Service Tips and Ideas for your Beach Wedding

You have set your budget and finalized your guest list, so you are now ready for the fun part - planning your dream wedding at the exotic location of your choice. There is only one problem: where you live is a far stretch from exotic. In fact, you live hundreds of miles from the closest body of water or mountain range and don't have any friends or family there to help you. So, what do you do?

The obvious choice is to hire a wedding service to help you finalize your plans. But, how do you know who to choose? Depending upon the popularity of the location you have chosen, there are potentially hundreds of planners to choose from. In addition, it's likely that some planners are quite a bit better than others. What is surprising is that price is not necessarily what differentiates the good from the sub par. So, how can you choose the one that will be best for you?

Considering the Service's Reputation

The first thing to look for in a wedding planning service is a reputable rating. These can be found by calling the chamber of commerce in the area where the company operates. You can also take a look at testimonials from those who have used these services. Some bridal magazines and websites will list companies they have had positive experiences with, which can further help you with the decision making process.

Following Your Instincts

The best piece of advice to follow when searching for a wedding planning service is to listen to your gut. If you speak to a wedding planner that acts annoyed with your questions, can't answer your questions, or is evasive in his or her response to you, then you may want to consider calling someone else. Better yet, call several places to get an idea of how prices and services in the area compare.

Wedding Service Fees

Use your common sense and make sure you add up all of the fees to see your wedding through from start to finish. It may be that a service offers a "package" deal that doesn't include the cost of mandatory gratuities or has extra fees for more popular times, such as weekends.

You may find that, once you've totaled all fees, the least expensive options start to compete with some more expensive packages that you dismissed at first. Or, a service may sound all-inclusive and have a great price, but there may be some hidden costs you didn't know about. Be certain to check out fees for cancellation as well- are there any circumstances beyond your control that allow you to receive deposit money back? Or, are there duplicate fees? For example, what happens if you want to have a rehearsal and are charged more than the minister's normal charge for this? Perhaps you could negotiate some of these fees in order to bring them down.

Keep in mind that the goal behind planning services is to turn a profit at your expense. So, make sure you are getting what you are paying for. If a deal seems too good to be true, know that it likely isn't going to deliver the level of service you are expecting.