February 11, 2025 • 28 mins
Discover the essential insights of wedding planning with Mariana Duzansky from Forever Wedding Services as she navigates the world of wedding vendors. We promise you'll gain the confidence to choose the right partners for your special day, avoiding the common pitfalls that can turn your dream wedding into a nightmare. Mariana shares her rich expertise, explaining the diverse roles of a full wedding planner versus a day-of coordinator, and how building a reliable network of vendors can make all the difference. Hear about her experiences with new vendors, particularly when couples have taken the reins of planning themselves, and how these collaborations lead to memorable events, like an unforgettable New Year's Day wedding.
Dive into the intricacies of communication and contracts that can make or break your wedding journey. We explore real-world challenges, from garland drapery shortages to navigating venue restrictions, emphasizing the crucial role of solid contracts in safeguarding your vision. With personal anecdotes from the tumultuous 2020 wedding season, Mariana offers advice on adapting when faced with vendor mismatches and how to leverage contracts to your advantage. This episode is your guide to mastering the art of wedding planning communication, ensuring a joyous and stress-free lead-up to your big day.
If you enjoyed this episode, hit that subscribe button and drop us a review! We’d love to hear what you think!
Want us to chat with your favorite vendor? We’d love to! Shoot us an email at marco@tipsyguest.com and let us know who you want to hear from! Your top picks could be the stars of our next episode!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Tipsy Guest Podcast.
I am your host, marcoBuenrostro, and every week I'm
here with the top industryexperts, amazing clients and all
my vendor BFFs to bring you thebest tips, advice and juicy
behind-the-scenes stories tomake wedding and event planning
a breeze.
So grab your favorite drink andlet's get this party started.
(00:25):
Hey guys, welcome back to theTipsy Guest.
I am Marco, your host, andtoday we have a very
controversial topic.
It's all about the red flags.
When hiring your weddingvendors, there's always going to
be a red flag, so today we haveMariana Duzansky from Forever
(00:46):
Wedding Services.
Hello, hello.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Hi, hello everybody.
How are you Good?
I'm excited to be here.
I love the tipsy guests.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Ah, thank you.
I am so happy that you're here.
We got to work on a weddinglast year on New Year's Day and
that was such a fun wedding.
I'm used to weddings on NewYear's Eve, but not on New
Year's Day.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, yeah At the Hotel Emma.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yes, that was such a stunning wedding.
I cannot Like the footage thatwe got from that wedding.
Everybody was so photogenic.
It was such a cool vibe, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
The couple was so sweet, the guests were awesome.
Yeah, it yeah it was.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
The couple was so sweet, the guests were awesome.
Yeah, it was a fun one.
It was.
It was such a fun.
You know, when I, when I heardthat it was going to be a new
year's day wedding, I was likeeverybody's going to be tired
from the night before thecelebration and everything.
But no, everybody was justhaving the party.
Yes, just kept it going.
It's like they continue theparty from the night before.
Yeah, oh, my goodness.
Yeah, yeah, but okay.
So red flags that is a topicthat I've been wanting to chat
(01:51):
about because, I mean, we got tobe honest there's good vendors,
there's bad vendors and there'shorrible vendors.
Yeah, I mean you as a plannerOkay, first let our listeners
know what you do, who you are,where they can find you on
social media.
We want to make sure that weget that out there, and then
(02:11):
we'll just jump right in perfect.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah, so my name is mariana.
I am the owner of foreverwedding services.
Um, I started my business in2020, so I've been, I've been
here for a little bit.
Um, yeah, I am on instagramtiktok, probably for the next
couple of days.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Oh, my goodness.
Yes, so time of recording rightnow this episode, it is January
of 2025.
So we don't know if we're goingto have TikTok next week, yeah,
but Instagram for sure atforeverws.
Perfect.
So make sure you go follow herand see all this stuff that
she's doing with all the events.
(02:48):
And so are you a full-onwedding planner or are you a
just a day-off coordinator?
What exactly do you do?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, I do offer both services, so I do full planning
and also coordinating Low-key.
I love coordinating.
I've got it down to the sciencenow.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
it's fun okay so so just a quick here, getting off
topic from the red flag vendorswhat to you, what is the
difference between a planninglike an event planner or a
wedding planner and acoordinator?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
just quick yeah, full planning.
The couples are just relying onme to make all the decisions
vendors, budgeting, tasks, thewhole thing From when they say I
do to when they're leaving thereception hall For coordinating.
They do the whole planning Amonth before I just take over
and make sure all of theirplanning is going as smooth as
(03:40):
they planned it.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Okay, all right, easy , you know.
For those of you that wereasking what the difference is,
there you have a quick littletutorial on that.
But all right, mariana, solet's talk about vendors, just
vendors in general.
I mean, we work with all kindsof vendors every single day,
(04:02):
every single week, at events.
How do you deal with, I mean,when you're, you know you have,
you have to put all of thistogether, I guess.
Give me an average how manyvendors do you normally deal
with per wedding?
What's the average?
about eight okay, can you?
Can you maybe name a few, justto get an idea.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
It'll be the venue.
Photographers, videographers,catering, bartending Did I say
DJ?
Speaker 1 (04:30):
DJ, dj.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Photo booth usually have photo booth.
Sometimes there is extrarentals, like the cotton candy
cart which is so much fun.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yes, that's so good Entertainers, and if there is
rentals, I mean that's about 10.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Okay, and then how is what is normally your
experience with you know, whenyou're reaching out to them to
finalize the details, you know,is it always easy?
Give me the drama.
I want to hear it all.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
You know the vendors that I worked with before.
It's so easy.
They already have my email.
They even like call me back.
Hey, I got your email, we'regood to go.
Any questions?
They know how I work.
I send really detailed detailspackets, as I call them.
It has the timeline, contactinformation, floor plans, all
kinds of stuff that they couldneed, even allergies, contact
(05:26):
information, floor plans, allkinds of stuff that they could
need, even allergies for thebride and groom.
You know, like everything thatthey will use.
So they already know what I'msending.
They kind of just review it.
They have questions, let meknow.
But other than that it's easy.
The vendors that I've neverworked with before, I need to
make sure that they get my email, they review it and then have
questions like go over ittogether.
So those are usually on mycoordinating client.
(05:46):
They plan the weddingsthemselves, so they get their
own vendors.
So sometimes when they workwith someone that I've never
worked before, that's when I'mlike, oh, my god, okay, let's a
little nervous yeah, andsometimes I get surprised like,
oh, I love these people, I'mgonna add them to my list.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Or sometimes it'll be horrible like oh my gosh
blacklisted yeah, so to you,what would be a red flag from,
from a vendor?
