11 important Questions to Ask a wedding Decorator for your south asian wedding
We have put together a list of very telling and important questions you should absolutely ask before hiring a wedding decorator.
Because wedding décor is one of the highest ticket items in your budget, we recommend that you ask these interview questions to at least three (3) wedding decorators.
- How many weddings or events do you book in a typical weekend?
- Who will be my primary point of contact and what is the best form of communication with that individual?
- How do you prefer to work with your clients?
- What process do you use for selecting our décor?
- Are you the point of contact on event day or will it be someone else?
- How much experience have you had decorating Indian weddings? Can I see your work?
- If I provide my own reserved signs, pictures, etc., will you set up these things on wedding day?
- How many hours do you need for set up and tear down?
- How long will it take you to set up between ceremony and reception?
- Will you do a mockup for me of our chosen décor?
- Are there extra fees for set up and delivery?
1. How many weddings or events do you book in a typical weekend?
Most large decorating companies will schedule multiple events every weekend. With this question, you want to get a sense of whether your decorator has the wherewithal to handle your events in addition to the others. Also, note that the more events they are managing, the earlier you need to finalize your décor elements so that the items you want are available for your event.
2. Who will be my primary point of contact and what is the best form of communication with that individual?
Here you want to be sure that your sales consultant or wedding designer is going to be your main point of contact throughout the process, including on wedding day. We have found that clients regularly get handed off throughout the planning process. These hand-offs cause wedding day execution mishaps, such as critical discussions about décor elements getting forgotten. As for the best form of communication, you want to understand if they prefer email, group text or phone calls. We recommend emails so that you have everything in writing. You also want to understand what form of communication is best during the week of your wedding.
3. How do you prefer to work with your clients?
This is probably my favorite question EVER! Once you understand how each wedding decorator likes to work, it makes it easy to know what to do so that you get the desired results. If they like working with clients who will gather their ideas onto one platform and bring that to their meeting, the best thing for you to do is just that. Don’t text them or send multiple emails with all your ideas. This puts you in the driver’s seat and avoids frustration along the way.
4. What process do you use for selecting our décor?
Every company has a different process, you want to understand it. Some companies like you to bring in inspiration pictures and they will create a “wedding look” based on that. Others prefer to discuss your ideas, so they can create a visual for you highlighting what they can design for you. Finally, some prefer that you make your selections from their inventory items or pictures of previous events.
5. Are you the point of contact on event day or will it be someone else?
This is such an important question to ask a decorator. Ideally, your sales consultant will be your main point of contact on event day. They have been involved throughout the entire process and helped select all your décor elements. Ultimately, they will have the best understanding of what you want on event day. If someone else will be handling event day execution, be sure to ask how the detailed conversations you have had will be transferred to that person. Be sure to review the final contract notes to ensure your most important décor elements are listed.
6. How much experience have you had decorating Indian weddings? Can I see your work?
If you are hosting a large wedding or need a lot of specific items, as with a Hindu ceremony, you want to question the decorator’s ability to accommodate your inventory needs and has the experience to pull it off. Setting up for 500 guests is VERY different than setting up for 150 guests.
7. If I provide my own reserved signs, pictures, etc., will you set up these things on wedding day?
If they say yes, it’ll save you the headache of finding someone else to do this on event day. Many of them do not want to be responsible for your personal items, however, it never hurts to ask!
8. How many hours do you need for set up and tear down?
This is an important question to note if your venue has other events going on prior to or post your event. You will want to confirm this number with your venue prior to signing your wedding decorator contract. If the venue says you don’t have enough hours, it is likely the décor team will require additional laborers to get all your décor set up in time. This should be negotiated prior to signing the contract. Otherwise, it will become an unexpected line item in your budget.
9. How long will it take you to set up between ceremony and reception?
Ideally, the décor team will work in conjunction with the venue to ensure a smooth transition. If your ceremony and reception are in the same place, you will likely only have about 4 hours in total after the ceremony to transition for a Hindu wedding, much less for Christian or Muslim weddings.
10. Will you do a mockup for me of our chosen décor?
The answer to this question should be YES! You must understand that they will likely not set up everything, however, you should have a good visual of what things will look like prior to your wedding day. At a minimum, they should set up your tablescape will with flowers and all.
11. Are there extra fees for set up and delivery?
You want to be aware of this before comparing wedding decorator quotes. Some companies add set up and delivery fees as a separate line item, where others will include this fee in the total proposal of their goods/services.
