These are the 3 services that make or break your wedding day. Most people know this. The surprises here are WHY these things make or break your day. These 3 services form the foundation of a wedding and most of it's cost. Other items like flowers, cake, wedding dress, limos, etc ARE important and desirable but don't fall into the "make or break" category.


FACILITIES:

*Overall Service - When is the last time you heard someone say, "that was the best chicken I have ever had"? You can have the best food in the world, bad service will overshadow it. You can have mediocre food, great service will save it. Are you getting professional servers? Or are you getting teenagers on minimum wage?

*Service Ratio - How many servers do you get? 1 server for every 25 or 30 guests is good.

*Banquet Captain - This may be your main facility contact on your wedding day and is in addition to the other servers. Having a good one is essential to making things go smoothly.

*Catering Manager/Director - Flexible, open minded, helpful managers will make your experience wonderful. Contrary to EVERY other area of wedding planning, there is very little relationship between facility cost and an open minded Banquet Manager. Some nice facilities have iron fisted managers who have a one-sized fits all mentality. Interview them carefully. Ask if they will be at your reception. If you have unusual requests, talk to the Manager and see how they respond. Speak with vendors who ARE NOT on the facility referral list and ask their opinions.

*Appearance/ambiance - The idea of being in a great environment and looking at the awesome pictures later is the dream of many couples, but don't let it overshadow every other consideration. That ocean or hilltop view may be great, but it won't matter if you can't get your water glass filled or you had to cut your photographer budget in half to pay for it. Balance this one with the other items above it on this page.

*Food -The first thing couples think of regarding a facility in the same way they think of music when hiring a DJ. It is important. But to put it into perspective, there are far more great chefs than there are great banquet managers. MOST facilities have good food, so it is not that difficult to find. Find a great banquet manager first, then see if they have good food.


PHOTOGRAPHERS/VIDEOGRAPHERS:

The components of this leg of the Tripod are important because they capture the day. Here are some tips on how to shop:

*Jaw dropping images - Easy & obvious. Right? Maybe not. Look for consistency. Anyone can take 10 good pictures out of 10,000. It's amazing how many couples book because of one "gimmick" image. Ask to see entire albums or videos.

*Personality - This is the most under researched aspect and the BIGGEST reason for price differences between photographers. If you are boisterous, you may not want a reserved photographer to dampen you. Also, the wedding day can be a pressure cooker that turns the nicest photographer into an impatient wreck. You cannot gauge this by talking to them in their studio. There are 3 ways to ascertain that you will like their working demeanor. One way is to be a participant in a wedding they shoot. The 2nd is to talk to that professional's recent clients. The 3rd is to talk to other vendors who have worked with them. A photographer that works cheerfully and keeps you in a good mood will be hundreds, if not thousands more than the competition.

*Speed - A photographer who works quickly keeps your day going. One who works slowly can make it drag. You get to decide whether you want to simply have your day captured, or turn it into a photo shoot. The real trick is to combine speed with a cheerful demeanor. This combination is rare and, again, will add to the cost.

*Presence - This refers to how visible they are on wedding day. You may want a photographer to almost disappear after your formal poses (or not). And most couples believe videographers should be invisible rather than 3 feet from your face with a bright light during your first dance.

*Back End Work - This refers mainly to the working relationship AFTER your wedding day. Do they still return calls promptly? Are you waiting a few weeks for you pictures? Or are you waiting months? How much time do they spend with you putting your albums or videos together? Ask them. Also speak with recent clients about this.


DISC JOCKEYS:

Most people agree that a DJ will make or break your reception. DJ duties can be broken down as follows (in order of difficulty):

*MC work - Speaking with, entertaining, inspiring, motivating your guests and gaining their trust. Public speaking being the #1 fear in America (#2 is death), doing this well is by far the most difficult part of the job.

*Coordinating - They run your reception. This takes diplomacy, people skills, timing, attention to detail, and the ability to think on their feet. This allows you to show up, eat, drink, & be merry. This is the most overlooked aspect to hiring a DJ.

*Music - It suprises many people to see this 3rd. In fact, for a good VETERAN PROFESSIONAL it is the easiest part of the job. The tough part is not the music, it is for you to find a good veteran professional who can read a crowd AND play what you want WHEN it is best to play it.

This individual is single handedly responsible for creating the atmosphere you and your guests will remember. It is very common for couples to cut a corner here. They spend $12,000 (or more) on their wedding and place that investment in the hands of a $600 DJ. Ouch.