Checking Vendor References

Dilbert by Scott Adams via www.stangbangers.com

When I read Miss Cream Puff's post over on Weddingbee the other day about having to break-up with her photographer, I let out a little sigh of relief that I've been checking vendor references all along.

There are scads of articles, threads, posts, etc. out there in wedding-planning-land with great suggestions on what to ask when interviewing potential vendors. I've been using the "What to Ask" Printable Checklists on Real Simple Weddings and they're an excellent guide. However, I haven't seem many resources for collecting references for vendors.

My thought is, in the regular working world you wouldn't hire someone to work for you without checking their references first, so why hire a vendor without checking references?

Thus far, Mr. Fairfax and I have our venue, caterer and photographer contracted and I've checked (or attempted to check) references for each one. Most wedding professionals should be able to provide you with a list of 2-3 couples they have worked with who are willing to act as references. One caveat, the Mr. and I did find in our brief experience that if a venue "moonlights" as a wedding reception hall (i.e. if your venue is really a historic home, that does weddings versus a wedding venue that happens to be a historic home), they are less likely to have references available. But hey, you've always got the The Knot and Wedding Wire to do a very informal check.

I've listed a couple of my standard reference questions below that are generic enough to apply to most vendors.

• How many people did you have at your wedding and what type (indoor, outdoor, formal, casual, etc) of ceremony and reception did you have?

• Who else did you consider and what made you choose [vendor]?

• How was communicating with [vendor]? Did you feel that they were responsive to your e-mails/calls? Was the level of responsiveness consistent throughout the time leading up to your wedding? What about after the wedding?
  

• How flexible/open was [vendor] to changes in your contract once the contract was signed?

• Were there any charges on your bill that came as a surprise or were added at the last minute?

• How would you rate the [vendor's] professionalism, level of service, etc.?

• How would you rate [vendor's] cooperation with your other vendors? Did they facilitate coordination and help everything run smoothly? Were they problematic for your other vendors?

• What do you wish you had discussed with [vendor] prior to the wedding that you did not?

• In hindsight is there anything you would have done differently? Picked another [vendor]? Stipulated a few specific items in the contract, etc?

AND THE MILLION DOLLAR REFERENCE QUESTION:

• If your best friend were getting married, would you recommend [vendor] to her? Would you have any hesitation or reservations about recommending [vendor]?

For us, these questions accomplished a two big things: 1) We knew we would feel more confident about our vendor choices if we got solid references. A reference check can help avoid situations like poor Miss Cream Puff's. 2) We would know our vendors better. Generic example of #2: one reference I got for a vendor mentioned the vendor is MUCH more responsive to phone calls than e-mail. Had I decided to use that vendor I would have been a savvy consumer armed with information about my vendor, rather than a frazzled bride who can't figure out why my vendor won't respond quickly to my e-mails!

I have other caterer/photographer/venue specific questions I'm happy to share if you shoot me an e-mail at fairfaxmiss@gmail.com.

Did you do a reference check on your vendors? What questions did you ask?

New Song for the List of "First Dance" Possiblities

Photo by Stephanie Millner Photography & Design, http://www.stephaniemillner.com/

I was driving down 395 yesterday afternoon (yes, in the crazy storm) and I heard the most charming new song from Jason Mraz, called "I'm Yours." I'm definitely adding it to my list of "Possible First Dance Songs" and at the very least I think it will make an appearance on our play list. If you like Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am" or the Bill Frisell version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (from Finding Forrester) you will probably enjoy this song.

Overexposed

SOTA Dzine, one of my absolute favorite D.C. photography groups has joined the blogging world. Yay! For really creative and unique photos for inspiration you have to add Overexposed to your blog reader. And apparently red balloons are quite the mini-trend now.

All photos below from the wedding of Jeremy's Brother and credited to SOTA Dzine -

Rustic Elegance On Sale

If you liked the natural rustic elegance look of the wedding of Maria and Michael (as photographed by Chenin Boutwell)


And as featured in the wedding of Alexandra and Jeremy (as photographed by Woodward and Rick Photographers via the Southern Wedding Style Blog)




Then you need to get yourself over to the Crate and Barrel Summer Sale and pick up the Savannah Candelabra. It's been marked down from $119.00 to $49.95. Talk about making an impact, and it costs less then the price of most centerpieces.

Oh Orchids!

O.K., as much as I loved the look of classic callas for my own wedding, the next time I plan a wedding I think the below orchid bouquet would be pretty amazing. The stark simplicity is just breathtaking.