Speaker 2 (06:11):
okay, the first for me will be communication.
If, when they are, if you'retrying to hire them and they
don't email you or call you back, that's already weird.
Yeah, I'm trying to give you mybusiness and you're not
reaching back, like no.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And also if they're very communicative at the
beginning, once you pay them,and they just ghost you, that
freaks me out, I'm like no, I'veseen that happen before, even
(06:50):
and not just necessarily vendors, but there's also couples
sometimes that they ghost youcompletely until like the very
last minute and that, oh my god,I'm always so nervous.
You know when, when you know,like, like you said, you know
like everything is communication, communication, communication
as you're planning, like asyou're trying to get them booked
, but then once they sign, oncethey pay, then they just go, am
I hey?
And then I'm like, hey, I stillneed, still need more details,
like where are you?
Which is, I think, to me as avendor, that's when the planner
or the coordinator comes inplace.
(07:10):
Because if I that's one of myquestions that I, you know, my
initial questions with thecouple is like do you have a
planner, do you have acoordinator?
Because I know that if they go,am I a?
Then I can just reach out tothe, to the planner, and be like
, hey, I haven't heard from thecouple, like what's going on?
Yeah, and that's when you knowyou open that communication line
with the planner.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
In this case, yeah, for sure, definitely.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I do get nervous, girl.
I know the feeling.
I know the feeling Like, oh myGod, but okay, so okay.
Communication, yeah, I thinkthat is the main one, you know,
because you I mean you, you'retalking to these people for for
a while and I do like that whatyou mentioned earlier.
You know, if it's a vendor thatyou've already worked with,
then you know, I mean, you, youcreate that, that relationship
(07:54):
with that vendor, so it's easierto just send like a text, you
know, versus like a formal emailjust like hey, girl, I just
sent you an email, please reply.
Yeah, I can?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I can see your questions.
Get back to me.
Yeah, normally.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
I like to do that.
I like to keep everything on anemail Because, yeah, I can text
a planner or I can textwhatever vendor, but I always go
back to email Because I want tomake sure that I keep a
timeline that I can go back toand be like hey, girl, I emailed
you on this date and we talkedabout this, because there's
always things that change lastminute or the day of the wedding
(08:26):
.
And then they're like well, wediscussed this.
And you're like no, we didn't.
I had a Christmas wedding nottoo long.
Obviously.
You know like what?
A month ago.
Again, this is February of 2025.
So the holidays just passed, Ihad a wedding and I show up to
do the setup for the photo booth.
And then I show up and theyhave like this sofa and
(08:50):
Christmas tree.
I knew it was going to be aChristmas themed wedding, but I
didn't know that we were goingto incorporate a sofa and
Christmas trees for the backdropof the photo booth.
So I get there and she's likeoh, that's going to be where you
set up.
And I'm like girl, you didn'ttell me this.
I'm like I wish you did,because that way I know.
I mean, I can make it happen, Ican accommodate, but I wish I
knew that way, I prepare for it.
(09:13):
You know like we might need toset up the photo booth a little
farther.
We might need to bring abackdrop that's a little wider
so that we make sure that we getthe sofa in there with the
christmas tree.
And she's like no, no, she'slike.
We discussed this over thephone and I have it on my notes
and I sent you an email and I'mlike girl, I would know if you
did, because this is such aspecific setup, but I would know
(09:35):
, I would remember that it andit would be on my notes.
So I mean, I didn't want to be.
You know, show me your notes,show me your email, because I
was not going to argue.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
So, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
So I just went with it and you know I did the setup
and it turned out to be great.
You know it worked outperfectly.
But she was telling me she'slike no, we had a conversation
and I'm like girl, I know wedidn't.
So not that you know, not thatyou know because you know things
(10:07):
happen and even though you'repreparing for this day all month
, or you know months in advance,the day off is it's a little
stressful because all thevendors are showing up, they're
doing their own setups, theplanner is trying to get
everything organized.
So, even though we've beenlooking forward for that day,
it's stressful.
No matter how long you've beenin the business, it's a
(10:29):
stressful day.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
It's a stressful situation.
So many moving parts, it'sinevitable.
It's inevitable.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Yeah, so have you dealt with any?
And obviously you don't have tocall out any vendor, or you can
if you like.
I mean, this is a tipsy guest,we like drama here.
But what have what?
Have you gone through that that?
That is something like thatwhere, like, things change last
minute and the vendors are notprepared for it, or they just
(10:57):
give you a hard time aboutcertain things Like what, what
can you tell us about that?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Yeah, I had this wedding one time and the couple
for ceremony.
They wanted garland drapery inevery chair and they talked to
the florist, everything was goodbut wedding day they didn't
realize that there was much morespace from one chair to the
next because people have to moveand sit, um, so we were short
(11:23):
on greenery and the poor floorshad to like go and get more
greenery and add on to thegarland.
And I was like, oh my gosh,like we.
We talked about it.
You know they're like, yeah, we.
Just we didn't think there wassome people which means more
chairs and more space that i'm'mlike, oh, Did it work out at
the end?
Yeah, oh my gosh, it wasgorgeous.
(11:45):
It was gorgeous, that's whatmatters.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
But yes, I mean, that is the reason why you guys have
meetings.
You have meetings prior to thebig day just to make sure that
everyone is prepared.
Yeah, you know, I know, like,for example, with me, like I
know there are certain venuesthat don't allow, you know, for
us to tape the cables to thefloor, you know, because it
could potentially damage thewood floor or the carpet and
(12:08):
things like that.
So those are things that weneed to know.
If it's a venue that we haven'tworked out, you know, we, we
appreciate it when thecoordinator, or even the venue,
they send us the guidelines forthe, for the setup, because that
way I know that I'm notbringing tape, but I'm bringing
either a rug or maybe just likeone of those, like cable covers.
(12:28):
You know, things like that beprepared.
Yeah, just to be prepared.
And that's for every singlevendor.
I mean, everybody has their ownway of setting things up.
So, again, we keep going backto communication.
It is all about communicatingwith your vendors.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Yeah, and that goes with contracts as well, which is
also a flag.
I was a paralegal for 12 yearsbefore I started doing weddings.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Oh my goodness, yeah, I worked at a law firm for 10
years.
Oh my God.
So we did the things you findout at the tips guest Exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
So years, oh, my god, the things you find out at the
tips.
