Wedding Planner's Preferred Austin Vendors
I have literally spent years finding the best vendors in Austin to share with my brides in
order to have the most wonderful, stunning, stress-free weddings that make the bride
teary on her wedding day and beyond. I want my brides to be very happy, so when a bride
does not hire one of my preferred vendors and later is upset about her vendors or friends
lack of product or performance it is very frustrating for all of us. I have met many fantastic
new vendors at weddings with a bride that has hired someone I have never worked with in
the past and they become one of my preferred vendors, but there is also a very big risk if
they are not the team player we need on the wedding day. We need to always listen for
those "red flag" warnings. Here are a few "real" examples of why I work with my preferred
vendors and tend to be frustrated working with someone that was a little less expensive
than using one of my preferred vendors:
The transportation was late after being confirmed. When I called asking where they were
and what their arrival time would be I received this reply "We over-booked our schedule and
we don't have any more limos today." Another time we had a no show bus at a rehearsal
dinner and they didn't even call us. I asked about the next day's schedule and they hadn't
even started to consider that. I contacted my preferred vendor in both situations and they
saved the day. We received refunds from the other 2 companies.
I was working with a florist for the first time and kept hearing "We don't do that or no we
can't do that" and that just makes me crazy when I see it being done week after week
by my preferred florist. These are not difficult requests, but rather standard situations that
sometimes arise at weddings like making an extra corsage or putting on the cake flowers.
Fortunately, we are trained to make corsages and put on the cake flowers, but it is the
"No!" attitude that makes me recommend my favorite florists. We like a "can do" attitude,
especially with the rain we had at last weekend's wedding and the amazing, stellar service
my bride received from www.bouquetsofaustin.com who exceeded all our expectations.
Caterers: I love great food, I grew up in the catering industry and I am well aware of what
will work and what doesn't. I also know what is standard for a caterer and what is asking
for outside of the norm. Having a caterer tell me they don't bus tables, they don't setup
tables, changing a functioning buffet flow to one that suits them but adds an hour to the
dinner service and having lazy staff is really frustrating. Do not think that saving money
on "drop off" BBQ is going to work out when you have 15 guest tables filled with plates,
glasses, beer bottles, and other trash at the end of the night. Do you expect your family
to clean that up? That is the caterer's job and why you hire a professional company with
wait staff. We hire a vendor team so that everyone can do their job and you, your family
and wedding party can all enjoy the evening without playing wait staff at the end of the
night. We have had several catering companies that do not cut wedding cake and we
have training and it is included if need be, but all our favorite companies cut the wedding
cake, have fantastic food, setup, clean-up and offer you the quality of service you expect.
DJ and bands: Oh my gosh, where do I start. I love working with DJs and have amazing bands
but I have worked with horrible non-professionals. They arrive late, unprepared, drink alcohol,
bring their girlfriends to "hang out" with them, play the wrong songs and I've even had bands
that held the lyrics because they didn't know any of the songs the couple requested. The bad
are really bad so stick with our pros.
Photographers: This is truly one of your most important vendors and Austin is rich with truly
talented photographers. There is no reason for you leave your wedding memories in the hands
of a photographer who is unprofessional, has a bad attitude, is late with all the prelim photos,
drinking during the entire event like they are a guest, dancing with all the guests, leaving you
in the horrible Texas heat longer than absolutely necessary, disappearing from the reception
missing the cake cutting and family dances, and worse than anything, not backing up your
wedding and losing all your photos. All of those are real situations that happen with Austin area
photographers not on my preferred vendor list and are irreversible situations.
Last, but not least choosing a wedding planner. There are over 50 Austin wedding coordinators,
event designers, wedding planners, day of coordinators, venue managers, etc. How do you
pick the right one for you? First of all ask for recommendations from your venue, look for reviews
on line, ask friends who they used and if you have vendors ask them who they like to work with.
Experience counts more than you can ever know. Working with brides as long as I have, I still
learn at every wedding and I have literally worked on thousands of weddings. You need to feel
completely confident the Austin wedding planner you hire and you KNOW they will deliver what
you have expressed is important to you. Listen to that little voice. If your personalities don't
click or if the planner's price is too much for your budget, ask your top choice who they would
recommend because they may have options for you that you can trust.
I could keep going on and on, but hopefully you get the gist of working with a team that wants
your day to be more than you ever dreamed of, not a disaster that I am trying to fix.
