Behind the Cost & Behind the Scenes

As I was catching up on some blogs that I follow regularly, I came across a few posts within the same blog that I think provide great information for brides and grooms. The first topic has to do with the costs associated with weddings and what is truly behind those costs. I know some couples look at a vendor's fee and can't possibly understand it. What they may not know is that the total fee doesn't go into that vendor's pocket. That fee includes the time they spend on your wedding and overhead costs associated with running a business. Liene Stevens of Blue Orchid Designs wrote the post, Behind the Cost of Weddings Revisited a couple weeks back and it really sheds some insight on the pricing of weddings and wedding vendors. The original post, Behind the Cost of Weddings, which was written nearly 2 years ago is also well worth the read since it breaks it down to specific vendors.

The second topic also has 2 posts to it. I came across this one by reading one post and it had a link to another one, etc etc. They have to do with kickbacks and commissions in the wedding industry which is something that brides and grooms should be made aware of. I became aware of it after attending a networking event for the Knot and meeting some new vendors. We were discussing our businesses and talking about different venues and vendors we've worked with. One vendor informed me that some venues will actually charge vendors to be on their preferred vendor list, as he experienced this himself. He called a venue to ask to be put on their list and they said sure for a certain amount of money. They didn't meet him or look at his work, they knew nothing about him. So basically the vendor is paying for advertising really, they're not being put on a list because that venue thinks their work is amazing. This also means the cost to you will end up being more since the fee that vendors pay a venue will probably come back to you as a markup with that vendor.

I was so happy when I came across Liene's post about this because this is a sticky topic and I've been trying to decide how to write it without stirring the pot too much within the local wedding industry. Obviously if a vendor/venue practices this then they won't be too happy to read this type of post, but for those who don't practice it, it probably feels like a breath of fresh air to see someone put this out in the open. Since Liene did such a wonderful job with it, it's simply easier to just point you that way. I will also say the comments to those posts are equally interesting and well worth the read. So here is the post I came across first, Wedding Vendor Hiring Guide: Kickbacks & Commissions and here is the post where Liene originally discussed this issue, Kickbacks, Commissions and Dirty Wedding Secrets.

I hope this post provides you with some truly important information.