There are so many options available to you when choosing the service providers for your wedding day, and I can assure you that with a lot of the service providers out there, it IS an apples to apples comparison. The key phrase in that last statement is "A lot". Notice that I didn't say "all", and there is a big reason for that.
Many of you may not realize it, but there is a BIG difference between the levels of wedding service providers out there, and they key thing that creates the large divide is a very important word in just about any other walk of life: "Education". Now I'm not talking a High School Diploma, or even a College Degree, but let's look at that for a moment. When you go to see your family doctor, you know from the fact that he is a doctor, that he has completed all necessary requirements in order for him to become a doctor right? The same can be said for many career fields out there.
My question is, when factoring in that same logic towards your wedding day, why not hold your chosen service provider to those same standards? I mean after all, your selecting someone to work with on what will theoretically be the first (and only) time that you're ever going to do something in your life. Let me put it to you another way. If you knew that you were only going to be able to buy one car in your lifetime, and that you'd have that car forever, would you buy a Ford Festiva? (sorry if I offended any of Ford Festiva owners reading this!) Or a different scenario, if you were only going to be able to eat at one restaurant one time, and you were never able to eat at another restaurant again for the rest of your life, would you really pick Burger King?
My point being, as you begin your wedding planning, approach the day for what it is, a once in a lifetime moment for you. Hold your service providers to the same standards that you hold many other people in your life to (i.e. the family doctor mentioned above, the general manager at your place of employment, etc.) Find out where your service provider received their training and education, and that they make continuing education a priority with their business. Just because someone has the tools, does not make them qualified, much less a professional. I have a fairly impressive set of tools, but simply owning those tools does not make me a carpenter! (Far from it I might add)
You may not realize it, but there are many ways for your service providers to receive continuing education on a regular basis. In my field, I am a member of the American Disc Jockey Association, they host an annual entertainment seminar/convention yearly The Las Vegas DJ Show, something that I attend on a regular basis. There is also Mobile Beat DJ Show that I've attended every year for several years. Expanding upon that, there are shows for all wedding service providers that cover a variety of fields from Photography, Event Planning, Entertainment, Decor and more, such as the Wedding MBA, you get the point, right?
The bottom line is, you should definitely do your research and make sure that who you are choosing quite frankly is qualified to even be there. For more information, you can contact me on my website, or by clicking here.
Thanks for stopping by, and til next time!