Top 5 Tips For Finding Wedding vendors in Your Price Range

Pinterest boards and Instagram feeds constantly stream stunning images to brides and grooms but are these ideas easily implementable within a couple’s wedding budget? Naturally, some are and some are not. These images can certainly provide ample inspiration but when it comes down to a wedding budget “reality check,” many couples get disappointed that their vision can’t materialize.

Here are 5 tips for finding wedding vendors in your price range:

1. Figure out your budget – Trying to get quotations in without having nailed down your wedding budget is a bit of a wrong-sided approach, yet it’s often what many brides tend to do! It may be better to establish an overall “cap” on what you would like to spend and then get more specific in terms of a limit on each area – for e.g. photography or your cake. This way, at least you have a ballpark figure to give to each wedding vendor as to your limit and they can suggest packages to suit.

2. Negotiate but respect their creative work – If you want to book a wedding vendor who is very high in demand or whose fees are quite pricey; it may not all be a lost cause. A good technique is to honestly compliment their work and earnestly let them know how much you want them to be a part of your wedding team but that you have some budget limitations.  Some wedding vendors may be willing to make some adjustments in order to work with you, others may not. However, remember it is all in your approach! Asking for a 40% or 50% discount upfront may not go over too well; so be mindful of their creativity and expertise.

3. Hire a Wedding Planner – An experienced Wedding Planner will be able to help you distinguish which prices and fees are realistic and which ones seem inflated.  Wedding Planners also have wide networks with diverse wedding vendors in all types of budget categories; so they may even be able to help you get even more affordable prices.

4. Flexibility – The majority of wedding vendors would be more than willing to customise their packages  to suit your budget, however, you need to  give them some parameters to work with and also be very definite in your choices. Constantly changing your mind is sure to frustrate the process.

5. Be upfront – If you are in the researching phase, be honest and let wedding vendors know that you are only in the phase of “exploring your options” and would like more information regarding their packages and pricing.