All photos below from the wedding of Malia and Jeff as captured by photographer W. Scott Chester.



As you can see the bride was perfectly accessorized with a great pair of earrings and a simple veil. And I just loved her mom's look too...the vibrant dress and sexy shoes are mom appropriate but not old lady. And how cute is that flower in her hair?

Purrfect Purple

I'm totally digging this fab bout (and awesome tie) from the wedding of Sean & Kate as photographed by Blue Nalu. The peacock feather is the perfect accent.

And Kate's bouquet ain't too shabby either!

99 Red Balloons Go By...

Mental Note...for next wedding be sure to include red balloons. And vintage looking bicycle. And old-timey car. And streets of Poland. And totally untraditional wedding gown.

How incredibly charming (no I didn't use the banned phrase) and enchanting are these photos from amazing Poland based photographer Marta Potoczek? The world can have its chivari chairs and uplighting and globos and martini bars...this is my type of wedding.

This bride totally qualifies as a Bada$$ bride

The Other Side of Yellow

If you've been planning your wedding anytime in the last year then you are surely familiar with the bio of knottie SpringChic. Hers was the wedding that launched a thousand yellow & black themed nuptials throughout the country. And it was featured in pretty much every wedding blog...over...and over...and over again. Brides everywhere have copied her entire wedding wholesale.

And with good reason....it was fun, it was fresh, it was simple, it was modern....it's pretty much the perfect wedding. But the other day I ran across the below images from the wedding of Ellen and Caro on the Next Exit photography blog and thought it was a great example of what two different brides can do with the same space to create a different vibe.

Obviously both celebrations took place at at the Viceroy in Palm Springs. And the one thing both brides did right was work with their venue and not against it. Yellow is a key component of the design charm at the Viceroy and if they had tried to ignore it or work around it, it would have been expensive and probably unsuccessful.

Springchic used black and white as accent colors which really made the yellow vibrant and alive. Ellen and Caro used brown as an accent color which I think added a warmth to the wedding. Springchic had two gowns...both beautiful and structured which created a modern vibe while Ellen had a beautiful, unstructured, yellow Jenny Yoo gown which gave a soft and casual feel to the wedding.

I know when I was planning I loved seeing what other brides did with my venue...though none of them had the same look I was going for it was great to see how one bride's vision could transform the same space.

All photos below credited to Next Exit Photography

Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Not only are the details of Demi & Frederick's Mexico wedding amazing, the photography from Parker J Pfister is simply breathtaking. I can't wait for his new site to be up and running.


^Although they look nothing alike I can't think of a bride that more resembles Grace Kelly then Demi does in this moment. Look at her elegantly gloved hands.


^Her dress was a classic


^Beautiful shot


^Don't think your bouquet has to be large to make an impact. The small size was the perfect compliment to her outfit and the bouquet brooch is amazing.

^Don't forget the bridesmaids. They all looked so elegant...and the bride's dress choice really did compliment all their figures.

^They each carried these simple yet elegant bouquets.

^Love that pop of blue. Very fitting with the Mexican location, but the white keeps it toned down and tasteful

Operation: Love Reunited

Yesterday I read about this great organization on Andrew Bryant's blog and had to share.

Operation: Love Reunited connects photographers with the families of enlisted US Military men and women and provides the family with a complimentary photography session. The session focus is on deployments– before and more importantly, after, when they reunite safely home with their families.

Although this isn't specifically related to wedding photography, I know that many of you out there are trying to plan a wedding while someone you love (fiance, partner, brother, father, sister, mother, friend) is in a war zone. I know many of you have had to cancel, re-schedule, move-up and move back weddings b/c of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I also know how valuable these photos can be. Husband and I both worked for a year for the government in Iraq (non-military) and one of the last things we did before we left was have a portrait session done for our families...just in case. And if you think planning a wedding with a loved one in a war zone is difficult, then try planning the wedding FROM the war zone.

If you're part of a military family and would like to have this done please go to their website for more info and if you are a photographer please consider donating your time to this worthy cause. It really can make a huge difference in someone's life.

In My Perfect Wedding World

My calla lily bouquet will look like this bride's! It's elegant, graceful, and pretty much perfect. Bravo to her florist for getting this classic 100% right.

All photos below credited to Evoke Photography from the wedding of Amy & Mike.

Finding My Photographer

This is going to be long so if you want you can just skip to the end ;)

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows how much of a crush I have on photography blogs. I'm always finding new and amazing photographers and I try to share most of them with you. So some of you may be wondering who did I chose for my wedding?

