Valuable Tips for Selecting a Wedding Location
Filed underWorking With a Location
Confirm All the Details
When you make the initial phone call, confirm that the information presented on HereComesTheGuide.com is still valid. Show or read the information on our website to the site’s representative, and have him or her inform you of any changes. If there have been significant increases in fees or new restrictions that you can’t live with, cross the place off your list and move on. If the facility is still a contender, request a tour.
Once you’ve determined that the physical elements of the place suit you, it’s time to discuss details. Ask about services and amenities or fees that may not be listed in the book and make a note of them. Outline your plans to the representative and make sure that the facility can accommodate your particular needs. If you don’t want to handle all the details yourself, find out what the facility is willing and able to do, and if there will be an additional cost for their assistance. Facilities often provide planning services for little or no extra charge. If other in-house services are offered, such as flowers or wedding cakes, inquire about the quality of each service provider and whether or not substitutions can be made. If you want to use your own vendors, find out if the facility will charge you an extra fee.
The Importance of Rapport
Another factor to consider is your rapport with the person(s) you are working with. Are you comfortable? Do they listen well and respond to your questions directly? Do they inspire trust and confidence? Are they warm and enthusiastic or cold and aloof? If you have doubts, you need to resolve them before embarking on a working relationship with these folks—no matter how wonderful the facility itself is. Discuss your feelings with them, and if you’re still not completely satisfied, get references and call them. If at the end of this process you still have lingering concerns, you may want to eliminate the facility from your list even though it seems perfect in every other way.
Signing a Contract
It’s easy to get emotionally attached to a location, but remember that it’s not a done deal until you sign a contract. Now’s the time to be businesslike and put your emotions aside. If you can’t do that, get a non-emotional partner, friend or relative to help you review the small print and negotiate changes before you sign. Remember all those notes you took when you first visited the site? Compare them with what’s actually written in the contract. No matter what someone told you about the availability of a dance floor, the price of pastel linens, or the ceremony arch, you can’t hold the facility to it until the contract is signed. Places revise their prices and policies all the time, so assume that things may have changed since you originally saw the site or talked to a site representative.
If you’re not happy with the contract, prepare to negotiate. Before your appointment with whoever has the power to alter the contract, make an itemized list, in order of importance, of the changes you want. Decide what you’re willing to give up, and what you can’t live without. If in the end the most important things on your list cannot be addressed to your satisfaction, this is probably not the right place for you. It’s better to find another location than to stay with a facility that isn’t willing to work with you.
We know you’d rather not think about it, but for more information about budgeting for your wedding, click here. You can do it!
For a list of questions to ask potential locations, click here.
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