Happy planning,
Barbara
www.barbarasbrides.com
order to have the most wonderful, stunning, stress-free weddings that make the bride
teary on her wedding day and beyond. I want my brides to be very happy, so when a bride
does not hire one of my preferred vendors and later is upset about her vendors or friends
lack of product or performance it is very frustrating for all of us. I have met many fantastic
new vendors at weddings with a bride that has hired someone I have never worked with in
the past and they become one of my preferred vendors, but there is also a very big risk if
they are not the team player we need on the wedding day. We need to always listen for
those "red flag" warnings. Here are a few "real" examples of why I work with my preferred
vendors and tend to be frustrated working with someone that was a little less expensive
than using one of my preferred vendors:
The transportation was late after being confirmed. When I called asking where they were
and what their arrival time would be I received this reply "We over-booked our schedule and
we don't have any more limos today." Another time we had a no show bus at a rehearsal
dinner and they didn't even call us. I asked about the next day's schedule and they hadn't
even started to consider that. I contacted my preferred vendor in both situations and they
saved the day. We received refunds from the other 2 companies.
I was working with a florist for the first time and kept hearing "We don't do that or no we
can't do that" and that just makes me crazy when I see it being done week after week
by my preferred florist. These are not difficult requests, but rather standard situations that
sometimes arise at weddings like making an extra corsage or putting on the cake flowers.
Fortunately, we are trained to make corsages and put on the cake flowers, but it is the
"No!" attitude that makes me recommend my favorite florists. We like a "can do" attitude,
especially with the rain we had at last weekend's wedding and the amazing, stellar service
my bride received from www.bouquetsofaustin.com who exceeded all our expectations.
Caterers: I love great food, I grew up in the catering industry and I am well aware of what
will work and what doesn't. I also know what is standard for a caterer and what is asking
for outside of the norm. Having a caterer tell me they don't bus tables, they don't setup
tables, changing a functioning buffet flow to one that suits them but adds an hour to the
dinner service and having lazy staff is really frustrating. Do not think that saving money
on "drop off" BBQ is going to work out when you have 15 guest tables filled with plates,
glasses, beer bottles, and other trash at the end of the night. Do you expect your family
to clean that up? That is the caterer's job and why you hire a professional company with
wait staff. We hire a vendor team so that everyone can do their job and you, your family
and wedding party can all enjoy the evening without playing wait staff at the end of the
night. We have had several catering companies that do not cut wedding cake and we
have training and it is included if need be, but all our favorite companies cut the wedding
cake, have fantastic food, setup, clean-up and offer you the quality of service you expect.
DJ and bands: Oh my gosh, where do I start. I love working with DJs and have amazing bands
but I have worked with horrible non-professionals. They arrive late, unprepared, drink alcohol,
bring their girlfriends to "hang out" with them, play the wrong songs and I've even had bands
that held the lyrics because they didn't know any of the songs the couple requested. The bad
are really bad so stick with our pros.
Photographers: This is truly one of your most important vendors and Austin is rich with truly
talented photographers. There is no reason for you leave your wedding memories in the hands
of a photographer who is unprofessional, has a bad attitude, is late with all the prelim photos,
drinking during the entire event like they are a guest, dancing with all the guests, leaving you
in the horrible Texas heat longer than absolutely necessary, disappearing from the reception
missing the cake cutting and family dances, and worse than anything, not backing up your
wedding and losing all your photos. All of those are real situations that happen with Austin area
photographers not on my preferred vendor list and are irreversible situations.
Last, but not least choosing a wedding planner. There are over 50 Austin wedding coordinators,
event designers, wedding planners, day of coordinators, venue managers, etc. How do you
pick the right one for you? First of all ask for recommendations from your venue, look for reviews
on line, ask friends who they used and if you have vendors ask them who they like to work with.
Experience counts more than you can ever know. Working with brides as long as I have, I still
learn at every wedding and I have literally worked on thousands of weddings. You need to feel
completely confident the Austin wedding planner you hire and you KNOW they will deliver what
you have expressed is important to you. Listen to that little voice. If your personalities don't
click or if the planner's price is too much for your budget, ask your top choice who they would
recommend because they may have options for you that you can trust.
I could keep going on and on, but hopefully you get the gist of working with a team that wants
your day to be more than you ever dreamed of, not a disaster that I am trying to fix.
Happy planning,
Barbara
www.barbarasbrides.com
Posted by Barbara at 10/13/2011 12:48 PM 
Categories: Wedding Facts
Tags: Austin wedding planners austin wedding coordinators austin wedding vendors austin weddings
Categories: Wedding Facts
Tags: Austin wedding planners austin wedding coordinators austin wedding vendors austin weddings
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