Well, I had an advantage when it came to finding a photographer because I was basically booking about 18 months in advance so nobody was really booked yet. I started by going over EVERY photographer listed at the WPJA for the D.C., Virgina, Maryland area. I also looked at EVERY photographer that advertises on the knot.com for our area, and EVERY photographer mentioned in the Washingtonian, and every photographer listed in CityVoter. I also looked at every photographer I saw mentioned on my local knot.com board. It didn't matter what the price was...I looked at their website.

Did this take a long time? Yes, but I'm pretty decisive so it went quicker then it would for others. What was I looking for? Well, ideally someone in the $4,000 range, but I knew if I found someone I totally loved I'd pay more. I was looking for a photographer who could take really vibrant colored photos as well as black and white and most importantly I was looking for realism. I wanted a minimum number of posed shots and a maximum number of "as it happend" shots. Obviously some shots have to be staged but I didn't want my wedding to look like a fashion shoot or anything cheesy.

Because I was planning from overseas I can't stress enough how important a good website was to me. If you are a photographer INVEST in a good website. What's a good website? One that is easy to navigate (just b/c it's a fancy website doesn't mean it's easy to navigate!) and one that has many examples of a photographer's work and preferably entire albums for me to look through. I wasn't able to go to anyone's studio and look at their portfolio.

One of my main criteria for a photographer was that they could not have anywhere on their website the "veil over the groom's head" shot. Why? Cause for me it's the epitome of the staged bridal shot, it screams cheese, and it annoys me every time I see it. Now I know a lot of these photographers do this shot because the bride asks for it....which is fine, you can't really say "No", but photographers do get to chose what they put on their website. And if this type of shot was the best example of a photographers' work then s/he probably wasn't the photographer for me.

So after scouring the net I narrowed it down to about ten or so photographers that I was interested in. I then presented these photographers to Fiance to get his opinion and agreed to mark off anyone he didn't like. Fiance had weird reasons why he wanted some photographers off the list ("she takes too many photos from an angle") but I went ahead and marked them off.

Other photographers fell off the list for other reasons - one didn't book more then a year ahead of time (stupid rule), while another was moving and wasn't sure which state she'd be in (understandable).

So in the end it came down to two photographers. I won't mention the one I didn't pick but I will say that he's an excellent photographer, his work is well known in D.C., and I'm sure I would have loved my photos. His price, though, started at $4,400 and that's without even factoring in the travel fee to Charlottesville. Everyone tells you to sacrifice everything for good photos...pay whatever you have to! So I really felt like I shouldn't be bothered by the price...but it did bother me.

In the end I went with the second photographer I was considering. I went through all of the dozen or so albums on her website (she doesn't just feature 'the best of' on her site...her albums have 60-80 photos from a dozen different weddings). I read every knottie bio that featured her work, and I was also able to get some passwords from past brides and looked at their online albums. All her past brides gave rave reviews. After looking at all of her work I could honestly say that if any of their albums were my own then I would be very happy.

And the best part...$3,200 for a package that includes:

8 hours of coverage
DVD of all images with reproduction rights
Engagement Session
Password protected online viewing
Between 600-800 proofs

I had to add on $200 extra for travel fees to Charlottesville but that still made the grand total only $3,400 ....which was at least a $1,000 less then the other photographer I was considering. And $600 less then we originally thought we would have to pay. I actually SAVED money on one of my vendors!

So who is this wonder woman? She is North Carolina based photographer, Linda Wallace.

You may remember Linda's work from some great knottie bios including:
MrsMarin
SoireeLaura
JenniferT08
Jennyks
MrsAndrea&Kevin
Allieoop06
Jlo92504

But just in case you don't I'm including some of my favorite photos from her website...brace yourself...there are a lot! And as always you can click each photo to enlarge.

All work below credited to Linda Wallace


















^Enlarge this one to see the tear rolling down her cheek!

What Would You Do?

Fiance and I met with our photographer this last weekend and we have an interesting decision to make and we're kind of torn so I thought I'd open it up to everyone to see what y'all think.

The Situation: My photography package includes an Engagement Photo Shoot, but since we've been engaged for two years we already did engagement photos and don't need any more. We asked our photographer about other options either in cost or in kind.

The Choices:

1) Have a "day after" shoot in Charlottesville (where we are getting married)
Pros: It will literally be the day after the wedding, we will already have all our stuff there, and it should be pretty easy to go around and take photos.
Cons: Fiance and I really don't have any major connections to Charlottesville...we didn't go to school there and we aren't from there originally. So while a photo in front of the Rotunda will be picturesque, it doesn't have the same meaning for us as it does for other couples. Does this matter? We also might have to miss out on the last moments with our family and friends before they have to head back to their home states.

