Sourcing the best wedding suppliers can be a minefield. It is a very busy market and often difficult to navigate. Over the years I have built up a very carefully curated selection of the best luxury wedding suppliers who I chose to work with. Because every wedding and couple are unique, it's important that my suppliers all offer something different and relevant to the particular brief, but, they all have something in common - they are abolsutely outstanding at what they do. If you are struggling with where to begin, here is my guide to finding the perfect supplier fit for you.
CREATIVE, CUSTOMER CENTRIC AND PROFESSIONAL
The wedding industry is full of creatives - it's in our bones and comes with the territory of creating visually stunning experiences. That said, for me the best suppliers combine not only the creative genius to push elevate the brief and deliver something unique, they also are excellent at customer service and the logistics and administration that must come alongside. Beautiful design has to have the organisation and practical skill behind it to make it work and, with multiple suppliers to manage across a wedding, you need to work with someone who makes you feel valued as the customer. If you feel a supplier lacks engagement, is unreasonably slow to reply or feels like they just aren't on board with what you are asking for, then I would suggest the fit isn't right.
STUDY SOCIAL MEDIA AND PAST WORK
All suppliers should have a portfolio of work that you can browse to get a feel for their style and what it is they can deliver. Style wise it is worth looking across a lot of different options so that you can get a good cross section and then be able to zone in on what it is you are/aren't looking for. In terms of crednetials, checking their social media is the obvious start point as is cross referencing this with things such as their website and any other social media channels. Make sure that anything you are looking at are examples of their own work and not work that they are sharing which has been produced by others. Look for reviews on Google, read the comments on their posts from any past clients they have worked with or other suppliers that have worked with them. You want to build up a bank of "good vibes" in terms of their experience, creativity and professionalism. This should give you a good short list to work from. Once you have this the next step is to make contact and, from here, you will experience their customer service first hand.
EXPECT TO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
If you are searching for a high quality professional, please be prepared to pay for this level of skill, expertise and customer experience. Wedding professionals do not charge more becuase of the word "wedding" in the brief. Wedding professioanls charge the appropriate amount to deliver you the exceptional service and product that you should expect for the most important celebration of your lives to date. From your side, I understand that there is a huge amount of emotional investment into your wedding planning and celebrations. Your suppliers understand this and it is matched with the level of time, effort, investment, sweat and expertise that will go into making your wedding experienece with them everything that is should be. If you want this level of product and service , you must be willing to invest. Of course there will always be cheaper options offered but, without exception, I can guarantee that this will always come at a cost to the level product or service outcome. You have been warned!
HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER
As a wedding planner, my reputation lives or dies on the supplier team I put together for each wedding. I cannot afford to have a weak link at any point. This is why I, as do all other planners I know, invest a lot of time into vetting a
nd building up the strongest supplier networks. This means that for each wedding I am able to recommend the best supplier fit for the brief based on the knowledge I have of my supplier's strengths and specific style and expertise. Every supplier is carefully matched to the couple. Two years ago I began the renovation of our, then, very run down, Georgian home and it gave me the best insight into how it must feel for a couple embarking on finding their wedding suppliers. I felt there was so much choice but it was very difficult and overwhelming to navigate who to trust, who could best deliver on my specific brief. I got there in the end but it took an incredible amount of time and some costly mistakes. I remember saying to my husband "what I need is a 'me' for house planning." I needed someone I could trust to help me navigate the industry and help me put together my vision.
Are you currently sourcing suppliers? Was this helpful to you in your thinking? If you have any questions or would like some help, I would love to hear from you, drop me an email at jenna@jennahewitt.co.uk or give me a call on 07779017888
Image thanks and credit to mikistudios.com