "DJ" got your grandma
and grandpa out on the dance
floor having a blast or got
your guests participating! They brought the "CORRECT
EQUIPMENT" that didn't
"skip" or
"crackle" or sound "fuzzy".
He ore She had a great voice
and kept it so smooth there
was not a beat missed! Also
he or
she didn't drink on the job
like a lot of DJ's DO and
kept their focus on you!
Yes, the DJ may have only
been paid for
only 4 or more hours for
playing music. But so
much more was done beyond
that! The consultation
to finding out what
kind of music you liked and
GETTING the music you liked!
Customizing your wedding, to
where it was YOUR
WEDDING; not a cookie-cutter
deal! All and all....
That DJ put 3-5 times more
hours in than you think!
THAT IS
WHAT YOU PAY FOR!:) A
Professional! :)
The best is also not the
most expensive! Don't
believe the hype
when someone is $3000 for
DJ'ing! There are
great DJ's for only
$600-$1500! Give us a
call, we'll tell you who!
Coordinating? Your
friend is now a Coordinator
because she gets a handful
of people together a few
times a year or
plans her kids birthday
parties? Sorry, we all
do that! :) Now, lets
try HUNDREDS or THOUSANDS a
couple of
times a month? Does
she do that? To keep
everyone and everything
moving timelessly (from
flower delivery, cake
delivery, colors, hours,
minutes, who is who, what
time is perfect for this?
etc.) They do all of
this so the bride can
walk away happy, complaint
and worry free. They
put way more into your day
also! Try 10 times
more than one
would think!
THAT IS WHAT YOU PAY FOR! :)
A Professional!!!!!!! :)
Also, be careful when
choosing your
coordinator based on price!
There are great coordinators
for only $500 - $2500 to
coordinate your day
depending on
what you need! Give us
a call, we'll tell you who!
Honestly it is your day and
most shouldn't get a
percentage of your
wedding budget! It is
your day and your budget
only! Coordinators are there
only to provide a service;
not to say they
"envisioned" your entire day
down to the last ribbon!
You call the shots! They are
there to make plans go into
effect
and help you along with your
journey and provide insight,
not to tell you what to do
and who to choose and then
get a
percentage cost of what YOU came
up with and YOU
implemented!
When you hire the right
vendors, they already
know what to do and can
embrace your vision, they
don't need a coordinator
taking all of the credit!
A lot of shady
coordinators do this and
then select your vendors for
you, completely taking the
day out of your hands and in
turn
giving you "mediocre"
vendors, "drunken" vendors,
"rude" vendors and who knows
what else because that
coordinator
gets a discount if they
bring a bride to them, not
because that vendor is the
best at what they do!
Sadly this happens
and EVERYONE should watch
out for coordinators like
this! The best
coordinators are experienced
at keeping your
day at your vision and at
your comfort level!
THAT IS WHAT YOU PAY FOR! :)
A Professional!!!!!!! :)
Invitations can be done by yourself or
at Target?
Oh my goodness! Just
flat out NOOOO period!
Invitations set your
tone of your wedding before
it has begun for others to
experience! If you
have them printed on cheap
basic ugly paper;
what is that saying about
your wedding?
Our wedding isn't nothing
for you to care about, but I
do want you to spend at
least $75-$150 on me for a
gift? NOBODY wants
that kind of impression to
be sent out!
Most of the time it is worth
the couple of extra $100
dollars up front to have
them done right!
Because more times than not
a bride is unhappy with
what turns out if she did it
herself and then spends a
lot of time re-doing the
invitations or adding to
them; which in turn
adds more cost that ends up
in a huge headaches!
THAT IS WHAT YOU PAY
FOR!!!!!!!! :) A
Professional!!!!!!! :)
Catering by a
family or friend? We
are sorry but, you may like
Thanksgiving feasts from
this person, but maybe for
10-
20 people tops?
Now you are supposed to
trust them for 100-800
guests; are you sure??????
First there is the entire
bacteria issue thing?
EWWW GROSS!!!! Then
there is the Timing,
Serving, Cold food,
Overcooked, and the ultimate
UNDERCOOKED thing?
