Tuesday, January 4, 2011

pass on that vendor gift.

I cringe when I hear it.
"My uncle is gifting us with photography for our wedding"
or
"my FMIL told me she would make us our cake"
ouch.
I have seen it time and time again. and guess what happens on day of wedding?
You ask for this:
and you get this:
or you desire this:
and get this:
No, not every time. But guess what? it happens more than not.
Or a year passes and the happy couple has still not seen their wedding photos or they have, and they hate them because they are low quality, red eyed and blurry.
While your family has the BEST intentions and we love them for it, my advice is to steer clear from a family gifting you with a a vendor service for your wedding day.
That being said, if your family member is gifted in a certain area, and you have seen the quality of their work before and have love it, than snag that gift! But, if Aunt Sue just wants to experiment on her handiwork by putting together a floral bouquet and she shows up with {gasp} fake flowers {yuuuuck}, pass politely and quickly.
I think all of us brides who have made this mistake {yes, even I did 11 years ago!} are shouting "hear - hear" from all over the web. :)

Happy Tuesday!
Elizabeth

5 comments:

  1. i had good and bad experiences with several vendor gifts from family and friends-- we were on a really tight budget so we were grateful for all the help we could get!
    my dad did the groom's cake, per my request and it was delicious and looked great.
    my coworker's husband was our dj and for being free i'd say he was pretty great!
    my friend's mom did the flowers and they were beautiful but we had a huge argument about payment at the last minute so there is still tension there.
    my cousin did the photography and, again, for being free, i couldn't ask for more, they turned out great. but when i look at other professional wedding photos, i have to say that's one (if not the only) thing i would have changed, i would've figured out some way to pay for better pictures.
    my friend's husband did the video for the cost of the dvd, but we didn't get it back for 8 mos, and it was just raw.
    the food and cake were from people i hadn't met and one was a great value, the other wasn't.
    all this to say, it could go either way, but yes i totally know what you mean! feelings can get hurt, regrets can happen, and for a day as big as your wedding, you just don't want to go with something you're not sure about!

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  2. Looks like someone has been on the Cakewrecks website... :)

    We had a destination wedding in Mexico, and my husband's mother baked the cake in the US, had each member of his family carry a tier on hte plane as a carry on, fought customs to get it into Mexico, then frosted it in the outdoor kitchen at our cabanas, and the whole family helped paint/sparkle the chocolate molded seashells that went on top! (while I lying in bed sick with Montezuma's Revenge... :) ) It turned out beautiful! Also while I was lying in bed sick, my maid of honor and my brother in law's girlfriend bought flowers from a Mexican market and arranged them for me! They also turned out lovely. So I was lucky. But I am REALLY glad we chose to have a professional photographer instead of my husband's brother who offered. I think the pictures are one of the most important parts of the day because when the memory fades, the pictures are what we will remember! Cake, flowers, those go away after the day, but pictures you want to be good enough that you enjoy looking at them for life!

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  3. Thanks for the insight ladies! I always enjoy hearing others' wedding stories. Where you were blessed in some areas, others may not be. I am not by any means, downing a great blessing but bringing up what brides may not think of as they plan their beautiful day.
    I love feedback! :)))

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