Friends ≠ Vendors
Friends Are Not Your Vendors
Happy Tuesday! Today we are talking about one of the topics that we feel the strongest about. The title gave it away, but this post is all about friendors. The definition of a friendor: A friend you hire to do the job of a professional for your wedding. In theory, hiring your friends sounds like a great idea. You already know each other. They will give you a great deal. And you are supporting their business. It is a win for everyone involved. Until it is not. There are many reasons we strongly, and we mean strongly, advise you against hiring friendors. Here are a few things to consider when you think you want to hire friends.
Are They Professionals?
We have often seen couples hire their friend who is starting a wedding business. We love to see the support but your wedding is not the best occasion to test your friend’s knowledge or experience with weddings. Many of these friends are not nearly as experienced with weddings as wedding professionals.
We are exactly that, professionals. This means that we have a lot of experience with many different types of weddings. Weddings are many of the professionals full time jobs which speaks volumes to the experience they have. Having a full-time wedding business means that they are insured as well, which is always something you should check on before booking. Similar to insurance, make sure you read over and understand the terms of the contract when you sign it.
The biggest, and we mean biggest, mistake that we see with people who are not professionals is that they lack the proper equipment. Whether it be a DJ who wants to play the songs off his iPhone or a photographer lacking the proper lens to capture your venue, ill-equipped friendors will leave you disappointed.
How Else Can You Support Them?
Just because you should not hire a friend to be your wedding vendor does not mean you are not supporting them. You can still like their posts, share their content, or use them for other occasions. We all spend a lot of time on our websites, social media, and events. Simply sharing these things means the world to us!
You can still use friendors for birthday parties or Christmas cards. Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life and if they are your friend they should be able to enjoy your day with you! Being a guest is something we rarely get to do and is so much fun!
Lastly, we get that looking for vendors is overwhelming, stressful, and might not be fun. Our couples have access to a list of vendors that we work with and love! We hard work to be your best resource while planning your dream day. As we get to know you we can suggest who would work well for you and your soon to be spouse! You do not have to endure the vendor search alone, we are here to help!