2) Have a "day after" shoot in the D.C. area (where we live)
Pros: We'll get to spend the day after with our friends and family and pictures around D.C. have more meaning for us since we live here and have a lot of good memories from here
Cons: It'll be after the wedding but possibly a few weeks after...which means longer to get photos back. Would it be weird to have it so far after? We'll have to deal with the hassle and cost of getting "permits" to take photos at any of the monuments. Might have to start shooting as early as 8:00 a.m. to avoid the summer crowds and horrible heat.

3) $125 Credit towards an album
Pros: An album credit is what we would prefer most since really how many pics of yourself do you need? I feel like we'll have plenty from our earlier engagement shoot and from the wedding pics so I'm not sure we need "day after" pics. Albums usually cost around $1,000 for the largest kind.
Cons: What's $125 when you're already spending $1,000? It's barely a drop in the bucket. I feel like taking one of the day after shoots is a much more "valuable" credit then $125.

4) Any other suggestions/options?
Let me know in the comments section if you think there is a better option. As an aside I'm not really a big fan of "boudoir photos" or "trash the dress" (maybe I'll blog about this some other time). I've considered doing a traditional bridal shoot before the wedding (like a true southern girl) but not sure how I feel about it...once again how many pictures of myself do I need lying around?

We're Expecting!

Nope, I'm not pregnant, but I'll give you a couple of hints:

^Credited to Chris + Lynn Photographers


^Credited to Sarah Bussey Photography


^Credited to Chris + Lynn Photographers


^Credited to Sarah Bussey Photography


^Credited to Bebb Studios


^Credited to Sarah Bussey Photography

He can't come home until after April 21st cause he's still just a baby but he'll be here soon. Most of you probably think getting a puppy a month before your wedding is bad timing...and you're probably right but this is something I've waited a long time for (he's my reward for a hard year last year).

In the mean time if you have any suggestions on anything related to puppies or Dachshunds in particular I'm all ears (good books, good trainers in the D.C. area, good vets in the area, any products you love for your pet, food recommendations, advice in general etc.)

Yay! Now I have something to obsessively research besides weddings :)

Yellow Makes Me Happy

Tomorrow is April 1st, we're way into Spring, flowers and trees are blooming and budding....so why the heck is it gray, cold, and drizzly outside??

I don't know, but when I saw the below images in my blog reader today they made me happy.

All images below credited to Kristina of Vrai Photography. Check out her blog for more.

Moving On Up: Casey Templeton Photography

One photographer I've had my eye on for a little while now is central Virginia based photographer Casey Templeton. Casey won the 2005 College Photographer of the Year award and shot for National Geographic as part of an internship in 2006.


Since that time he has been shooting weddings, and even though he's a relative newbie to the whole wedding scene I can see how talented he is, and how much more talented he's becoming with each new wedding on his blog. In a few years I think he's going to be the photographer we all wish we could afford but can't!

In my opinion he's been blessed with some really beautiful and stylish brides. Below is just an example!


All photos below the work of Casey Templeton

^Is this dress not the most unique thing you've seen? (you can click to enlarge)



^Here is an up-close pic of the back (you can click to enlarge)

^I love this brides unique bouquet and those beautiful gold doors

Professional Lighting...Is It Really A Must Have?

Over the last five or so years having professional lighting done for receptions has becoming increasingly common and now it's a virtual must-have for many brides.

I'm really kind of torn on the issue. On one hand I've seen really boring and horrible spaces transformed into wonderlands and I'm truly amazed at the difference it makes. And the conventional wisdom says that a bride can spend less on other decorations like flowers and get more bang for her buck with lighting. Not to mention the visual impact it has on your guests.

The other part of me feels like it's just one more thing that's been added to the "must have" list for brides and if you can't afford it then it's just one more thing your wedding is "lacking." And as much as I'd like to tell myself that brides will skimp on other decorations the reality is many will feel pressure to have amazing flowers AND lighting.

We're not going to have professional lighting done..mainly because we don't have the extra couple thousand to spare, but our space is also quite small and because it's already so beautiful it really doesn't need to be transformed into anything else.

For those brides out there who can't afford professional lighting I thought I'd include the below photos from Night Notes and Wine Spills, the photography blog of Ben Chrisman. Isn't it amazing what you can do with simple candle light???

What are your thoughts on lighting? Are you having it for your wedding?

All photos below credited to Ben Chrisman.

