I am getting married at Danfords on the Sound.
They gave me a vendor list for florists , dj's , photographers etc. HOW DO THEY ARRIVE AT THIS LIST ? Is it from personal experience with these vendors ? Is it what past weddings have used? Is it cheaper to use vendors on the list or is it a coincidence that I have found it to be that way?
ANY INPUT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!
Usually the people on the list are recommended by the reception site because they have a good reputation with the site.
Sometimes the vendors on the list will give you a discount if you discovered them through the reception site.
Hope that helps!
I was told by a vendor that they pay to be one of the recommended vendors at a hall. Of course if the hall does not think they are good they wouldnt be recommending them.
Every vendor pays a commission for our name when we go there.
As per my brother-in-law, who was a videographer, the halls usually get a kickback from a house vender when he books the job. BUT, hopefully a good caterer is only recommending top notch venders, and even MORE importantly, if you book a house vender they are sure to want to do a Great Job at your wedding, so as not to annoy the house and risk future referrals. So, you kind of get some built in insurance that they`ll take good care of you.
but certainly not true in 100% of the cases. So the term insurance isn't exactly appropriate.
For the most part, Im leary of any vendor who needs to pay a catering hall to get referrals. This practice is a dirty secret of the wedding industry and I don't like secretive vendors.
Of course, it doesn't mean house vendors aren't sometimes excellent but the practice in general seems disingenious.
(For example - how would a catering hall manager be able to recommend a videographer unless he had seen many bride's videos? The best you can expect is that the videographer was pleasant and didn't get in the way at the weddings.)
Vendors that rely mostly on word of mouth and good reputation is what I recommend.
I wonder why these other caterers are giving out the phone numbers. Where you notified when you signed that they would do this? Is it stated on the contract? Websites have privacy agreements, I wonder why these caterers don't?
I haven't received a single solicitation from any of the Coral House recommended vendors. CH has both my home and cell phone numbers, so it is not that I am unreachable. We contacted their house DJ after hearing him doing another wedding while we were at CH, and he gave us a discount because we were having our reception at CH: $300 off his listed price, plus threw in the cocktail hour for free.
If it were me getting called I would be annoyed. I would have no problem having a list handed to me when I signed. At CH I asked them who they recommend, I wasn't told ahead of time. However, if I started receiving unsolicited calls, I would call the caterer and complain. That's just me. I am tired of everyone and their brother having access to my personal information.
I also feel vendors who do cold-calling look like they need business. I think if a vendor did this I would be inclined to NOT use them.
I agree with some of what you say, Stef, but keep in mind it`s a mixed bag. Venders who get good word of mouth over many years, are also the ones that the best caterers would want to associate with and recommend, because it helps the weddings be an overall success!
I agree, Sue. Why would any caterer recommend someone they didn't trust or do a good job? The success of the entire day, and word of mouth for the day, hinges on the total day, not just one aspect. If I owned a business I would never recommend someone who wasn't reliable and good at what they do.
I don't think a catering manager would purposely direct you to a bad vendor. However, I don't believe most of the catering managers have any real experience with the vendors either (particularly photographer & video). So there are other motivations at play.
If their motives were purely altruistic, then they would not be getting paid for these referrals. Once a vendor has paid to be on the vendor list - the salespeople are going to recommend them no matter what their personal experience has been.
If a bride chooses the house vendor knowing all the facts - wonderful. Im sure those brides choose her vendors b/c she liked their work and reputation.
I just don't want new brides (who are unaware of the often devious practices of this industry) to think the catering manager has their best interest in mind. His #1 concern is generating the most revenue as he can from each couple.
PS: This is a sore subject for me b/c I have been forced to use one of my reception site's recommended florists. I know the reception site is getting a kickback and I don't like being charged extra for this sort of underhanded dealings. But in my particular situation, I didn't have much choice.
AHHH, now there`s a totally different topic. Being FORCED to use a certain florist is a bad scene. Where are you getting married? How can they still get away with that in this day? All the brides should make a big stink out of that!! You should be free to choose.
I look at it a different way, if a vendor has been around long enough they shouldn't need reccomendations from a caterer. They should be able to get them on their own.
Even if someone has a great reputation and shouldn't need to pay a catering hall to have their name recommended, people like me (who are planning from far away) really, really appreciate it. I don't care who is getting a profit out of it- it really helped me.
