How to Maximize Your Vendor Meetings!

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

 You got engaged and now the fun (and sometimes panic) begins.  A lot of people don’t know where to start in the planning process.  Generally speaking, you either pick your date and then find your venue OR you find your venue and select from the dates they have available.  This is the first step.  It will determine your color scheme, your largest cost in your budget and allow you to go forward in booking the rest of your vendors. 

When you are ready to sit down and start talking with possible vendors, make the most of your time. 

It’s best to come to the meeting with the following details:

-Budget

-Style (rustic, traditional, modern, bohemian, elegant, glitzy, etc.)

-Your venue selection

-A list of items you are interested in seeing/discussing

-Your confirmed wedding date

-Color Palette

Why are these topics so important? Learn more about why these topics are key to maximizing the time you spend with your vendors!

Budget

I know, I know, it’s a sore subject.  Inevitably we all want it all, but sometimes our budget doesn’t coincide.  Being up front about your budget will help us determine a priority list for your wedding to give you the biggest bang for your buck.  Some wish list items may be beautiful but won’t give you the immediate wow factor you are after, while others will give you a major transformation.  We can guide you based on  your budget on how to make best use of your dollars in a way that make sense.   

Style (rustic, traditional, modern, bohemian, elegant, glitzy, etc.)

We have a wide variety of experience with most wedding styles and it’s helpful in directing our meeting if we know what vibe you want to create.  Sometimes clients come in and want a mixture of styles, the old “I’m thinking a rustic boho vibe with modern touches” puzzle.  Believe it or not, there are ways to accomplish that!  Just bring in some pictures that illustrate what you like and we can find a way to make it work! Sending us a link to your dream wedding Pinterest board (don’t forget fo follow Total Events on Pinterest) or the screenshots you’ve saved off Instagram will help us get to know your style. This allows us to pull examples of our previous work you can draw inspiration from.

Your venue selection

Venue selection is very important.  There are some things that only work in specific venues and knowing what we can offer you is a big move in the right direction.  Further maximizing your time, we can show you other work we have done in that space to help you visualize your options. We can also give you recommendations for what fits and looks best after having completed so many successful events on property. 

A list of items you are interested in seeing/discussing

Knowing in advance what you are looking for will help guide the meeting.  Your vendor will already have a preview of who you are and what you are interested in based on your preferences. Profiling you before you come in helps us organize our thoughts and prepare to show you the items you want and similar items that you may be interested in.  In some cases it’s productive to know in advance in case the company you are meeting with does not offer the type of services you are interested in.  Maximizing your time, means not wasting it.

Your confirmed wedding date

It goes hand and hand with the venue selection, because it’s that important.  Many vendors book a year in advance, some are even 2 years in advance.  Sometimes wedding dates seem to be more popular than others and we receive an influx of inquiries and bookings for the same day.  Generally you can count on Memorial Day Weekend, Labor Day Weekend, Columbus Day Weekend and New Year’s Eve as some of the wedding industries earliest booked dates.  Prime wedding season in the Upstate New York area tend to be May, June, September and October.  If you are booking in those months it is best to book early so you can get exactly what you want before the competition gets too fierce.

Color Palette

Knowing the color family you are working in will help your vendors design components that work in the room and with your desired color scheme.  We can show you things that you may not have considered together and help guide your style by showing you how different components fit together. 

Ready to start your #TotalEventsTransformation? Contact one of our Event Specialist today!