Yeah, exactly so you know about, like the fine print and
reading through you know, andlike you were saying, venues
they sometimes have like 12 pagecontracts and it's my job as
the planner and coordinator togo through it and make sure
they're prepared, because wecan't expect the couples to go
through everybody's contract andremember it all.
Yeah, right, so this is whenthey rely on us to go through
the contracts and let thevendors know hey, we can't tape
(13:24):
anything on the floor, we can'ttape anything on the walls,
things like that.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
you know, and now that you're, talking about
contracts, I think one of thebiggest and this is a tipsy
guest pro tip right here to allof our couples make sure you
always, always, always, sign acontract.
Yes.
If there is a vendor thatdoesn't send you a contract girl
(13:50):
, you're in danger.
You're in danger, Move away.
Major red flag yes, yes, I mean, they were like no, no, no, no,
you can just pay us a day ofthe wedding or just Cash.
Happened, no, no, girl, no, yougot to sign a contract and make
sure you read the contract.
Perfect example 2020, which isright around the time that you
(14:11):
got started.
I mean, covid happened, yeah,and a lot of the weddings were,
of course, were being canceled,were're being postponed.
We're being moved.
So, and it was new for everyone, I feel like that year was a
learning experience for everysingle vendor and couples out
there.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
I was a 2020 bride.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
And I'm like, oh my gosh, my wedding's in a week.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Did you have to move in?
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Yeah, it was in March .
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Oh, right, as they started.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Yeah, I'm like, what do I do?
Yeah, I'm like what do I do?
Do I move it?
And all my vendors were like Idon't know what to do either.
So what happened?
We ended up moving it to July,so everybody was good with that.
But yeah, it was crazy.
I was calling my photographer.
She's like I don't know what todo.
I guess it's fun that we moveit, because everybody was on the
same boat.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Perfect example, okay here.
So now I interviewed mariana asa as a bride, not as a vendor
right now, so okay.
So did you have any issues withany of the vendors where they
where you had to pay them allover again, or did they just
credit the originally and movedit to the next one, or how did
that work out for?
Speaker 2 (15:10):
you.
You know I was blessed andlucky that I was in the as soon
as it started.
It was my wedding was nextfriday and the monday of that's
when they were like you knowwhat?
We're gonna start closing anddown yeah, the whole thing.
So all my couples are like well, it's in a week, like it's not
your fault, we don't know whatwe're doing.
(15:30):
So everybody was nice enough,they credit me and they were
just able to move my weddingdate as long as they had
availability yeah and we knowtexas july it's slow season for
us so they were pretty much open, so it was not a problem,
thankfully.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, oh my gosh it was crazy and it is wild, and
that and again.
That is the reason why acontract it's very important,
because I feel like everybodychanged or added something to
their contract after 2020.
Because of cancellations,because of, you know,
transferring your, your date toa different date, because, let's
say, for example, djs or, or Idon't know I can think of, or
(16:06):
even venues, for example, theysometimes they can only do one
wedding per day.
So if you're moving yourwedding and then they're not
available, then you know, likewhat happens?
Who's protected?
You know, is the venue gonnakeep your money?
Are you gonna have to pay allover again?
Are you just paying apercentage?
You know these are things thatyou have to definitely discuss
(16:27):
with your vendors.
Yeah, and make sure that theyput it in writing when you sign
that contract, because then youknow things can happen.
For sure like it.
Of course, during that time itwas the pandemic, but you know,
things can happen, accidentshappen, you know, yeah, just
things in general, I can't thinkof anything stuff.
Yeah, like sometimes I mean,I've had weddings that get moved
(16:49):
or canceled like last minuteand I always get those questions
from either the couple directlyor from the planner and they're
like hey, marco, how do youhandle this?
Are they gonna keep a credit sothat they can use at a later
time?
Are they going to lose theirmoney completely?
Like, how do you work aroundthat which this will be a topic
for a different episode, ofcourse, but no, for real.
(17:10):
Like, yeah, contract, sign acontract.
Make sure again, if your vendordoes not make you sign a
contract, don't hire them moveon move on for sure.
Move on to the next one, becausethis is not only to protect you
, but it's also to protect thevendor.
So if a vendor doesn't have acontract that tells you that
they don't care, yeah to me, Iwould never hire somebody
(17:32):
without a contract.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Yeah I think the exception will be mariachis,
just because they're so likelow-key and they usually pay
them the day of okay, okay, goodto know, but that's it.
Okay, other than that, whencouples are like, well,
mariachis, I was like okay,that's fine, I know them, I
never do contracts, um, butother than that, no, everybody
else should have a contract,doesn't matter big or small they
(17:55):
.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
They need to have a contract for sure okay, and then
when you, as a coordinator orplanner, do you require for the
couple or for the vendors thatare involved to send you a copy
of the contract, or or is that?
Is that a thing?
Speaker 2 (18:10):
yeah.
So when I meet with my clientsat our details meeting usually
like six weeks before I ask themto bring all the contracts from
all of their vendors.
If they're electronic, you canemail them over.
If, if they're paper copies, wecan make copies.
That's fine.
Yeah, I like to review them allto make sure we're not just
what we're expecting from thevendors, but also what the
vendors are expecting from us.
Meals, you know, for whoever'sthere, or if it's a band, the
(18:34):
green room, things like that.
I want to make sure we know forboth sakes.
I want to make sure we know forboth sakes for the vendors and
the couple, okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
And for you, what are the signs that a vendor might
not be a good fit for a couple,one of your couples?
Let's say they're still bookingother vendors.
What is a sign where you wouldjump in and say you know what?
No, let's not hire that vendor,let's go with this other one.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Or here are some recommendations for other
vendors.
Yeah, sometimes it may lookobvious, but budget, if they're
over budget and they're justtrying to squish it in because
they really want to work withthem, it's not worth sacrificing
your budget for something elsethat we still need, you know,
for something that we can getsomewhere else sometimes.
Or I had a perfect example.
(19:19):
I just work with a photographerand I love him.
he's so talented, but he didn'thave chemistry with a couple oh
and it was awkward and thepictures were awkward and she
was just like I don't feelcomfortable and like I don't
understand him very well,because he kind of mumbles.
I'm like, yeah, well, he's kindof timid, you know, so you kind
of have to warm up to him wasit an experienced photographer?
(19:41):
Yeah, he's been in the businessfor a long time and I've worked
with him before and they'regorgeous, but with them
specifically, they just didn'tclick.
That's interesting like inconsultations.
That's why I love consultations,because you get to see if you
click with a vendor or not.
