"You won't find any cheaper"


As some of you may know I am currently planning a wedding of my own and *touch wood* its all going pretty much to plan so far. Now, being the odd little bunny that I am I want our wedding to be a bit different, a bit on the quirky side so we are ditching many traditions and creating more of a party vibe than a wedding-y one. Part of this vibe or 'look' involves neon signage. I've seen them and I want them! So whilst in the throws of research I took to a Facebook group to ask for neon sign vendors. One lady popped into my messages recommending a certain company followed with 'they're the cheapest around'.


That last part left me feeling a bit.. I don't know.... disappointed and it took me a minute to figure out why. I know why she said that, maybe they are the cheapest around, maybe they aren't. She wants my business and I know weddings can get expensive very quickly. But it was the use of the word cheap. Ew. I don't know about you but when I look back on my wedding, I don't want the word 'cheap' to come anywhere near it. Budget friendly maybe, DIY absolutely but CHEAP......


Personally I believe that there are some times and places to save pennies, absolutely. I shop at Lidl cause it's cheaper, I do my own hair and craft for school projects because those things are cheaper. It doesn't necessarily matter or make a huge difference to me. But there are some instances were cheaper will never get my business, things like garage prices or I don't know... the quote for someone to fix your roof. I will not fuck about with things like that because if (usually when) they go wrong, it's not going to be good. Would you book your car in 'at the cheapest place around' or hire a builder because 'he doesn't cost an arm and a leg'. When places are cheap it's usually because A) they are cutting corners or B) Not confident in their worth/talent/value. I would much rather spend a bit more money so that I don't have to worry that they'll be on time, the service provided will be as described and that I essentially am not risking getting ripped off. I'm not saying all businesses who offer cheaper rates are a rip off but it does not give me confidence in their abilities to do what they say they will. If someone hopped onto my website and booked me because I'm 'cheap' I would be absolutely gutted.


I know hiring wedding vendors isn't the same as a big investment like your car or your house but think of it this way... how upset would you be if this thing you're spending money on went wrong? If the answer is 'not really' then by all means save those pennies. However if you were to rock up on your wedding day to crap flowers or a shoddily dressed venue and it completely ruined your day....then that my friend is something to spend more money on.


We do not have a huge budget and have made adjustments to make sure we get the things we want, done correctly. I am a crafting freak so I'm lucky that I can make a lot of the things I want for my wedding to save money and I'll enjoy making them. Outfits will only be worn once so we're not throwing money at those either but as a photographer, the photos are incredibly important to me (duh- I know). Ultimately they are going to be one of the only things left after our day is over. We're going to forget the funny little bits that happened and what we ate on the day but those will stay with us to show to our kids and grandkids.


I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want you to have the wedding of your dreams, whatever the hell that may look like. Cost isn't always everything and while booking something 'on the cheap' might sounds great at the time, there is a risk there that it won't be quite what you want. I hope you've found these ramblings helpful or at least distracting from work for 5 minutes- Have a good'en and speak soon!

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Claire is an award nominate wedding and family photographer based in stunning south Wales, UK.

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