The happiest New Year: You’re engaged!
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Massachusetts and the greater New England area is well-acquainted with the appeal of winter wedding planning. Videographers, photographers, DJs and other wedding vendors in Boston take advantage of Black Friday specials to purchase new equipment; meanwhile couples throughout the region are solidifying their relationships with the aid of brilliant alletropes of carbon. According to one survey, 33% of wedding engagements occur in the weeks leading up to New Years’ Day. It’s the perfect time, really, as friends and family gather together and the allure of freshly fallen snowflakes hasn’t yet grown old.
So you’re engaged, now what? This truly is the best time of year to do your wedding planning and I’ll outline 3 reasons why:
- Wedding venues are starving
- Professionals aren’t working
- There’s more reason to stay indoors online
Your wedding venue
Most venues in and around Boston have had Christmas and New Years’ booked for a couple years, but following the holidays is a period of temporarily staff cutbacks, vacation time, and recuperation from the end of New England wedding season. Summer is obviously prime time, autumn offers the quaint Puritan-esque matrimonial ambiance, and the northeastern winter provides a romantic backdrop to a budding lifelong companionship.
Now is the perfect time to book your venue. Profits are falling, the fiscal year has just ended and management is under pressure to fill in remaining dates. Use this to your advantage. When you visit a venue, be prepared to drop a deposit and let them know this. But do it on your terms; two can play the sales game. If they see that you are ready to secure a deposit and allow them the chance to cross off one of their otherwise-profitless calendar days, they will be more inclined to either give you a small price break or throw in extras for free. We all want numeral discounts, but the free extras extend to major savings as well. If your venue agrees to be flexible with the number of meals prepared or the seating capacity, this will take major anxiety away from the agreed-upon most stressful aspect of the planning-the invitations and subsequent waiting period. So remember these key points when exploring your venues:
- Tour them together (Yes, I know this means taking a day or two off work-but it’ll be worth it when you sway during your final dance at the end of a flawless evening)
- Make the venue management want you (“I have 3 friends getting married next year too!”)
- Be prepared to book them soon (Show them you’re serious, not like weekend yard-salers)
We’re not working!
Yeah, I’ll admit it. I love the winter months. This is the time when I get to relax and research new equipment, plan ahead for next year and unwind a little. The vast majority of my wedding vendor colleagues take vacations, revamp their websites, and focus on advertising during the months following the holiday season. We’re filling in our remaining dates for this year and next and it’s our prime time to be answering questions about our services and offering the new trends for the upcoming season. This is the best time to book with us, as our summer/fall calendars are typically full by the end of March. Unlike venues, whose contracts are notoriously rigid, we (especially those of us who are sole-proprietors) videographers are quite flexible with what we offer and make the most amendments to our contracts (i.e. additional filming hours for free, extras at no charge) during these next few months before tax day rolls around.
You don’t want to leave the house
But you will come April in Boston. Weddings are coming up! So take advantage of your forced sequestration and do your research. Make sure you at least consider the wedding planning timeline, and send your questions to all your vendors. Those with the most professional and friendliest replies are your best bet. Once you’ve vetted them and examined their work, analyze their communication with you. Are they terse or dodgy? It’s not likely going to get better once the season arrives and they’re at two weddings every weekend. Your time at home can be well worth it months from now. You’ll thank your past self in June when you’re able to relax at Old Orchard without last-minute vendor negotiations.
Massachusetts wedding videographers love the engagement season because it gives them something to look forward to-a whole bunch of radiant, excited, fun couples to help out this year. So congratulations on your engagement and I hope your time with family and friends has refreshed you for the next few months of wedding planning!
***Those who have read this article and shared it on their facebook wall are eligible for a 5% discount on any package if you contact me by February 1.***