Tips for Choosing Online Wedding Vendors

When it comes to planning your wedding & looking for wedding vendors , your first stop will most likely be the internet. The World Wide Web has no doubt enriched our lives & can help make organizing a wedding, a much easier process. Online you can find everything you will need to make your dream wedding come true - reception venues, ceremony venues, florists, wedding dresses, accessories, favors, travel agents & jewelers, everything you could possibly want will be at your fingertips. But with such as wide choice of vendors available how do you who is reputable & who to trust with your hard earned wedding budget?

To start you should familiarize yourself with the two types of wedding vendor you will find online.

Wedding Vendor Type 1) this is an actual store. A physical shop which you may find in your local high & who has branched out into internet retails to enlarge their customer base. The benefit to you from this type of vendor is that you can browse their ranges online & then visit their store to see the items in ‘the flesh' & buy with confidence. This environment is a good choice as you will have plenty of points of contact & a good level of service.

A possible drawback though is that they maybe more expensive than other vendors. The cost of running a bricks & mortar store are higher than running an online store alone, which tends to push up prices. Another drawback maybe that the bricks & mortar store is not within driving range for you to visit.

Wedding Vendor Type 2) this is store which only exists online & is probably run out of a warehouse somewhere. On the plus side a solely online store will be cheaper than those of vendor type 1 & you will probably find some great deals & offers available on a regular basis. They can offer you great value for money & are available for you to shop with day or night 24/7.

However, you should be aware that this type of store is usually a ‘faceless' environment. You will not meet the owner or store staff & you are to certain extent trusting them to delivery your order after you have paid for it. This may not be an issue for some who trust in the online shopping system, but others may feel uncomfortable with it.

What to Look for in an Online Wedding Vendor:

Quality and selection: Check out the site thoroughly & take some time to get a feel for the image of the company & what they offer. Look for customer information, privacy policies & an about us page. Not all sites have them so don't write them off if they haven't. Do you like the look of the products & services on offer? Is the range extensive enough for you? Are your confident they can offer you what you are looking for? Your first impression is really the key here. If you walked into a store on the high street but immediately didn't like the look of it, you would probably turnaround & walk out, so don't let it be any different online.

Availability and delivery: Look for their shipping rates, delivery times & any other information that may affect your order, such as minimum spend levels. In some cases buying items in bulk, such as wedding favors will attract a discount on shipping costs so see if this is offered. Also look for insured delivery methods & guarantees on delivery times.

Physical address or mailing location: It is always advisable to shop with a store that has a physical address listed on the site. You can check if this actually exists & who is resident there. For many customers this is a sign of a trustworthy & dependable business.

Methods of contact: There should always be some method of contacting the vendor. Many sites will have contact forms to fill in whilst others will provide you with live chat facilities, phone & fax numbers & email addresses. As with a physical address general advice is to stick with wedding vendors that offer at least two methods of contact, that way you can have at least some assurance of being able to contact them. If you are looking for more information many sites will have an FAQ page (frequently asked questions). Check here first to see if your question is on the list.

Helpful suggestions or advice: If you contact them, how quickly did they respond & how helpful were they? A vendor who is prompt, helpful & informative is better than one who takes days to respond, is not very helpful or worse still never replies at all.

Experience: On some sites you will find a testimonials or reviews page, where previous customers have left feedback about the vendor. You can also look for a press page which will outline any publications the vendor has been featured in. Good vendors will want to show how trustworthy, reliable & customer orientated they are. Another alternative is to type the wedding vendors name into a search engine & see what is returned. Former customers may have posted their experiences with the vendor on online forums & can give you a good insight into the level of service you can expect.

Free sample or trial options: Some vendors, particularly those who deal in wedding invitations & favors, will offer you free samples of their products to look at before you decide to purchase. Others may give you a free trial option, such as a wedding website company. Photographers & videographers may offer you the chance to take a look at their work with online slideshows or videos. If you can't get any samples or trials take a look at their refund & returns policies before ordering.

Secure payment options: There are many online payment options. Some will take your credit card details & process them online through their site, others will direct you to a third party payment processor such as Paypal or Worldpay. You may also have the option to pay by check, money order or to call them on the phone with your credit card. Payment by check will mean your order taking longer than paying by other methods, as the vendor will wait until the funds have cleared in their bank account before processing your order. Typically 7 to 10 days.

Shopping online is a wonderful thing & one which will make your wedding planning a lot quicker & simpler. But make sure you are a savvy shopper & keep these tips in mind when buying over the internet.

Georgina Clatworthy is a dedicated full time writer who composes informative articles related to wedding favors and wedding. She is connected with 1WeddingSource, today's leading wedding social networking planning site.