We are back from the annual Association of Bridal Consultants conference which was held in Dallas this year and we are so inspired by all the things that we learned!  So many topics and so little time to catch up on all of it.  It made us think about when couples are looking to hire wedding professionals for their big day, how on earth do they choose the right one?  There are so many on the internet, where does one start and what questions does one ask?

You want to make sure that you hire the right person and the process can be quite stressful.  How do you find the right person for you?  Who do you trust?  Where do you go for advice?

It is not like you plan a wedding each and every day. Remember to breath, be patient and trust your instincts.  It is about chemistry.

When hiring a wedding professional, you should look at the following:

• Do Your Homework – Make sure you do a little bit of background homework before talking on the phone or meeting with a wedding professional.  Make sure you have all your ideas collected in one spot, whether it is a binder or a Pinterest page.
• Go through the internet, attend wedding shows or talk to friends or family that have recently been married.  Look into what wedding professionals are charging for your area.  Sometimes when a wedding professional is charging an amount that is too good to be true, it might not be true.  You get what you pay for.  Write down what you like and what you don’t like.
• Always meet with the person you are thinking about hiring – We all have busy lives and there are times when it is isn’t convenient to meet with a wedding professional.  It’s great to talk to someone on the phone or email, but an in person meeting, Skype or Google Hangout is the best way to interview a potential wedding professional.  This gives you the chance to fully experience who they are as professionals.
• Ask a lot of questions! Just don’t ask what the price is.  There is more to your wedding than the price.  Give the wedding professional the chance to explain what they charge and why they charge what they charge.  There is no such thing as a stupid question.  Get clear and concise answers to your questions.  If you don’t understand something, speak up!
• Make sure there is a contract – there have been many times in which we have seen wedding professionals NOT have a contract.  Do you really want to work with someone who doesn’t take their business seriously? If a wedding professional has a problem you asking questions, you need to find someone else.  You want someone to be professional, patient and understanding.
• Listen to what the wedding professional says and does – Look at body language.  Are they confident and comfortable?  Or they too cocky?  Do they appear nervous or their eyes dart around? If your gut tells you something is amiss, thank the wedding professional and move on.  There are too many out there for you to settle with one you won’t be happy with.
• It’s great to get questions off the internet to ask the wedding professional, but don’t let those questions be the deciding factor.  Those questions are a benchmark to help you but don’t let them be the end all be all.  The person you hiring you have to actually like and you develop a relationship over time.
• Don’t price shop too much – We all love a great deal, but are you going to hire someone because they are a whole lot cheaper?  Cheaper doesn’t necessarily mean better.  Just because one professional might charge more than another professional doesn’t mean one is better than the other.

If you do your homework, you will find the right person to do the job.  It takes time, thought and patience just like finding the correct mate!