High profile celebrities like Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli managed to personalize and execute the wedding of everyone’s dreams proving that your wedding planners and vendors can make all the difference on your special day! By expressing gratitude towards their wedding planners, the power couple showed the world that hiring the “right” vendors can make all the difference for your big day.

Every couple is different which means that you cannot determine what works best for you by following one-size fits all kind of template. Different logistics are at play when planning and executing a wedding – from conceptualizing the wedding to finalizing the scale of the wedding to the smaller, finer details. The pressure and stakes differ from couple to couple. While some may want to go all out and have a larger-than-life wedding, some may wait for it to be an intimate, family affair. This is where we at SAWC Planners come in!

SAWC Planners goes above and beyond to ensure that their clients/couples are fully aware and covered for any unforeseen circumstances that could occur as a result of vendor selection. The word “Vendors” is, of course, a broad term which can be used to refer to anyone you choose a plan, orchestrate, set up, run, and break down the physical elements of your wedding. Some of the key vendors on your wedding day can/should include:

• Wedding Planner
• Photographer/Videographer OR Both
• Caterer
• DJ
• Décor/Florists
• Musicians, Rental Companies, Venue Staff, Entertainment etc.

Our team of professionals has put together some necessary steps to ensure your memorable moments are perfectly planned and some of the important things to look for when choosing/booking vendors for your event day.

1. Be Certain to Obtain a Signed and Detailed Contract from Each Vendor: Did you know that most contracts must be in writing or they are not enforceable? The reality of the situation is that many things can go wrong when business deals are involved and its always better to protect your interests from the get-go. A written contract will ensure that all terms of your agreement are documented. That way in the event of a disagreement, you and your vendor will have something to refer back to. For a contract to serve your purposes, it needs to be highly detailed and specific. A general rule of thumbs is to include a minimum of the following items in the contract:

• Vendor’s name and applicable contact info
• Bride and Groom’s name and contact info
• Detailed list of all services and/or products to be provided
• Logistics information e.g locations, dates and time where services are to be executed
• Exact price of the service and/or product being given
• A payment schedules
• Vendor’s policies with respect to cancellation, refund or return, late fees
• Payment methods
• Signatures of all parties

1. Obtain A Specific and Comprehensive Description Of All Products or Services You’ve Chosen. For example, instead of putting down only the location, date and time a wedding cake is to be delivered, also provide particular details which may include the number of cake tiers, specific flavors and colors of icing, any special dietary restrictions such as gluten or egg – free etc.                                               
2. Always Read The Contract Fully including the fine print and ask as many clarifying questions you can think of prior to signing anything. It is always better to take your time to understand something rather than being uncertain and later discovering that what you may have thought was an expected product or service to be delivered was actually not part of the agreement.
3. Ensure You Are Able To Modify Certain Elements of the contract as the planning process is an evergreen process and updates are always required.
4. Avoid Full Payments Upfront. Ideally you should pay a small deposit to hold the date for a service or product you’ve selected, however, just be aware that many deposits are non – refundable so choose your vendors wisely. Although no guarantee, try to use a credit card for payments as there is a better chance of refund in the event of a financial disagreement or problem.
5. Avoid Cash Payments: We know how expensive weddings can get and while the thought of saving a couple bucks may be enticing, there are many dangers and pitfalls you might be making yourself susceptible towards. The contracting industry is notorious for off-the-books, under-the-table transactions. You may often encounter vendors who encourage cash payments. Truth be told, it’s just not worth it to have a couple bucks jeopardize thousands of dollars’ worth of investment. But it’s not just the money, cash transactions are usually undocumented which means that in the case of disagreements, you won’t have any insurance to protect you or your investment.

When choosing a Vendor

1. Look At Their Experience. If a vendor has been around for a while, many past customers often rate the experience they’ve had with the vendor and their reviews can generally be easily searched for online via social media platforms or simply just by running the vendor name through a search engine.
2. Determine Budget/Do Plenty of Research: Trying to narrow a vendor for your wedding day is like going shopping. Have you ever wanted stuff that you can’t afford? Everyone has. When planning your wedding, you will find that the expenses quickly add up. You have to be wise about where you want to loosen the purse strings and when you need to cut back. Basically, you need to prioritize your wish list. If you want a top decorator, you may have to cut back with the photographer, caterer or someone else. Often, it’s a wedding planner who can help you navigate through these decisions and help you choose the right wedding vendors.
3. Do a Background Check and Review Their Portfolio of previous weddings that the vendor has previously executed. In some instances, you can also ask for references in order to speak with past clients of the vendor. This may assist in getting a better idea of the vendor’s reputation and skill set.
4. Personality Matters. You need to work with someone who you feel is looking out for your best interests and will work hard to meet your expectations and needs. Choose vendors who you feel are comfortable and effective to work with.

While this is a handy checklist to refer to, by no means is it possible for you to think of everything you need to look for in a vendor or how to make these tough decisions. That’s when having professionals in the business with tons of experience come in hand. SAWC Planners is a full-service wedding planning company that takes pride in saving you time and money and letting you and your family enjoy your big day. Our planning packages include Month-Of-Coordination, Partial Planning, Full Planning, and Custom packages to suit your needs.

Our next blog will be focussing on some tips from our preferred vendors (Directly from the horse’s mouth eh?) to perfectly plan your memorable moments. Visit our gallery to take a look at some of the most popular weddings we have planned for our clients in the Toronto and GTA area.