How do you know?

[QueenG]

If you can afford a caterer or photographer? Is it OK to write and say "Hi, we are interested in ''X'' venue where you are a preferred caterer. I wonder if you an tell me more detail about your services, packages blah blah" Is that OK, or am I supposed to book the venue and then waste everyone''s time meeting the caterers, finding out they cost too much, and then needing to cancel the whole thing? I haven''t booked a place, but am very interested in one from photos and word-of-mouth, so I''m unsure of the best approach. I just don''t want to have the venue in my head if it''s just not doable (the venue has a site fee separate from the caterer options). FYI, food is my number 1, so the caterer is very important, I just need to be able to afford it!

Same question about the photographer. Do I write her and say "Hey, wedding, blah blah, packages, engagement photos?, albums?, all the pics on cd? how much? (or just leave out the "how much" and assume she might slip it in there)" I have a bit of an idea how much a standard photographer might cost, but of course I''ve fallen in love with one of the more a-typical types and am not sure what that will cost me!

Thanks so much in advance from a clueless bride-to-be!

 

[lliang_chi]

You can just use a generic format of :

Hi Vendor,

I'm interested in getting a [service] for my event/wedding/party on [date] in [location]. Can you send me some more information on your packages and pricing?

Thanks,
Lioness

Most vendors have all of their packages in documents that they can send over right away. Then you can scratch out things and start narrowing things down. The fact of the matter is pricing is a big criteria for everyone so they HAVE to send you a pricing tier at least so you know if you can afford them. They're used to it, so don't feel shy. Besides THEY'RE the ones that should be vying for YOUR business.

Good luck

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

I wasn''t able to commit to my venue until I knew I could afford a caterer to bring in all the rentals. I contacted a caterer and asked for a menu. I sent her an email with the foods I would probably want and a list of what the venue came iwth (8 tables and 95 chairs and NOTHING ELSE) and asked her about arranging rentals. She sent me a detailed itemized spreadsheet (ffod, rentals, service) with all costs including service charges and gratuity.

For photographers, I have just sent out emails that said, "I came to your web site through _______________ and enjoyed looking at your galleries. I am interested in pricing information for my wedding ceremony and reception on July 18, 2009 in Bryan, TX.

Thank you,
Guilty Pleasure"

For florists, I plan on putting together a list of what I need with a few pictures and flower requests and sending out to multiple florists for an estimate.

 

[Octavia]

Lioness, I did basically what lliang_chi suggested, but I also put in an estimated guest count -- pretty much everyone wanted to know that. While most caterers have standard packages, you will find a few (including mine) who put together each event from scratch. When they told me that, I gave them a per-person budget to work with, and they were really good about working with us to build a menu that fit into the budget, and making adjustments where necessary. And even most caterers with pre-set packages will work with you to customize (though not all of them will). Just give them the basics to start and let them guide you, most of them are really good about communication and helping you along (since they've done this a thousand times before and know that you haven't!). As long as they're a reputable business and you're firm about your budget, you should be fine.

I did the same thing with photographers, since it's about 50-50 whether they post prices on their websites or not. In this area, most photographers start their wedding packages around $3K, and go up from there with various options and add-ons. Some of the top-tier ones can be much more. My very favorite wasn't an option for me, since her basic package was $4.5K and the one with the options I liked was almost $6K!! Yikes!! I really love the photog we ended up going with, though, so it all worked out fine. I'm so curious about who your favorite is now, though!

ETA: ooh,in keeping with what Guilty Pleasure said, go check WeddingWire if you haven't already. Sometimes, less well-known vendors will offer specials there. And sometimes they'll also have unadvertised specials if you tell them how you found them.

ETAAgain: I saved questions about pricing about photo albums and stuff for when I actually met with the photographers. It was actually a really good test -- some of them really jumped on it and tried to upsell us with everything on the list, and some just mentioned the prices and moved on. It gives a little more insight into their personality and how they view their business, IMO.

 

[QueenG]

lliang- Thank you for the wording and a good point. They ARE the ones that need to impress ME so I''ll fork over lots of cash. I guess I just don''t want to be a bother since it''s so early in the planning process.

Guilty- I guess I didn''t think about the money being deciding factors for anyone other than me... silly since people put together wedding budgets, but I figured that vendors might be scared away or offended if you start asking about money up-front. Shows how much I know!

Octavia- I really fell in love with Jackie Bayne. I randomly found her blog while googling local sites a few months back and am taken with her shots (and she seems to have a pleasant personality as well). I guess we''ll see if that can work out!

 

[Octavia]

Oh my goodness, she''s wonderful! I can''t believe I never knew about her before! Please let us know how it all turns out. There are so many photographers out there, it''s difficult to sort through them all. Fortunately, I really love the one we chose (Alyssa Maloof), but every once in awhile I get venue-envy, dress-envy...I guess I''ll have to add photog-envy to the list

One more thing with photographers (not specifically yours, just in general) -- make sure to look through their shots for an entire wedding (or preferably several weddings). The first photographer whose work I really liked online was a bit disappointing when I saw full galleries. Lots of photos of the backs of people''s heads, colors seemed a bit off, etc. On the other hand, I was slightly worried about my photog because I love her eye for composition, but she does a bit too much post-processing on the photos she posts to her blog (IMO). But the full galleries I looked at were perfect. Just keep in mind that photographers post their favorite work to the websites and blogs, and it doesn''t always match up completely with the full package. And if they''re not willing to give you links to some of their current web galleries, I''d see it as a red flag.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

Don''t worry about offending them by asking for the price. They would MUCH rather put the price out there up front than spend a lot of time on you only to find out that they are too far above your budget.

It is a business transaction, and price is right up there with quality and service (if not above). Just like you wouldn''t tell someone to go ahead and pick out colors and paint your house without knowing the price first, no one expects you to talk wedding business without talking money.