You know um for me, I work withthe clients for months and
months.
Sometimes I see them more thantheir fiancees, yeah so we have
(20:02):
to.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
We have to like, we have to have chemistry within us
, you know that's very importantyeah, because again, otherwise
it'll be awkward I just yeah, Ijust I mean, I, I can just
imagine, I mean, because your,your wedding photos are what
you're gonna keep forever, yeah,so if you don't have that
chemistry, so what brings up mynext question.
(20:23):
So how, I don't know if you'veexperienced it, experienced this
, uh, specifically, but whatwould you recommend to a couple
that already hired someone andthen they find out that they're
not a good match?
Like what would you recommendto a couple that goes through
something like that?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
First look at the contract.
Yeah, what it is.
There are some contractsdepending on how long they've
been hired or when the weddingis, you can get full refunds
usually not the retainers, thedeposits but if it's too close
to you probably don't want tochange.
If you really want to change,you probably won't get a good
(21:04):
amount or any of the money.
In some cases, if it's themonth of, you still have to pay
them in full based on thecontract.
They're just all different.
But, yeah, if they want tochange, definitely first look at
the contract and then second,you got to look for someone that
will be within your budget andamidst your criteria yeah, I
(21:27):
think also like another red flagfor me is, if somebody is
really cheap, yeah to mefacebook, yes to me that
automatically says a red flag.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Why are you so cheap?
Yeah, like for example with mewith the photo booth, I always
see like you know, we're pastvendors, we're part of, like all
these, like different facebookgroups, you know like wedding
vendors or or you know couplesor newly, newly engaged couples,
or you know things like thatwhere people go and ask for
advice for vendors and thingslike that.
So you always see, like atleast for me, for example, for
(22:00):
photo booths I always see like,hey, you know, get a photo booth
for I'm exaggerating here eighthours and get everything you
know, from unlimited printoutsto unlimited props and unlimited
this and limited that for 175dollars and it's like girl, no,
I mean, 175 dollars sounds toogood to be true.
(22:23):
Like, seriously, like if you'regoing to hire somebody that's
that cheap, offering you thatmuch, you need to ask Show me
the photo booth that you'regoing to bring to my, to my
wedding.
Show me the props, show me theother work.
Like, yeah, show me other workthat you've done.
I want to see your reviews.
I want to see everything,because I personally I have
(22:46):
gotten emails last minute, youknow, from couples that are like
hey, marco, we went with aphoto booth but it's a week
before the wedding and we can'tfind them.
Like we paid them or we weresupposed to pay them the day of
the wedding and blah, blah, blah, we don't know where they are.
I'm like that's what you get.
Like you will get what you payfor.
Like it's it's so unfortunatethat you know there's people out
there scamming people, you know.
(23:07):
Like it is so sad.
But yes, to me I think if it'stoo cheap, I would say do your
research before jumping into it,because I've always said it you
, you're gonna get what you payfor and most of the time, if, if
it's really cheap, it's notgoing to be good.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Yeah, because professionals, we know our worth
in our services and we willpull through because we are
professionals.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Yeah, I always say be yeah, no, no, no, it's
completely true.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
I mean, if you're not , you know, then you don't care.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
You're not a professional and that means
you're not getting professionalservices, exactly sometimes
people are just doing it on theside and of course you know I
have nothing against peopletrying to make money but at the
same time it's like don't try tosell something that you know
you're not going to be able todeliver yeah you know, don't
sell your product as saying like, hey, you know luxury services
(24:00):
and we are gonna be the best andblah, blah, blah, but but then
you're only charging a hundreddollars and then what you show
up with is not the best thing.
You know, fifty dollars worth,exactly, exactly.
So I think that to me, I thinkthat is my biggest red flag.
You know, like if you're toocheap, you're not gonna get good
service.
Yeah for sure.
I think that's my biggesttakeaway from this episode do
(24:21):
not hire somebody that's reallycheap, I know.
Oh my goodness.
But okay, mariana, so we arerunning out of time here.
Anything else that you want toadd?
That you were like you knowwhat.
I think this is a red flag,anything else.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
One more Social media .
It's been.
I mean, we're all in socialmedia, so it's inevitable.
Now, if you're looking up forsomeone and they haven't posted
in like two years on Instagram,yeah, it's the red flag as well,
because that means they're notmaking the time to work in their
business.
You know so for sure, it'ssocial media.
(24:57):
Or going into their websitesand they're outdated, yeah, or
their portfolios are outdated.
You know, if you still seeChevron patterns on on linen,
you probably don't want to workwith them.
Yeah, that's way old.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
We gotta keep up with the trends.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
We gotta keep up with the trends I like that.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
That is very true.
I mean I get a lot of businessfrom social media, but that's
because I'm very active onsocial media.
Yeah, like, I like to show offthe type of events that I do,
the weddings that I work at, andbrides and grooms love that.
I always get those DMs fromcouples that are like hey, we
saw your story last night and weabsolutely loved it.
(25:38):
We want to use that backdrop.
Or we saw you posted this theother day and blah, blah, blah.
And then they send me the linkof the post and yeah, that is
exactly that is very important.
You know, be active on socialmedia and and and that's how you
know people are busy and peopleare working in business and
they're still in business.
Yeah, oh, another thing, quick,that reminds me.
(26:00):
Yeah, so how far in advance doyou?
Let's say, for example, if it'sa wedding right now, it's 2025.
Let's say somebody reaches outto you in their wedding, it's
like I don't know late, 2027 orlike 2028.
Would you book something likethat?
Or would you wait, like howdoes that work for you?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
yeah, I usually tell them to reach out around the 13
to 12 month mark so we can startthe planning process.
The reason I don't want to doit so long it's because it gets
dreading.
Like it should be fun.
The planning process should befun, and if it's extended for
such a period of time, there'smonths that we won't be doing
anything.
And then they get antsy.
They're like why is nothinghappening?
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
And there's so much we can do Once, why is nothing
happening?
Yeah, and there's so much wecan do.
Once we book vendors, we justhave to wait till it gets closer
to finalize things.
Okay, that makes sense.
If it's too long, there'll bemonths like nothing's happening.
We don't feel comfortable.
They start getting itchy, andso I'm like we'll just wait.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
That way, everything goes to the pace and it's fun
for everybody.
Yeah, you want to make surethat everything is smooth for
everyone involved.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Yeah, for sure, I like.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
All right.
Well, mariana, thank you somuch for coming in today.
I really appreciate you.
I cannot wait for us to worktogether again on an upcoming
wedding.
