That’s right, you read the title of this post correctly. While there are a lot of wedding blogs and magazine articles out there about trying to get the best prices for your wedding, this article is about why, sometimes, you actually shouldn’t try and get a bargain.
Let me be clear, I am not saying that you should pay more than you can afford, for anything. What I’m saying is that you should not try and get a more expensive wedding vendor to come down to your price point. As we’ve been saying in our series of articles about wedding costs in different locations, knowing your budget before you start planning is important. But, you need to understand that not all of the wedding vendors you want will fit in to your budget.
Although it’s always ok to ask about price, and to ask if there’s wiggle room, it’s almost always a bad idea to try and bargain with a vendor or venue and come up with a way to make the vendor fit your budget. Let’s say you LOVE a specific wedding photographer. You want that photographer so bad, but he’s way out of your price range. You suggest “What if you only came for two hours of the reception, and didn’t bring a second shooter?” After saying no multiple times, you wear him down and the photographer agrees. But guess what, one of the reasons that photographer always gets such great shots is because he’s there ALL DAY so he gets to know the bride and groom really well. One of the reasons he’s able to capture every magical moment is because he has a second shooter as backup. So, you wind up hiring the photographer you want, but because you took away some of the things that make him special, you’re no longer getting the photos you want.
The same can happen with entertainment. You love the energy of a certain band, but you can’t afford them. You ask, “What if we remove this person, this person, this person” it turns out, what you’ve removed is that energy you loved.
So, what should you do? Ask the wedding professional. It’s embarrassing to admit that you can’t afford someone’s services, but be upfront. “I love your work, but here’s my budget, do you have any suggestions?” It may be that the awesome photographer has a no less awesome former assistant he’d like to recommend. It may be that the band loves your energy to and can suggest some other places you could reduce costs so that you can afford the band of your dreams (remember, these people are wedding experts). If you come across a wedding pro who tries to talk you into spending more than you can afford, walk quickly out the door. It may be that this person is worth every dollar, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only pro for you.
Unless you have an unlimited budget, you won’t be able to have everything you want for your wedding day. Instead of chipping away at the things that make the most expensive wedding vendors special, resolve to have the best of everything – the best of everything that you can afford.
