4 Questions for your venue

There's a lot more than four questions you should ask (I hope you ask more than these four questions!), but here are my four essential questions you need to ask your venue that not everybody does ask. Actually, you should ask almost every vendor you work with these questions, but that may be another article...

1) Will you host multiple events on the same day?
Never assume that your venue will not try to host multiple events in one day. That doesn't mean you should only book exclusive venues - many venues because of their size and policies can successfully host multiple events. The last thing you want though is to be surprised by having another event taking place. Ask this question up front and, if they say yes, ask for their conditions on how they handle multiple events at once to see if they really can handle it.

2) Will someone with the facility be here the night of the event?
If they answer is no, walk away. It doesn't have to be your sales rep and it may be best if it's not your sales rep as you want the person who is use to watching events, not just selling them. It is very important that you do have someone on hand. Something unexpected will happen (we've had lights go out once!) and you want to make sure that you have someone there to know how to handle it.

3)What is your policy for additional hours and can I add them the night of the event?
I know your budget is too tight now to consider another expensive, but when the party is in full swing and someone is asking you to leave, you may feel differently. Asking this question up front helps you prepare your budget in case you need more time to setup or if you think you may want to party longer. It can also stop you the night of the wedding from signing off on a charge that is too big for your budget.

4) What question am I not asking?
Every venue is different and the important question may be something you cannot even think of. This is a great last question to ask any vendor you work with because it lets them bring up anything that you may have overlooked. It also challenges them to think of good questions the client should be asking to have as much information as possible. When in doubt of what question to ask, ask this one!

Twitter and you

On a social media kick lately, so I thought I'd follow up the Linked In blog with a piece about Twitter. Like Linked In, Twitter allows you to shop (aka spy) on your wedding vendors before booking and leading up to your wedding day. While I see Linked In as helping you book a vendor, I see Twitter as a great way to get wedding ideas.

Who will you find on Twitter? A bit of everyone. Planners are some of the easiest vendors to find. In the process, you'll stumble across "wedding gurus" twitter accounts. Some are true gurus and others may think they are, but they're all easy to follow if you find their tweets and links useful. Follow them to keep up to date on hot trends for the current season.


Twitter is another search engine option for ideas. In searching for "atlanta photographer" I found a link to a beautiful wedding and a damn good photographer. Be general or be specific in your keywords to find pics and advice on wedding touches.

In short, here are some uses for twitter and your wedding!

• Follow your booked vendors for ideas and a sense of style & personality
• Search twitter for wedding advice, straight from the brides mouth!
• Search twitter for ideas and pretty pics that may otherwise be hard to find
• Stay connected to bridal botiques to be the first to know about sales

Worth a follow -
Bitchy Bride
Green Weddings

Planners who Tweet-
Toast Events
Ashley Baber

The power of Linked In

Linked In is the black sheep of social media, but that's only because people don't see the potential. I know I didn't realize it until I heard 617-Patrick but I now think Linked In is one of the coolest ways to connect with people. You have the power to search your connections and your extended network to find people in the wedding business. First, I'll tell you how to do. Then I'll tell you how to use it.

How to search your network and their connections:

•  Click on the "Advanced" link next to the search bar
• Type in your keyword (start general with "Wedding")
• Under Relationship, limit your Connection level to 2nd and 3rd network
• In your search results, you can adjust your Location filter to make sure they work in your area

As your keyword becomes more specific, I would expand your connection level to make sure you find what you're looking for. 

How to use it:

•  Get Reviews - Is your co-worker connected to a wedding photographer you were considering? Ask your contact if they worked with that photographer before and if they would recommend them to a friend. 
• Get Introduced - While you can do this in Linked In, I think an email or phone call is more appropriate.
• Get a new perspective - You may already know someone who works in events, but you never asked or never realized that they came from an events background.