Yeah, so to our listeners.
Make sure that you followMariana on social media.
I will make sure to list allher information in the show
(27:31):
notes and the blog for thisepisode and also again, you know
, if you have any questions thatyou want me to ask our upcoming
guest, make sure you send me adm.
Visit our website, you know.
Just just let me know who youwant me to have here on the
podcast and we will make sure wemake it happen.
Yeah, thanks, girl.
Thank you, thanks for listeningto the tipsy guest podcast.
If you know someone who couldbenefit from these tips, spread
(27:53):
the love and share it with them.
Don't forget to subscribe andleave a review.
Next rounds on us.
Same time, same place.
Cheers.
Welcome to the Tipsy Guest Podcast.
I am your host, marcoBuenrostro, and every week I'm
here with the top industryexperts, amazing clients and all
my vendor BFFs to bring you thebest tips, advice and juicy
behind-the-scenes stories tomake wedding and event planning
a breeze.
So grab your favorite drink andlet's get this party started.
(00:25):
Hey guys, welcome back to theTipsy Guest.
I am Marco, your host, andtoday we have a very
controversial topic.
It's all about the red flags.
When hiring your weddingvendors, there's always going to
be a red flag, so today we haveMariana Duzansky from Forever
(00:46):
Wedding Services.
Hello, hello.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Hi, hello everybody.
How are you Good?
I'm excited to be here.
I love the tipsy guests.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Ah, thank you.
I am so happy that you're here.
We got to work on a weddinglast year on New Year's Day and
that was such a fun wedding.
I'm used to weddings on NewYear's Eve, but not on New
Year's Day.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, yeah At the Hotel Emma.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yes, that was such a stunning wedding.
I cannot Like the footage thatwe got from that wedding.
Everybody was so photogenic.
It was such a cool vibe, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
The couple was so sweet, the guests were awesome.
Yeah, it yeah it was.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
The couple was so sweet, the guests were awesome.
Yeah, it was a fun one.
It was.
It was such a fun.
You know, when I, when I heardthat it was going to be a new
year's day wedding, I was likeeverybody's going to be tired
from the night before thecelebration and everything.
But no, everybody was justhaving the party.
Yes, just kept it going.
It's like they continue theparty from the night before.
Yeah, oh, my goodness.
Yeah, yeah, but okay.
So red flags that is a topicthat I've been wanting to chat
(01:51):
about because, I mean, we got tobe honest there's good vendors,
there's bad vendors and there'shorrible vendors.
Yeah, I mean you as a plannerOkay, first let our listeners
know what you do, who you are,where they can find you on
social media.
We want to make sure that weget that out there, and then
(02:11):
we'll just jump right in perfect.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah, so my name is mariana.
I am the owner of foreverwedding services.
Um, I started my business in2020, so I've been, I've been
here for a little bit.
Um, yeah, I am on instagramtiktok, probably for the next
couple of days.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Oh, my goodness.
Yes, so time of recording rightnow this episode, it is January
of 2025.
So we don't know if we're goingto have TikTok next week, yeah,
but Instagram for sure atforeverws.
Perfect.
So make sure you go follow herand see all this stuff that
she's doing with all the events.
(02:48):
And so are you a full-onwedding planner or are you a
just a day-off coordinator?
What exactly do you do?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, I do offer both services, so I do full planning
and also coordinating Low-key.
I love coordinating.
I've got it down to the sciencenow.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
it's fun okay so so just a quick here, getting off
topic from the red flag vendorswhat to you, what is the
difference between a planninglike an event planner or a
wedding planner and acoordinator?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
just quick yeah, full planning.
The couples are just relying onme to make all the decisions
vendors, budgeting, tasks, thewhole thing From when they say I
do to when they're leaving thereception hall For coordinating.
They do the whole planning Amonth before I just take over
and make sure all of theirplanning is going as smooth as
(03:40):
they planned it.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Okay, all right, easy , you know.
For those of you that wereasking what the difference is,
there you have a quick littletutorial on that.
But all right, mariana, solet's talk about vendors, just
vendors in general.
I mean, we work with all kindsof vendors every single day,
(04:02):
every single week, at events.
How do you deal with, I mean,when you're, you know you have,
you have to put all of thistogether, I guess.
Give me an average how manyvendors do you normally deal
with per wedding?
What's the average?
about eight okay, can you?
Can you maybe name a few, justto get an idea.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
It'll be the venue.
Photographers, videographers,catering, bartending Did I say
DJ?
Speaker 1 (04:30):
DJ, dj.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Photo booth usually have photo booth.
Sometimes there is extrarentals, like the cotton candy
cart which is so much fun.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yes, that's so good Entertainers, and if there is
rentals, I mean that's about 10.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Okay, and then how is what is normally your
experience with you know, whenyou're reaching out to them to
finalize the details, you know,is it always easy?
Give me the drama.
I want to hear it all.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
You know the vendors that I worked with before.
It's so easy.
They already have my email.
They even like call me back.
Hey, I got your email, we'regood to go.
Any questions?
They know how I work.
I send really detailed detailspackets, as I call them.
It has the timeline, contactinformation, floor plans, all
kinds of stuff that they couldneed, even allergies, contact
(05:26):
information, floor plans, allkinds of stuff that they could
need, even allergies for thebride and groom.
You know, like everything thatthey will use.
So they already know what I'msending.
They kind of just review it.
They have questions, let meknow.
But other than that it's easy.
The vendors that I've neverworked with before, I need to
make sure that they get my email, they review it and then have
questions like go over ittogether.
So those are usually on mycoordinating client.
(05:46):
They plan the weddingsthemselves, so they get their
own vendors.
So sometimes when they workwith someone that I've never
worked before, that's when I'mlike, oh, my god, okay, let's a
little nervous yeah, andsometimes I get surprised like,
oh, I love these people, I'mgonna add them to my list.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Or sometimes it'll be horrible like oh my gosh
blacklisted yeah, so to you,what would be a red flag from,
from a vendor?
Speaker 2 (06:11):
okay, the first for me will be communication.
If, when they are, if you'retrying to hire them and they
don't email you or call you back, that's already weird.
Yeah, I'm trying to give you mybusiness and you're not
reaching back, like no.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And also if they're very communicative at the
beginning, once you pay them,and they just ghost you, that
freaks me out, I'm like no, I'veseen that happen before, even
(06:50):
and not just necessarily vendors, but there's also couples
sometimes that they ghost youcompletely until like the very
last minute and that, oh my god,I'm always so nervous.
