Be My Bitch
Sweetie and I are actively interviewing photographers now. We met with one tonight, and are meeting with three more next week, so should be less than two weeks away from pictures. The photographer we met with this evening is married to a DJ. If we book both we get a deal on the DJ side of the package.
I know that I would make a good salesperson if I chose to take that career route. I understand the steps of making a sale, and how to create rapport with a client. What I do not understand is how someone can succeed in a position such as wedding vendor without understanding basic sales techniques. Like get to know your client. Spend 5 minutes talking to me about what is important to me, what I'm looking for, get an idea for who I am.
Upon arriving at the meeting tonight they had us fill in an information sheet about ourselves, but then didn't really ask us any questions and didn't pay much attention to what we'd filled out on the form. At one point in the spiel the photographer kept talking about me and my bridesmaids, making it sound like it would be a huge production to get all the iterations of photgraphs necessary when you got all us girly-girls together. The thing is, I'm having two attendants, so there aren't that many iterations available. And one of the two is a guy, so I don't see us getting all girly-girl.
She's taken photos at our ceremony location before. However, when I mentioned to her that photographs were not allowed during the ceremony, but are only allowed of the processional and recessional from the nave of the church she seemed surprised. Then she made a comment about the strict rules the Catholic church has on photgraphers. Except we're not getting married in a Catholic church, we're getting married in an Episcopal church. And then she said something so lame when I pointed this discrepancy out that I can't even remember what it was.
I was skeptical of the DJ from early on. To understand why you need to know a little bit about my Dad. He's a 70 year old former Marine and current republican who LOVES ABBA and digs the Village People. And if you know the guy this is not at all an anomaly.
So when the DJ hands us a list of the 200 most popular songs played at weddings Sweetie pointed out "Dancing Queen" by ABBA and said, "We'll need to play this one for your Dad."
My response was, "We will play that, but the one we'll be playing for Dad is 'Do Ya' Think I'm Sexy' by Rod Stewart." (If you want to see my Dad shake his thing just mention this song and it will get him moving. I can't explain it, I just accept it.)
The DJ (who I'm guessing is in his mid-40's) responded, "Oh, your Dad must be around my age." Um, no.
At the end of the day we got the feeling that both were more interested in telling us the rules of the game, rather than listening to the rules we wished to establish. Sorry, we're paying the money we make the rules. When it comes to the DJ I have very specific ideas of what I don't want, and when we find the personality that matches we'll just know it. It will be a cool person who is willing to be our bitch to our musical tastes and requests. Ideally, the day before the wedding when we're discussing the final plans we'll be able to tell the DJ that he/she is our bitch and they'll laugh along with the joke rather than not understanding what to do with that comment.
Scorecard at the end of the night: for both interviewed we think they'd do an OK job, but aren't feeling passionate about either of them at the moment. Then again, they're the first meeting, so for all we know they're the ideal of what's out there. But whoever I hire be prepared to be my bitch - I might write it into the contract just to protect myself.
I know that I would make a good salesperson if I chose to take that career route. I understand the steps of making a sale, and how to create rapport with a client. What I do not understand is how someone can succeed in a position such as wedding vendor without understanding basic sales techniques. Like get to know your client. Spend 5 minutes talking to me about what is important to me, what I'm looking for, get an idea for who I am.
Upon arriving at the meeting tonight they had us fill in an information sheet about ourselves, but then didn't really ask us any questions and didn't pay much attention to what we'd filled out on the form. At one point in the spiel the photographer kept talking about me and my bridesmaids, making it sound like it would be a huge production to get all the iterations of photgraphs necessary when you got all us girly-girls together. The thing is, I'm having two attendants, so there aren't that many iterations available. And one of the two is a guy, so I don't see us getting all girly-girl.
She's taken photos at our ceremony location before. However, when I mentioned to her that photographs were not allowed during the ceremony, but are only allowed of the processional and recessional from the nave of the church she seemed surprised. Then she made a comment about the strict rules the Catholic church has on photgraphers. Except we're not getting married in a Catholic church, we're getting married in an Episcopal church. And then she said something so lame when I pointed this discrepancy out that I can't even remember what it was.
I was skeptical of the DJ from early on. To understand why you need to know a little bit about my Dad. He's a 70 year old former Marine and current republican who LOVES ABBA and digs the Village People. And if you know the guy this is not at all an anomaly.
So when the DJ hands us a list of the 200 most popular songs played at weddings Sweetie pointed out "Dancing Queen" by ABBA and said, "We'll need to play this one for your Dad."
My response was, "We will play that, but the one we'll be playing for Dad is 'Do Ya' Think I'm Sexy' by Rod Stewart." (If you want to see my Dad shake his thing just mention this song and it will get him moving. I can't explain it, I just accept it.)
The DJ (who I'm guessing is in his mid-40's) responded, "Oh, your Dad must be around my age." Um, no.
At the end of the day we got the feeling that both were more interested in telling us the rules of the game, rather than listening to the rules we wished to establish. Sorry, we're paying the money we make the rules. When it comes to the DJ I have very specific ideas of what I don't want, and when we find the personality that matches we'll just know it. It will be a cool person who is willing to be our bitch to our musical tastes and requests. Ideally, the day before the wedding when we're discussing the final plans we'll be able to tell the DJ that he/she is our bitch and they'll laugh along with the joke rather than not understanding what to do with that comment.
Scorecard at the end of the night: for both interviewed we think they'd do an OK job, but aren't feeling passionate about either of them at the moment. Then again, they're the first meeting, so for all we know they're the ideal of what's out there. But whoever I hire be prepared to be my bitch - I might write it into the contract just to protect myself.
posted by Swankette at 9:19 PM
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