To the newly engaged couple:

Ok, so you have figured out your budget and determined which elements of your day are a priority.  Now, you get to start thinking about who you want to work with on the most important day of your life.  You start Googling and immediately realize there are a lot of wedding vendors out there!  

It can be hard to figure out who you want to work with or who you can trust to provide the quality of service you are looking for and it's important to educate yourself before you sign any contracts.  First, it's good to talk to other vendors you are already working with and see who they recommend.  Most vendors take recommendations very seriously and will point you in the direction of someone whose work and personality they trust.  

Once you have some names, you will want to start looking online to see what other couples have to say about working with these companies.  You want to make sure that past clients have experienced good customer service and that the vendors were pleasant to work with on the wedding day itself.  A great tool to use for this research is WeddingWire.  This site allows couples to rate the vendors in a variety of categories and allows them to speak freely about their experience.  WeddingWire does not allow vendors to take down or hide any negative reviews, so you can feel confident in what you're reading!  Here's an example of a sweet review we received from Sarah after her 2016 wedding:

"Unsurprisingly, we are blown away by what CinemaCake has created for us. They managed to capture not just the major events of our wedding day, but the feeling, emotion, and atmosphere of the celebration as well. To say that we are impressed would be an understatement and we truly cannot thank them enough. The whole team was fabulous to work with from the start and they not only went above and beyond, but did so in an entirely unobtrusive way, capturing moments without us even realizing they were there. In our opinion, that's the mark of a phenomenal videographer and one we would recommend to anyone who asked. Thank you for all of your hard work and for creating something that will be invaluable to not only us, but our families (and Ella!) as well for years to come. -Sarah and Chris Brown”

Once you know which vendors you want to contact, the next step is to learn about their industries and educate yourself on the newest trends or up-to-date technology that's available. We often hear from our couples that they weren't even planning on having a film because they had heard terrifying stories about intrusive videographers with giant cameras and lights on the dance floor. They are afraid that their guests will be bothered or blocked by these vendors all night and would rather forgo one of the most important elements of their day!  These were Susan's concerns when her mom wanted to book CinemaCake for her 2013 wedding.  In the end, the bride was so happy with the team on the day of her wedding and of course, her final film!

"Thank you so much! I've been showing it to everyone and all I can say is wow. The wedding video was one thing that my mother had to talk me into and all I can say is that I am so glad she did. It really gave me the opportunity to look back on the day as a whole as well as each amazing moment.  The film was perfection!  It really did being tears to my eyes."

The truth is, technology has changed so much over the past few years and our teams are now equipped with small, lightweight equipment that look just like photography gear. These enhancements, along with the training our team receives make us completely inconspicuous throughout the day and most people don't even realize we're there! Richard Donze almost missed out on capturing his daughter's beautiful wedding day because of his fears about intrusive camera-men, but thankfully changed his mind just weeks before the event. Hear his entire story in his testimonial film.

There are a lot of different options to consider when you start booking your vendors, but if you do the work and complete the research, you'll find the best team to work with! Next week, we will talk more about planning the details of your wedding and how to make your day unique. Be sure to check back in and until then, happy planning!

Love,
CinemaCake