BLECK! Proper catering
can't be done unless one is
equipped with a proper
kitchen and staff
and experience!!!!
Etc.! TRUST US HERE!
Us and many wedding vendors
have seen the dark side of
this! Hotels
and Resorts who do this
almost EVERYDAY sometimes
can't even handle this!
Let alone, Grandma or
Auntie! THAT
IS WHAT YOU PAY
FOR!!!!!!!!!! :) A
Professional!!!!!!! :)
Your going to do your own a
cake? Okay?????????
It's going to be VERY basic
or worse, unless you know
how, or if
you know someone who can do
it right! One
has no idea how much weather
conditions or size affect a
cake! Most of
the time it will have to be
properly stored for
freshness and have the
creativity of an artist to
decorate it in time to keep
it fresh! Not to
be decorated days in advance
and sit in a freezer and
taste frost bitten and
nasty! Now, if you
want a
decadent, smooth, yummy, and
an art creation that is the
centerpiece for your
reception that is talked
about for years to
come on how cool it was and
how your guests have never
seen anything like it or
tasted something like that,
then YES
hire a professional!!!!!!!!
Otherwise, it is a basic
cake that ANYONE and the
NEXT BRIDE WILL GET!
Don't be
fooled by the "do it
yourself cakes" that you end
up paying a few hundred
dollars for by the end!
You can spend only
$100-$1500 on a great cake
depending on your ideas and needs,
instead of
wasting time and money on a
wrong cake
that most of the time never
gets shown! THAT IS
WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!!!!!!!!
:) A
Professional!!!!!!! :)
My flowers are going to be
generic store or online
bought or even worse -
PLASTIC! .... I mean flowers
are just inexpensive
flowers right? I can
do it myself right?
UM.... NO!!!!! A real
florist who cares and does
flowers for a living will
give fillers,
diamonds, other artistry,
and imported flowers that
don't wilt in the Southern,
CA heat! They also
don't drop your flowers
down the isle at noon in the
dry heat and let your petals
wither away looking like
raisins because your wedding
is at 3pm!
A real florist creates your
bouquet and florals as an
extension to your dress,
colors and theme which is
the highlight and
background of your details!
And the plastic flowers?
Bakersfield professionals
know that during the summer
they MELT!
THAT IS WHAT YOU PAY
FOR!!!!!!!!!! :) A
Professional!!!!!!! :)
My Video is just going to be
a hand held camcorder!
Video is just going to be
hand held and so easy huh???
WOW!!!
We didn't know BLOCKBUSTER
movies were so easy?
We didn't know the most
romantic love stories of all
time were
sooooooo easy? OMG!
Why isn't everyone a
videographer? Wow!
Lighting, Timing, Angles....
So easy huh? We think
you must be thinking of
America's Funniest Home
Videos, because the vendors
we know DO NOT look like
that! TRUE
Videographers are mini
Cinema guys period!
They make your day a mini
movie! Effects,
Transitions, Smoothness!
So
easy like the back of your
hand right? WHATEVER!
They plan... plan... plan...
But what it comes down to is
the EXACT
moment of a true artist.
No re-dos!
Beware of the videographers
that film all day and only
give you a few minutes of
highlights for thousands of
dollars, and also beware of
some that charge thousands
for basic all day footage
with no effects!
THAT IS WHAT YOU PAY
FOR!!!!!!!!!! :) A
Professional!!!!!!! :)
And.........
Now PHOTOGRAPHY
(prepare to get an EYE-FULL
here).....Photography is not
just "taking fun
pictures"...
It is composing, lighting,
technique, skill, timing,
artistry, personality,
smoothness and
"everything-imaginable-else"
you can
think of in between! LOL
Photography is a
relationship! From the
consultation, to the
engagement session when you
get a
fun feel and vibe with us,
to the wedding day, and the
many many many months
afterwards for the orders
and albums and
the life long relationships
and portrait sessions you
come back to us for...
It is a bond between all of
us! You hang our
portraits on your wall!
You show off our albums to
everyone! You talk
about those "amazing" shots
that were timeless
that made you tell a
lifetime story! You
cherish these photographs
with your children and your
children's children!
