6 Ways to spot a wedding professional

On average, couples hire 13 wedding vendors for their wedding according to Wedding Wire.  Thankfully most of these relationships end up perfect for the couple but there are always a few exceptions.  Disappointments tend to happen when a couple hires a “vendor” but not a “professional.” 
 
So how can you know you are hiring a professional?  Here are some tips to spot a professional:
 

1. They will have invested in their business- You get what you pay for.  If a vendor has not invested in a website, learning their craft, equipment, business cards or a contract (the good ones are always paid for) then they are not a professional.  Nothing is free, including building a professional business.
   
2. They have a website- Not just a Facebook or Instagram page.  Those are important and also necessary for a professional but they will have a paid website.  They are investing in their online presence.  It will also be a website where they pay for a domain name and not a free website where they have the hosting site in their domain name.  A website is very basic and a very small fee in order to have a professional online presence.  Would you trust any other business if they didn’t have a website?  Probably not.
3. They have a contract- And it will be long!  We live in a country that requires a lot of legal jargon to cover both the client and the business.  A professional will have a very extensive contract to do just that.  It will include provisions about payment, what you can expect, what they expect from you in order to complete what they were hired for, cancellation policies for both parties, and will have spots for both the client and business to sign.  If a vendor doesn’t have a contract… run.  There is nothing to hold them legally responsible to do what you paid them for.
4. They are connected- They are connected to other professionals in the area.  A wedding vendor that no one has heard of can be worse than one everyone tells you to avoid.  It means that they are just starting out (not a bad thing… we all started somewhere but it means they are not a professional yet) or they haven’t been booked at weddings where other professionals are.  A professional will be attending networking events to get to know people in the wedding industry and to build referral relationships.  Networking takes a long time to get to know people and a professional will have put in the work to be connected to build credibility with other professionals.
   
5. You saw them at a wedding show- This is another example of wedding professionals investing in their business.  It is not cheap to exhibit at a wedding show.  So, at a wedding show you will find wedding professionals.
   
6. They amaze you with their knowledge- They are experts.  They know more about the service they offer than the Average Joe. I am a stationer and I know more than one person should know about card stock and postage.  Honestly… ask me anything.  Design decisions can affect how much it costs to mail your invitations.  As a professional I need to know those rules so that I can best serve my clients.  An expert will not only answer your questions with ease but also knows answers to questions you didn’t know to ask. 
   

 
Be sure to hire a professional for your wedding.  Like the saying goes “If you think it is expensive to hire a professional, just wait until you hire an amateur.” 
 
Keywords: wedding, wedding professional, wedding vendor, wedding pro, hiring a wedding professional