Two Vendor Quotes, Two Prices, Same Service?

One of My Loveliest Brides

One of the most common pieces of wedding planning advice is:  “Get three quotes.”  That's not necessarily bad advice.  But there's a problem.  A quote only helps you compare vendors if you understand what you're comparing.  And very often, you aren't comparing the same thing at all.  Two photographers can both offer eight hours of wedding coverage.  Two florists can both quote centerpieces for twenty tables.  Two planners can both offer “full-service planning.”  Two caterers can both propose dinner for 150 guests.  And their prices can be thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars apart.  Why?  The easy answer is:  “One charges too much.”  The better answer is:  “Let's find out what those numbers actually represent.”

A Price Is Not a Scope of Service

Suppose two planners both describe themselves as full-service.  One may provide vendor recommendations, periodic meetings, a timeline and wedding-day coordination.  Another may manage the budget, review contracts, source vendors, attend meetings, oversee design, track deadlines, communicate with the entire vendor team, conduct site visits, manage logistics, develop the timeline, troubleshoot throughout planning and remain involved from the first conversation until the last guest leaves.  Both may use the words full-service planning.  They are not selling the same service.  The same thing happens with almost every wedding category.  One florist's centerpiece price may include the vessel, candles, delivery, setup and breakdown.  Another's may not.  One photographer may include a second photographer, engagement session, extensive editing, an album and an online gallery.  Another may quote photography coverage alone.  One caterer may include staffing, rentals and service.  Another may price those separately. The number at the bottom of the proposal doesn't tell you enough.

Experience Can Also Be Part of the Price

Then there is something much harder to put on a proposal.  Judgment.  Two professionals can offer virtually identical proposals on paper and still bring very different things into the room.  One may have encountered the situation you're facing fifty times.  One may be encountering it for the first time.  That doesn't automatically make the newer professional bad.  Everyone begins somewhere.  But experience has value.  You're not simply buying what someone does when everything goes according to plan.  You're also buying their ability to recognize when it isn't going to.  

Infrastructure Costs Money

This is another part of vendor proposals that couples rarely understand.  The business behind the vendor,  employees, assistants, insurance, professional equipment, storage, transportation, business software, licensing, training, administrative support, backup equipment, emergency plans.  All of those things can affect pricing.  And most of them aren't particularly exciting to talk about during a wedding consultation, until something goes wrong.  Then they can become incredibly important.

Style Has Value, Too

Sometimes the difference really is artistic.  You aren't buying a commodity.  You may be hiring someone's eye.  Their design aesthetic.  Their photographic style.  Their ability to transform a room.  Their way of creating an experience.  You can buy two paintings of exactly the same size.  That doesn't make them worth exactly the same amount.  Creative services work much the same way.  So how should you compare proposals?  Don't simply ask:  “Which one costs less?”  Ask:  What exactly is included?  What isn't?  How much access will I have to this person?  Who will actually perform the service?  How experienced are they?  What happens if something goes wrong?  Are there additional charges I haven't seen yet?  Does their style match what I'm asking them to create?  What does this venue rental include? And perhaps most importantly:  Do I trust this person to deliver what they're promising?  Because the least expensive proposal isn't necessarily the best value.  And the most expensive proposal isn't automatically the best, either.  Price alone doesn't answer those questions.  

Compare Value, Not Numbers

I absolutely believe couples should have budgets.  I also believe they should understand what they're buying before deciding whether something is expensive.  Sometimes you'll compare three proposals and choose the least expensive.  Sometimes you'll choose the one in the middle.  And sometimes you'll happily spend more because you've discovered that what appeared to be “the same service” wasn't the same at all.  That's informed decision making.  And after many years in this industry, I would much rather see a couple ask twenty questions before signing a contract than discover six months later that the service they thought they purchased was never included.  Get the quotes.  But don't just compare the numbers.  Compare what's behind those numbers.   Price shopping without understanding what you're comparing can lead you to the wrong conclusion.  What I want you to understand: Spend intelligently. Understand what you're buying. Ask better questions. Make an informed decision.