You know when, when you know,like, like you said, you know
like everything is communication, communication, communication
as you're planning, like asyou're trying to get them booked
, but then once they sign, oncethey pay, then they just go, am
I hey?
And then I'm like, hey, I stillneed, still need more details,
like where are you?
Which is, I think, to me as avendor, that's when the planner
or the coordinator comes inplace.
(07:10):
Because if I that's one of myquestions that I, you know, my
initial questions with thecouple is like do you have a
planner, do you have acoordinator?
Because I know that if they go,am I a?
Then I can just reach out tothe, to the planner, and be like
, hey, I haven't heard from thecouple, like what's going on?
Yeah, and that's when you knowyou open that communication line
with the planner.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
In this case, yeah, for sure, definitely.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I do get nervous, girl.
I know the feeling.
I know the feeling Like, oh myGod, but okay, so okay.
Communication, yeah, I thinkthat is the main one, you know,
because you I mean you, you'retalking to these people for for
a while and I do like that whatyou mentioned earlier.
You know, if it's a vendor thatyou've already worked with,
then you know, I mean, you, youcreate that, that relationship
(07:54):
with that vendor, so it's easierto just send like a text, you
know, versus like a formal emailjust like hey, girl, I just
sent you an email, please reply.
Yeah, I can?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I can see your questions.
Get back to me.
Yeah, normally.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
I like to do that.
I like to keep everything on anemail Because, yeah, I can text
a planner or I can textwhatever vendor, but I always go
back to email Because I want tomake sure that I keep a
timeline that I can go back toand be like hey, girl, I emailed
you on this date and we talkedabout this, because there's
always things that change lastminute or the day of the wedding
(08:26):
.
And then they're like well, wediscussed this.
And you're like no, we didn't.
I had a Christmas wedding nottoo long.
Obviously.
You know like what?
A month ago.
Again, this is February of 2025.
So the holidays just passed, Ihad a wedding and I show up to
do the setup for the photo booth.
And then I show up and theyhave like this sofa and
(08:50):
Christmas tree.
I knew it was going to be aChristmas themed wedding, but I
didn't know that we were goingto incorporate a sofa and
Christmas trees for the backdropof the photo booth.
So I get there and she's likeoh, that's going to be where you
set up.
And I'm like girl, you didn'ttell me this.
I'm like I wish you did,because that way I know.
I mean, I can make it happen, Ican accommodate, but I wish I
knew that way, I prepare for it.
(09:13):
You know like we might need toset up the photo booth a little
farther.
We might need to bring abackdrop that's a little wider
so that we make sure that we getthe sofa in there with the
christmas tree.
And she's like no, no, she'slike.
We discussed this over thephone and I have it on my notes
and I sent you an email and I'mlike girl, I would know if you
did, because this is such aspecific setup, but I would know
(09:35):
, I would remember that it andit would be on my notes.
So I mean, I didn't want to be.
You know, show me your notes,show me your email, because I
was not going to argue.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
So, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
So I just went with it and you know I did the setup
and it turned out to be great.
You know it worked outperfectly.
But she was telling me she'slike no, we had a conversation
and I'm like girl, I know wedidn't.
So not that you know, not thatyou know because you know things
(10:07):
happen and even though you'repreparing for this day all month
, or you know months in advance,the day off is it's a little
stressful because all thevendors are showing up, they're
doing their own setups, theplanner is trying to get
everything organized.
So, even though we've beenlooking forward for that day,
it's stressful.
No matter how long you've beenin the business, it's a
(10:29):
stressful day.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
It's a stressful situation.
So many moving parts, it'sinevitable.
It's inevitable.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Yeah, so have you dealt with any?
And obviously you don't have tocall out any vendor, or you can
if you like.
I mean, this is a tipsy guest,we like drama here.
But what have what?
Have you gone through that that?
That is something like thatwhere, like, things change last
minute and the vendors are notprepared for it, or they just
(10:57):
give you a hard time aboutcertain things Like what, what
can you tell us about that?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Yeah, I had this wedding one time and the couple
for ceremony.
They wanted garland drapery inevery chair and they talked to
the florist, everything was goodbut wedding day they didn't
realize that there was much morespace from one chair to the
next because people have to moveand sit, um, so we were short
(11:23):
on greenery and the poor floorshad to like go and get more
greenery and add on to thegarland.
And I was like, oh my gosh,like we.
We talked about it.
You know they're like, yeah, we.
Just we didn't think there wassome people which means more
chairs and more space that i'm'mlike, oh, Did it work out at
the end?
Yeah, oh my gosh, it wasgorgeous.
(11:45):
It was gorgeous, that's whatmatters.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
But yes, I mean, that is the reason why you guys have
meetings.
You have meetings prior to thebig day just to make sure that
everyone is prepared.
Yeah, you know, I know, like,for example, with me, like I
know there are certain venuesthat don't allow, you know, for
us to tape the cables to thefloor, you know, because it
could potentially damage thewood floor or the carpet and
(12:08):
things like that.
So those are things that weneed to know.
If it's a venue that we haven'tworked out, you know, we, we
appreciate it when thecoordinator, or even the venue,
they send us the guidelines forthe, for the setup, because that
way I know that I'm notbringing tape, but I'm bringing
either a rug or maybe just likeone of those, like cable covers.
(12:28):
You know, things like that beprepared.
Yeah, just to be prepared.
And that's for every singlevendor.
I mean, everybody has their ownway of setting things up.
So, again, we keep going backto communication.
It is all about communicatingwith your vendors.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Yeah, and that goes with contracts as well, which is
also a flag.
I was a paralegal for 12 yearsbefore I started doing weddings.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Oh my goodness, yeah, I worked at a law firm for 10
years.
Oh my God.
So we did the things you findout at the tips guest Exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
So years, oh, my god, the things you find out at the
tips.
Yeah, exactly so you know about, like the fine print and
reading through you know, andlike you were saying, venues
they sometimes have like 12 pagecontracts and it's my job as
the planner and coordinator togo through it and make sure
they're prepared, because wecan't expect the couples to go
through everybody's contract andremember it all.
Yeah, right, so this is whenthey rely on us to go through
the contracts and let thevendors know hey, we can't tape
(13:24):
anything on the floor, we can'ttape anything on the walls,
things like that.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
you know, and now that you're, talking about
contracts, I think one of thebiggest and this is a tipsy
guest pro tip right here to allof our couples make sure you
always, always, always, sign acontract.
Yes.
If there is a vendor thatdoesn't send you a contract girl
(13:50):
, you're in danger.