Sharp Wedding

If you've been reading this blog for a while then you know from previous posts that one of my favorite non-wedding blogs is Sharp Lily. Sharp Lily is a shopping blog devoted to posting great fashion finds for less $$$. Well the author of Sharp Lily is also a newlywed! She had a lovely December wedding with a classic preppy plaid look. I loved her bouquet and thought the dress was so elegant. To see more pics check out her blog and her photographer's blog.

All photos below the work of Jeff Reeder Photography

Déjà vu

You know you've been reading wedding blogs for too long when you see a Bride's photos on a blog and get excited because you know the bride...and then you realize that you don't know the bride personally at all...you know her from her blog posts! Time for me to get married...

I ran across some images from Mrs. Lime's wedding on her photographer, Michael Norwood's photography blog and she had such a lovely red and aqua wedding with such beautiful details that I thought I'd share a few shots that I hadn't seen before.

All photography below the work of Michael Norwood.

All About the Accessories

I went over to check out Marie Labbancz's blog last week after seeing her work on The Bride's Cafe, and saw the lavish wedding of Kristina and Peter. I think most of us have one item we're willing to splurge on for our attire...a fancy bag, designer shoes, sparkly stones, but this bride rocked every single fab accessory. I'm not sure, but I think her accessories might cost more then my dress...


^ She had these beautiful 5″ (yes 5!) Christian Louboutin shoes!

^She had 2 beautiful head pieces custom made by Leah C. Couture Millinery

^ And yes that is a Prada bag

^Here is the whole look. The dress is Atelier Aimee. I know the gown might be too much for some tastes (i like very simple, streamlined designs), but I love that it's 100% unique and she really works her own style. She "owns" that dress and it looks amazing on her. No one will ever mistake her for a typical bride.

This Is A Cake!!

^ Seriously! The two pics above are wedding cakes!! Isn't that amazing? I found these pics on the blog of Arizona based photographer Katrina Andrew of Sedona Bride Photography (check them out!) the cake is the amazing work of Arizona cake artist Andrea Blaut of Sedona Cake Couture. Look how big and real it looks!


^ Here is another one of Andrea's more traditional cakes, but look at the incredible details of the pink flowers and the leaves. Not to mention that beautiful lace work on the cake. I'm so impressed!

To see more of Andrea's work check out her website and the Sedona Bride Blog.

All photos above credited to Sedona Bride Photography.

A Tale of Two Veils and Two Shops

From the beginning of my wedding planning, I was pretty sure I wanted to wear a drop veil like the one pictured below.

^Photo credited to the super talented D.C. photographer Chris Baltazar. To see more of the beautiful bride check out the wedding of Heather and Moses on his blog!

I wanted my veil to be very sheer and simple, and I knew that I would not spend big bucks on a veil. Many of the veils I tried on at the shop ranged from $300-700. I had heard good things about Occansey Design and Veil Shop so I looked at both for a cheap drop veil. They both had them, but Veil Shop allows returns and Occansey Design does not, so I ordered two different lengths from Veil Shop. Overall it took about two weeks to get the veils in.

Unfortunately, it seems I'm just not a drop veil type of girl. I was swimming in fabric, it was unwieldy, and it just looked messy on me. Maybe I wasn't putting it on right, I don't know, but I knew I'd be fussing with it all day if I kept it for the wedding. So back they went. I haven't gotten my refund yet, but it's only been about a week since I sent them back. Otherwise my experience with Veil Shop was quite good and I'd recommend them.

So it was back to the drawing board. The problem was I had always envisioned myself in a drop veil, so I had no idea what type of veil would look good. I needed to try on a lot of different veils just to see the different styles, but I didn't want the hassle of going to a normal bridal shop and getting pressured to buy one of those $500 veils. So off to David's Bridal I went! It was awesome! They had a ton of veils in all different lengths and styles and they left me alone to try on to my heart's content. No pressure! I have to say, though, even their veils were still a little expensive ($100-250). Here is what I found out:

Length
I like long veils. But not TOO long. Regal Length and Cathedral length were out. All the fabric was so difficult to manage. Chapel length was manageable but still seemed slightly bothersome to keep up with. Waltz length would have been too short, though. I needed something in between.

Blusher
I've always known I wanted to wear a blusher, but I discovered that I did not want something as long as a fingertip length blusher, but I did want the blusher to be longer then shoulder length.

Fullness
And finally, I confirmed my earlier suspicions that poof = evil. I still wanted something really simple and sheer like a drop veil but that had more structure and that would drape behind my back instead of all around me