Photography: Christie Pham Photography | Venue: Four Seasons Resort in Ko’Olina
Hi there reader! We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and are excited for the New Year! Whether this is the 1st blog of ours that you’re reading or this is the 52nd one (as we’ve posted a blog every Monday of 2022) we wanted to thank all of you for reading and supporting us throughout this year!
For our last blog of 2022, we will be sharing some things to consider when hiring a friend as a wedding vendor! As many couples look to create their dream wedding on a dream budget, one of the various ways we’ve seen couples try to save money is by hiring their friends as their wedding vendors. As melding a friendship and working relationship can be tricky, we wanted to share some things to consider when hiring a friend.
Are they a professional?
Hair & Makeup: CJ Siepka | Photograhy: Dulce Photo
Is your friend a professional in the field that you are asking them to be a vendor for or are they a friend who is talented in the field but has no previous experience of doing the task? We see this often with friends who are amazing at hair and makeup or photography. They may have a lot of different hair and makeup tools as well as photography gear but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll know how to provide these services at the level that a professional may be able to. As hair and makeup techniques differ to ensure that they’ll be captured on camera while still looking natural in person, and photography and editing ability can be different based on the lighting and location of the venue, these are factors that could differentiate a talented friend from a professional friend.
What are your expectations?
Taking into consideration the experience and skill level of your friend is also important to managing your expectations. Of course you expect your friend to do their very best for you on your special day but if this is their first time performing this task it’s important to have reasonable expectations going into your wedding day. Not only should you consider your expectations on the level of their service but also on their compensation. As figuring out what the appropriate amount of money to give to your friend can be difficult, it’s important to have a set expectation on how much you plan to pay them and to communicate this with your friend, as well as inquire on their own expectation on their compensation to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Photography: Mike Pham Photography
Pros & Cons
Quick list of pros & cons to consider when hiring a friend as a wedding vendor
Cons
If communication is not clear and expectations are not met, this could affect your friendship
Depending on the service they provide, your friend may not be able to enjoy your wedding as they will be working the event
Pros
You’ll be able to save some money on the service your friend is providing
You’ll already have an established trusted relationship with your “frendor”
Overall, hiring a friend as a wedding vendor could work out amazingly and could also be a point of stress on your wedding day. That’s why we highly recommend considering all of the above and communicating clearly with your friend to ensure that you both have a wonderful experience working together.
XOXOXO
Happy Planning!
(A Perfect Day)