You're in danger, Move away.
Major red flag yes, yes, I mean, they were like no, no, no, no,
you can just pay us a day ofthe wedding or just Cash.
Happened, no, no, girl, no, yougot to sign a contract and make
sure you read the contract.
Perfect example 2020, which isright around the time that you
(14:11):
got started.
I mean, covid happened, yeah,and a lot of the weddings were,
of course, were being canceled,were're being postponed.
We're being moved.
So, and it was new for everyone, I feel like that year was a
learning experience for everysingle vendor and couples out
there.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
I was a 2020 bride.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
And I'm like, oh my gosh, my wedding's in a week.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Did you have to move in?
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Yeah, it was in March .
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Oh, right, as they started.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Yeah, I'm like, what do I do?
Yeah, I'm like what do I do?
Do I move it?
And all my vendors were like Idon't know what to do either.
So what happened?
We ended up moving it to July,so everybody was good with that.
But yeah, it was crazy.
I was calling my photographer.
She's like I don't know what todo.
I guess it's fun that we moveit, because everybody was on the
same boat.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Perfect example, okay here.
So now I interviewed mariana asa as a bride, not as a vendor
right now, so okay.
So did you have any issues withany of the vendors where they
where you had to pay them allover again, or did they just
credit the originally and movedit to the next one, or how did
that work out for?
Speaker 2 (15:10):
you.
You know I was blessed andlucky that I was in the as soon
as it started.
It was my wedding was nextfriday and the monday of that's
when they were like you knowwhat?
We're gonna start closing anddown yeah, the whole thing.
So all my couples are like well, it's in a week, like it's not
your fault, we don't know whatwe're doing.
(15:30):
So everybody was nice enough,they credit me and they were
just able to move my weddingdate as long as they had
availability yeah and we knowtexas july it's slow season for
us so they were pretty much open, so it was not a problem,
thankfully.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, oh my gosh it was crazy and it is wild, and
that and again.
That is the reason why acontract it's very important,
because I feel like everybodychanged or added something to
their contract after 2020.
Because of cancellations,because of, you know,
transferring your, your date toa different date, because, let's
say, for example, djs or, or Idon't know I can think of, or
(16:06):
even venues, for example, theysometimes they can only do one
wedding per day.
So if you're moving yourwedding and then they're not
available, then you know, likewhat happens?
Who's protected?
You know, is the venue gonnakeep your money?
Are you gonna have to pay allover again?
Are you just paying apercentage?
You know these are things thatyou have to definitely discuss
(16:27):
with your vendors.
Yeah, and make sure that theyput it in writing when you sign
that contract, because then youknow things can happen.
For sure like it.
Of course, during that time itwas the pandemic, but you know,
things can happen, accidentshappen, you know, yeah, just
things in general, I can't thinkof anything stuff.
Yeah, like sometimes I mean,I've had weddings that get moved
(16:49):
or canceled like last minuteand I always get those questions
from either the couple directlyor from the planner and they're
like hey, marco, how do youhandle this?
Are they gonna keep a credit sothat they can use at a later
time?
Are they going to lose theirmoney completely?
Like, how do you work aroundthat which this will be a topic
for a different episode, ofcourse, but no, for real.
(17:10):
Like, yeah, contract, sign acontract.
Make sure again, if your vendordoes not make you sign a
contract, don't hire them moveon move on for sure.
Move on to the next one, becausethis is not only to protect you
, but it's also to protect thevendor.
So if a vendor doesn't have acontract that tells you that
they don't care, yeah to me, Iwould never hire somebody
(17:32):
without a contract.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Yeah I think the exception will be mariachis,
just because they're so likelow-key and they usually pay
them the day of okay, okay, goodto know, but that's it.
Okay, other than that, whencouples are like, well,
mariachis, I was like okay,that's fine, I know them, I
never do contracts, um, butother than that, no, everybody
else should have a contract,doesn't matter big or small they
(17:55):
.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
They need to have a contract for sure okay, and then
when you, as a coordinator orplanner, do you require for the
couple or for the vendors thatare involved to send you a copy
of the contract, or or is that?
Is that a thing?
Speaker 2 (18:10):
yeah.
So when I meet with my clientsat our details meeting usually
like six weeks before I ask themto bring all the contracts from
all of their vendors.
If they're electronic, you canemail them over.
If, if they're paper copies, wecan make copies.
That's fine.
Yeah, I like to review them allto make sure we're not just
what we're expecting from thevendors, but also what the
vendors are expecting from us.
Meals, you know, for whoever'sthere, or if it's a band, the
(18:34):
green room, things like that.
I want to make sure we know forboth sakes.
I want to make sure we know forboth sakes for the vendors and
the couple, okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
And for you, what are the signs that a vendor might
not be a good fit for a couple,one of your couples?
Let's say they're still bookingother vendors.
What is a sign where you wouldjump in and say you know what?
No, let's not hire that vendor,let's go with this other one.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Or here are some recommendations for other
vendors.
Yeah, sometimes it may lookobvious, but budget, if they're
over budget and they're justtrying to squish it in because
they really want to work withthem, it's not worth sacrificing
your budget for something elsethat we still need, you know,
for something that we can getsomewhere else sometimes.
Or I had a perfect example.
(19:19):
I just work with a photographerand I love him.
he's so talented, but he didn'thave chemistry with a couple oh
and it was awkward and thepictures were awkward and she
was just like I don't feelcomfortable and like I don't
understand him very well,because he kind of mumbles.
I'm like, yeah, well, he's kindof timid, you know, so you kind
of have to warm up to him wasit an experienced photographer?
(19:41):
Yeah, he's been in the businessfor a long time and I've worked
with him before and they'regorgeous, but with them
specifically, they just didn'tclick.
That's interesting like inconsultations.
That's why I love consultations,because you get to see if you
click with a vendor or not.
You know um for me, I work withthe clients for months and
months.
Sometimes I see them more thantheir fiancees, yeah so we have
(20:02):
to.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
We have to like, we have to have chemistry within us
, you know that's very importantyeah, because again, otherwise
it'll be awkward I just yeah, Ijust I mean, I, I can just
imagine, I mean, because your,your wedding photos are what
you're gonna keep forever, yeah,so if you don't have that
chemistry, so what brings up mynext question.
(20:23):
So how, I don't know if you'veexperienced it, experienced this
, uh, specifically, but whatwould you recommend to a couple
that already hired someone andthen they find out that they're
not a good match?
