How do I Find the Best Wedding Lighting Company?
Finding the best wedding lighting company and vendors in general for your wedding can be stressful work. Many brides claim that planning a wedding is like having a part-time job. We’d argue that because of the stakes, it’s even more stressful than that.
Past clients have no reason to lie.
Most of our couples who are planning their weddings have full-time jobs. This doesn’t leave much time to meet with vendors and scope them out. Even then, while face-to-face meetings can tell you a lot about the person you’re working with, larger companies may have good salespeople and less-than-adequate folks in the field. This is why testimonials are tool number one in couples’ belts for sussing out the right wedding vendor. Talk to vendors you have already scoped out and trust about those you’re considering adding to the team. The event industry is small, and it’s rare that one company will not have heard or even worked with another. In fact, many vendors work together week in and week out.
A quick conversation with a trusted vendor is the difference between hiring a stellar wedding lighting company and a disappointing one. Don’t forget to check vendor testimonials on multiple sources, but don’t rely on them completely. In this day and age, reviews can be purchased. So read the reviews and testimonials carefully to ensure they are legitimately from past clients. Pictures accompanying reviews are normally a sure sign that they can be trusted.
Don’t forgive a slow response time.
Many lighting companies will tell you their slow response time is due to high service demand. If a wedding vendor doesn’t take their first interaction with you seriously, chances are it will only get worse once they have your deposit check. When a lighting company responds to you quickly, it tells you several things. They respect your time, and will most likely continue to do so throughout the process. They are organized enough and have the staff to reply to you quickly, even during times of high demand. If there is a problem down the road, you’ll be able to handle it promptly.
Many vendors get in the habit of putting off non-essential communication until a time that is convenient for them. This is not the type of company you want showing up on one of the most important days of your life. Actually, the exact opposite is true. You are looking for a company that has flexible response times and can work around your schedule, not the other way around. A wedding lighting company that responds quickly to your first inquiry and continues to correspond rapidly will be much more likely to show up on time the day of your wedding. And there is nothing more important than showing up.
We won’t tell you that we’re the best wedding lighting company. But everyone can agree that any serious business should be able to respond to your requests within 24 hours of you sending them. The best wedding lighting company will have the best portfolio, customer service, and equipment.
Our average client is pretty far along in their planning process. Lighting shouldn’t be an afterthought, but it’s important some other things come first. A lot of the reason behind this is that it may be difficult for your lighting designer to get a good idea of accenting, at this point, your design if you don’t have one. Florals, linens, and the venue are all things that you should have or at least have an idea of before you reach out to your lighting company. So at this point you’ve probably heard every buzzword there is. Therefore, we’re going to spare you the embellishment. Who wants to hear a company talk about how good they are? They should be able to prove it easily!
The best wedding lighting company will have a huge portfolio of high quality images. Get as many pictures as you can of a company’s work. A good salesperson will know which images get the most attention and will send those directly to you to get the sale.
Getting a picture or ten of your venue is a good idea, but the best wedding lighting companies can work anywhere. Look for photos of a company’s work outside your specific venue. Checking what a lighting vendor has done in other spaces will also provide valuable inspiration. Don’t stop there, though. Look through social media posts by different companies as well. If your lighting vendor has a social media page, the tagged section is an excellent place to see where others have posted their work.
Are you looking for the best wedding party rentals? Look no further than our event partners over at Party Perfect!
Relying on Vendor Referrals to choose the best lighting company
We use referrals every day to decide what to buy every single day. Whether it’s on Amazon, Yelp, or Google, other customers are an excellent resource for seeing what a company’s product is like. But how do you trust someone when they have money riding on that review? Vendors often refer you to other vendors with whom they work. Most often, vendors will refer to folks that they know are easy to work with. Double-check preferred vendor lists, check out the vendors on them, and do your research. Often, venues charge to add vendors to their lists or take a commission on the referral. Taking a referral from a company and getting paid to give it is never a good policy!
Deciding on a vendor that suits your wedding needs
The wedding industry is comprised of many lifestyle companies and micro businesses. Hiring these companies is a great way to get a unique style and feel to your wedding. However, small companies can be quite limiting. While you might love a style when you book it, your feelings could change over time. For a small company, a change like this can be catastrophic to their bottom line. The smaller the scale of a lighting company, the harder it is for them to deal with last-minute problems, changes, or charges. Picking a well-managed full-sized wedding lighting company is the best way to ensure your lighting vendor can perform to your high standards.
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