I have officially booked my second vendor with no set budget. This doesn't seem like a good way to get the ball rolling does it?
I emailed all of the Seattle Day of Coordinators (also known as DOC) that I could find contact information for, and then did research on all of them (good thing because the cheapest one, who is coincidentally the most persistent in emailing me back, has horrible horrible reviews on the knot.) After creating a tentative budget and setting my priorities I realized that I can't even afford to spend $1000 on a DOC, I had resolved that I would have to figure out everything by myself and probably have to fix some disasters on the wedding day.
Then the weddingbee classifieds stepped in and changed everything. I was scrolling through some posts and saw an ad for a Seattle DOC. Her fee is only $150, which makes me kind of nervous, but she is charging so little for only 8 weddings as this is her first year in business and she is attempting to get started. Since this is a fairly normal thing to do (and exactly what I would do if I were attempting to start my own wedding coordination business), I decided to give her a call and see how we clicked over the phone.
The phone call went well, she was willing to do the things that I really needed, and I made a split-second decision to go for it! Her name is Tiffany Minzel, and if you are a Seattle bride and would like to talk to her yourself leave me a comment with your email address. I think she still has one slot left for a $150 DOC package. Things could go really terribly, but they could also go really really well. I put her check in the mail today, and she agreed to start working on helping me find a venue that would fit my estimated budget. Swayzie is supportive and thinks it's a great idea. It's so nice when he backs up my wedding decisions.
Has anyone else done anything like this, gone through the anxiety of hiring someone you haven't met in real life, and who doesn't have any kind of reputation yet? Should I hurry and cancel the check?
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8 comments:
I think it's an actual pretty smart thing to do - however, what kind of background does she have outside of this new endeavor? Was she someone's assistant? Did she do event coordinating at a restaurant? I don't know if this is overstepping any bounds, but maybe you can get either work (event planning related or not) or personal references.
bigshot-I probably didn't do as much inquiring into her background as I should have, but I definitely asked her a few questions regarding her background and such. I don't think that it should be overstepping bounds to ask for references, that is what business is all about.
That sounds like a good deal. Thanks for the tip! I am going to look into those classifieds.
Yeah, the first year is always hard. You don't have a reputation yet and getting the word out can be tough.
The nice thing about hiring someone new is that they're more likely to give you more than just day-of services like budget work and vendor referrals. The downside is that sometimes it can be a gamble.
Still, it's a heck of a deal. (Cheaper than my first-year rates). Any chance any of the other seven couples will get married before you? If so, maybe you can ask for a reference.
Oh how funny...I just realized it's a former Knottie!
etiquettely-Good luck, keep us updated if you find someone!
angel-Are you a wedding planner as well? It is a gamble, but I agree that hiring someone new probably means they are willing to work really hard because you are helping them build their reputation. I love the idea of asking some of the other brides she works with. I guess if she fails miserably on her first wedding I can at least save myself the stress on the wedding day and $75. But I don't think that will happen because she has been great so far.
Oh, I agree...and there's usually no time limits on the wedding day which is great since the last thing you want is to be counting hours. Not that I've met her, but I think she'll do fine; you can't be in the business for long without a good reputation, so quite a bit is at stake.
Yes...day-of mostly. I try not to make it too apparent on the blogs I stalk, but that was a post close to home.
Oh and I'm curious...how does the Bellevue Temple handle wedding vendors?
I am a seattle bride that is looking for a day of coordinator. Can I please have Tiffany Minzel's contact information? Please email at cicjewels@hotmail.com. Thank you.- Corina
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