Choosing the wrong vendor can lead to any number of mishaps prior to, during, and even after your wedding. That’s why one of the most important steps towards a successful wedding is ensuring you have excellent communication among your various vendors. This is critical to avoid mistakes during your Oregon wedding or other event. In too many instances, with everything else they have to worry about, vendor communication becomes an afterthought for many couples. It’s left to the individual vendors to work out. This can lead to undue tension and added hassles that interfere with your wedding. Choosing the right vendors eases this worry, because they will have the experience necessary to ask the right questions and work together with other vendors in the lead up to your ceremony and reception. Because DJ Cutt Entertainment is a Portland-based photo booth, DJ, and videography company, we have experience dealing with weddings from many different angles. We understand how communication plays a vital role in planning any event, especially weddings, for which you only get one chance to get everything right. The following is a list of the most important things to consider when picking a wedding vendor.
To ensure that your wedding comes off without a hitch, I can’t emphasis enough how essential it is to effectively communicate your goals and vision to everyone involved. It’s preferable to avoid surprises during your actual wedding, as that can result in a negative experience on such an important day. People have many different ways of handling things, so it’s wise to have unambiguous interactions with everyone involved. Many people are very flexible and reasonable. But we all know some people who are stubborn and set in their ways. When two such personalities meet on a wedding day, it can be a disaster. You want everyone to have a flexible communication style. If it’s your wedding, you know what’s most important and what things you need to have a certain way. You must be clear about what these things are and ask for exactly what you want. For other aspects of the wedding, you can be more flexible and it can be easier to adapt on the fly.
One of the best ways to make sure that all your vendors are on the same page is to get everyone together at the same time. This is much better than relying on emails and phone calls. With all your vendors in one place, not only can you go over the important aspects of your event, including specific vendor rules and limitations, but you’ll get the chance to introduce your vendors to each other and allow them to interact. They can discuss what they need from one another and how they are all going to work together to make sure that your wedding runs smoothly.For the various aspects of the wedding, different vendors will need different things from one another and the venue. Your catering company will need access to the kitchen. Your DJ will need access to electrical outlets, as well as a space to set up and stage gear. Your Photo Booth will need to be set up in a location that doesn’t interfere with your caterer. These are important topics to cover in a walk-through. We recommend that your venue walkthrough take place anywhere between six months to one month before your wedding so everybody can voice their opinions, explain what they need, and ask questions.
Your DJ probably won’t need much from the videographer but there are two key elements that the videographer and the DJ need to work together on. Your camera people will need to record audio of the ceremony. Not every DJ will supply audio and sound gear for the ceremony, so you will definitely want to discuss this with your DJ beforehand, and figure out which vendor will be in charge of this critical component.Vendors don’t like surprises on a wedding day. That’s why before they start plugging into each other’s equipment they need to have permission and make prior arrangements. An early discussion will ensure there’s less tension and no conflicts arise.A videographer will have strict guidelines when it comes to the dance party and the kind of lighting that they need for the reception. It’s very useful to find out what type of lights that the DJ will be bringing as well as the type of lighting that the videographer will need. Yes, they both will bring lights, but they’re serving two totally different functions. They may or may not overlap, and that’s another reason why they should get together beforehand.An easy way to avoid this problem is to hire a company that offers both DJ and videographer service in one package. This way their communication is seamless and you’ll save money. This is why we run two sister companies, DJ Cutt Entertainment and Portland Event Films, to handle both AV and videography needs.
Hopefully, your wedding videographer and photographer will get along. But sometimes they will come into conflict, either because of their personalities, or due to lack of communication. It often happens because they are trying to get many of the same shots and it’s hard to stay out of each other’s way. One of the main ways to avoid such problems is to make sure the photographer and videographer establish a timeline that they can both agree on. It’s smart to talk about how they will document the big moments, such as the first dance or reciting of vows. They might decide, for example, to allow the photographer to get the shots that they need first and then step out of the way so that the videographer can them come forward. There are many sections of a wedding ceremony where the video clip might last for more than a minute and having a photographer step in the middle of that clip can ruin the whole shot. Therefore, it’s critical to have proper communication to make sure that these two essential vendors work seamlessly together. A wedding is already a stressful day and you don’t need the extra stress of vendors fighting or not getting along.
Outside of sites like WeddingWire and the Knot, one of the best ways to find trusted vendors is asking your venue who’s on their preferred list. Here’s how this can benefit you.Many of the vendors that are on a venue’s preferred list have most likely worked together before. They will have already established communication between each other and be familiar with the other’s style.When you get a vendor from a preferred list you know you are working with a well-established professional. It normally indicates these vendors are extremely dependable or otherwise they would not be included on that list. At the very least, they will have no problem finding the venue and be punctual. Because they are on the venue’s preferred list you know they already know their way around the premises and they should be able to give you the best experience for your wedding.Many venues have different rules that all the vendors must adhere to. Some venues might set a maximum audio level for the DJ or have deadlines for what time the music needs to be shut off. That’s why having vendors that work at the same location over and over means they will be really comfortable with the venue’s requirements and can help you make the right decisions in the lead up to the event.
For all the reasons listed above, communication is really important to us at DJ Cutt Entertainment. Contact us today to learn more about our wedding event packages and schedule a free consultation.
We are a full-service entertainment company in Portland that provides its clients with top-quality service and leaves them feeling like they made the right decision in choosing us. With our wide range of services, we strive to meet your needs and exceed your expectations. We have extensive experience in DJing, videography, and live streaming, as well as other aspects of live events such as lighting design, sound engineering, and more!
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