You look
at these photo's everyday
for the rest of your life!
Those perfect shots that
look like your mothers
wedding or grandmothers
wedding showing off the
generations.... Those
perfect shots of your
emotion with your
bridesmaids... Those perfect
shots of
your emotion with the
groomsmen... Those perfect
shots of dad walking you
down the isle... Those
perfect shots of your
grooms face when he first
sees you and you back at
him! Those perfect
shots of exchanging the
rings... Those perfect shots
of emotion between the
vows... Those perfect shots
of you two kissing and the
moments after... Those
perfect shots of you
two walking down the isle
after first being married!
Those perfect family and
wedding party portraits that
are sooooo much
fun taking and that everyone
talks about forever!
Then......................
loving, fun, romantic,
sensual, innovative and
unforgettable, that you will
never again experience again
in that moment! Then
off to your wonderful, fun,
hilarious, endearing
reception that will be
talked about forever!
A professional photographer
captures EVERYTHING to tell
your story and in turn you
want them to tell your story
for the rest of your life!
What is the
point on spending all this
time on your details and
venue if your not going to
have it captured
breathtakingly, innovative,
fresh
and fun? You want
pictures of everything, and
everything affects pictures!
Now, do you
want your photographer doing
hundreds of weddings a year?
NO!!! You will
end up a cookie cutter wedding
to them! Do you
want them doing less than
lets say 15? NO!!!
You want that perfect
balance of creativity, not
"wet behind the ears" like a
newbie photog or just an
inexperienced weekend
warrior who doesn't care! You
also don't want a company
that sends out all of their
assistants doing the
actual work and having poor
attitudes and not caring
what happens!
Most "companies" end up
having what we like to call
"burn out" where your wedding ends up looking like the last one and the
next one, and so forth and
so not good!
Photographers
who can show you that they
are doing at least 20+
weddings a year and no more
than 50+ as a husband and
wife team are the
best because they are doing
a good amount from referrals
all around and are not
over-working themselves!
Also, make sure
a photographer or "company"
can show you an "actual
full" wedding from start to
finish on HUNDREDS, not just
some
"cut & paste" couples or
models in fake backgrounds
with fake skies, buildings,
fields, beaches or anything
that is so obvious!
Sorry, that is is not real,
it is just lies and for
looks and for hype and sadly
just what some "companies"
do!
THAT IS WHAT YOU PAY
FOR!!!!!!!!!! :) A
Professional!!!!!!! :)
Now after you put all of
this pressure on your family
and friends and it doesn't
go right? What
do you do? There are no
do-overs! Honestly,
none of us want strained
family
relationships, life is too
hard as it is, and none of
us want to live in
regret! So,
basically asking your family
or friends to help with
your wedding is saying "Hey,
we're having a party and
all
you have to do to come
is work your butt off"!
So, how do you have
the perfect wedding without
breaking your wallet???
To cut your expenses with
this economy, it is
NOT to cut
great vendors! It's to
cut your guest list!
How to do this? Almost
all
our clients and other
wedding vendor clients say almost the same
thing! CUT THE
FAT!!!!!!
What is the FAT you say?
The fat is people who you
never had a breakfast, lunch
or dinner with personally!
People who don't
know you personally, only
through someone else!
Someone whom you have never
been to their house or they
haven't been to
your house! And bottom
line if you haven't talked
to them in 1+ years, they
are not a family or friend
you would want at your
wedding experiencing the
best day of your life!
Acquaintances' are called
acquaintances for a reason!
They are not family and
they are not a friend.
So there is no hard feelings
when someone says "oh the
wedding is for only close
family and friends".
Hundreds of clients of ours
and other vendors have said
when they "cut the fat" they
have saved thousands and
thousands on
their wedding,
which in turn gave them the
freedom to hire the right
vendors to make it perfect
and memorable and stress
free".
Ugh.... This honestly
doesn't even go into style,
personality or all of the
other factors for EVERY
vendor or you the bride goes
through and/or with experiences, but
it gives you a semi-idea of
what we ALL go through
together! XOXOXOXO
Thank you :) -Dave & Sharon