"I've Got Plenty Of Time"

Really?

I meet a lot of brides whose wedding won't happen until a year or more. Most of them know that booking the church and reception hall as soon as they can is very critical to getting the date they want. Others haven't got a clue.

I recently had a bride tell me on the phone the exact date of her wedding and which church and reception hall she was going to use. She even had the schedule figured out too. So we made an appointment to meet and after going through almost two hours of pre-wedding consultation with her, she let it slip that she hadn't even booked the church or the reception hall. So I had to ask, "Well, then how do you know for sure that your wedding date is secured?" Her answer? "Oh, it is. It's a year away. I've got plenty of time to book that."

Hmmm....

You can't book ANYONE until the church and reception hall has been booked. Don't even bother to start interviewing other vendors until these have been secured! Until the date is set by the booking of the church and reception hall, most vendors cannot guarantee their services will be available to you on the date you would like.

And like churches and reception halls, often photographers book a year or more in advance too. We are typically the third on the list to book, right behind the reception hall and the church. And once we are booked, we are no longer available for any other weddings for that date. So locking in the photographer is really a smart thing to do.

Too often I have met with potential clients who seem interested in my services at our initial meeting and then call me up a week later to tell me that they have decided to book me only to hear me tell them I am no longer available. Within the week, someone else had come in and booked me for the exact date of their wedding so I am no longer able to help them. I feel bad when this happens and I'm sure they aren't too pleased either.

But everyone I meet, I tell them to make a decision as soon as they can because it is quite possible that someone can come in just a day later and book me for their wedding date. I know many may think this is just a "sales tactic" to get them to sign up with me, but it isn't. It happens all the time, and I just tell them to be aware of it. So when it happens, part of me wants to say, "I told you this could happen" and the other part of me thinks, "Why didn't you decide faster?"

If you find vendors you like, book them. Don't lose them to someone else. It's just a waste of time if you wait too long.