Like what would you recommendto a couple that goes through
something like that?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
First look at the contract.
Yeah, what it is.
There are some contractsdepending on how long they've
been hired or when the weddingis, you can get full refunds
usually not the retainers, thedeposits but if it's too close
to you probably don't want tochange.
If you really want to change,you probably won't get a good
(21:04):
amount or any of the money.
In some cases, if it's themonth of, you still have to pay
them in full based on thecontract.
They're just all different.
But, yeah, if they want tochange, definitely first look at
the contract and then second,you got to look for someone that
will be within your budget andamidst your criteria yeah, I
(21:27):
think also like another red flagfor me is, if somebody is
really cheap, yeah to mefacebook, yes to me that
automatically says a red flag.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Why are you so cheap?
Yeah, like for example with mewith the photo booth, I always
see like you know, we're pastvendors, we're part of, like all
these, like different facebookgroups, you know like wedding
vendors or or you know couplesor newly, newly engaged couples,
or you know things like thatwhere people go and ask for
advice for vendors and thingslike that.
So you always see, like atleast for me, for example, for
(22:00):
photo booths I always see like,hey, you know, get a photo booth
for I'm exaggerating here eighthours and get everything you
know, from unlimited printoutsto unlimited props and unlimited
this and limited that for 175dollars and it's like girl, no,
I mean, 175 dollars sounds toogood to be true.
(22:23):
Like, seriously, like if you'regoing to hire somebody that's
that cheap, offering you thatmuch, you need to ask Show me
the photo booth that you'regoing to bring to my, to my
wedding.
Show me the props, show me theother work.
Like, yeah, show me other workthat you've done.
I want to see your reviews.
I want to see everything,because I personally I have
(22:46):
gotten emails last minute, youknow, from couples that are like
hey, marco, we went with aphoto booth but it's a week
before the wedding and we can'tfind them.
Like we paid them or we weresupposed to pay them the day of
the wedding and blah, blah, blah, we don't know where they are.
I'm like that's what you get.
Like you will get what you payfor.
Like it's it's so unfortunatethat you know there's people out
there scamming people, you know.
(23:07):
Like it is so sad.
But yes, to me I think if it'stoo cheap, I would say do your
research before jumping into it,because I've always said it you
, you're gonna get what you payfor and most of the time, if, if
it's really cheap, it's notgoing to be good.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Yeah, because professionals, we know our worth
in our services and we willpull through because we are
professionals.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Yeah, I always say be yeah, no, no, no, it's
completely true.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
I mean, if you're not , you know, then you don't care.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
You're not a professional and that means
you're not getting professionalservices, exactly sometimes
people are just doing it on theside and of course you know I
have nothing against peopletrying to make money but at the
same time it's like don't try tosell something that you know
you're not going to be able todeliver yeah you know, don't
sell your product as saying like, hey, you know luxury services
(24:00):
and we are gonna be the best andblah, blah, blah, but but then
you're only charging a hundreddollars and then what you show
up with is not the best thing.
You know, fifty dollars worth,exactly, exactly.
So I think that to me, I thinkthat is my biggest red flag.
You know, like if you're toocheap, you're not gonna get good
service.
Yeah for sure.
I think that's my biggesttakeaway from this episode do
(24:21):
not hire somebody that's reallycheap, I know.
Oh my goodness.
But okay, mariana, so we arerunning out of time here.
Anything else that you want toadd?
That you were like you knowwhat.
I think this is a red flag,anything else.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
One more Social media .
It's been.
I mean, we're all in socialmedia, so it's inevitable.
Now, if you're looking up forsomeone and they haven't posted
in like two years on Instagram,yeah, it's the red flag as well,
because that means they're notmaking the time to work in their
business.
You know so for sure, it'ssocial media.
(24:57):
Or going into their websitesand they're outdated, yeah, or
their portfolios are outdated.
You know, if you still seeChevron patterns on on linen,
you probably don't want to workwith them.
Yeah, that's way old.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
We gotta keep up with the trends.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
We gotta keep up with the trends I like that.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
That is very true.
I mean I get a lot of businessfrom social media, but that's
because I'm very active onsocial media.
Yeah, like, I like to show offthe type of events that I do,
the weddings that I work at, andbrides and grooms love that.
I always get those DMs fromcouples that are like hey, we
saw your story last night and weabsolutely loved it.
(25:38):
We want to use that backdrop.
Or we saw you posted this theother day and blah, blah, blah.
And then they send me the linkof the post and yeah, that is
exactly that is very important.
You know, be active on socialmedia and and and that's how you
know people are busy and peopleare working in business and
they're still in business.
Yeah, oh, another thing, quick,that reminds me.
(26:00):
Yeah, so how far in advance doyou?
Let's say, for example, if it'sa wedding right now, it's 2025.
Let's say somebody reaches outto you in their wedding, it's
like I don't know late, 2027 orlike 2028.
Would you book something likethat?
Or would you wait, like howdoes that work for you?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
yeah, I usually tell them to reach out around the 13
to 12 month mark so we can startthe planning process.
The reason I don't want to doit so long it's because it gets
dreading.
Like it should be fun.
The planning process should befun, and if it's extended for
such a period of time, there'smonths that we won't be doing
anything.
And then they get antsy.
They're like why is nothinghappening?
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
And there's so much we can do Once, why is nothing
happening?
Yeah, and there's so much wecan do.
Once we book vendors, we justhave to wait till it gets closer
to finalize things.
Okay, that makes sense.
If it's too long, there'll bemonths like nothing's happening.
We don't feel comfortable.
They start getting itchy, andso I'm like we'll just wait.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
That way, everything goes to the pace and it's fun
for everybody.
Yeah, you want to make surethat everything is smooth for
everyone involved.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Yeah, for sure, I like.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
All right.
Well, mariana, thank you somuch for coming in today.
I really appreciate you.
I cannot wait for us to worktogether again on an upcoming
wedding.
Yeah, so to our listeners.
Make sure that you followMariana on social media.
I will make sure to list allher information in the show
(27:31):
notes and the blog for thisepisode and also again, you know
, if you have any questions thatyou want me to ask our upcoming
guest, make sure you send me adm.
Visit our website, you know.
Just just let me know who youwant me to have here on the
podcast and we will make sure wemake it happen.
Yeah, thanks, girl.
Thank you, thanks for listeningto the tipsy guest podcast.
If you know someone who couldbenefit from these tips, spread
(27:53):
the love and share it with them.
Don't forget to subscribe andleave a review.
Next rounds on us.
Same time, same place.
Cheers.
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