maryland wedding virginia wedding - pholosophies and ethics in the wedding industry

Woods Glen Studio
R. Wayne Grauel, videographer

800.357.4545

Maryland Wedding Information
Virginia Wedding Information
Pennsylvania Wedding Information

Resources for brides in the Maryland Virginia and Pennsylvania areas.

First, a brief moment of "education" so that you will understand how the wedding and event business works, and so that you will be able to use your own enlightened judgment to make some important decisions:

I do not accept payments for referrals, nor do I pay for referrals. I have always conducted my business with the highest regard for ethics and standards. I have been approached by others in the industry to "be on their recommended vendors list", or to "allow" them to offer my services (for a fee), and have politely but firmly refused. Anyone who wants a professional to pay them to "recommend" their service is just looking for a quick profit and cares nothing about the quality they are offing to their clients. A paid recommendation is not an indication of superior work, but only indicates that someone paid a lot of money to be included on a list! My high standards and ethics will not allow me to pay $500 or more (which I consider nothing more than a bribe) to be included on the list of "recommended" vendors by other wedding professionals and many hotels.

I do not share this information as an attempt to discredit their method of doing business, nor as "sour grapes" because I am not on their lists. My goal is merely to assist consumers in understanding how the wedding and event business works so that you can use your own judgment in making educated decisions.

Keep in mind that wedding magazines and internet sites the popular internet "Wedding Guides" obviously charge advertising fees for inclusion on their sites. These are reputable sources of advertising and don't profess their advertisers to be "recommended vendors"
Today, the trend is for some hotels and wedding facilities to contract with outside marketing companies to print their wedding and event planning guides which are given to prospective brides. The names of wedding photographers, videographers, and other wedding professionals are presented as their "recommended wedding professionals". The term "recommended" would lead the consumer to believe that these vendors are the best in their field. Unfortunately, the truth is that the printing of these planning guides is extremely expensive. All of the "recommended wedding professionals" that you see in these guides were contacted by the advertising company to advertise in these guides. These vendors have spent anywhere from $500.00 to several thousand dollars for the privilege of being recommended by the hotel or facility. The only exception to this practice that I am aware of is Ceresville Mansion. The produce a guide to their facility but the only people allowed to be included are companies who have met their professional criteria.
The same holds true for many large country clubs that host bridal shows. The vendors at the bridal show are not those who are necessarily the best in their field. Rather, they are simply the ones who need business and are willing to pay the fee to rent booth space at the bridal show to be included on their "recommended vendor list"!
Another trend is for entertainment agencies to offer videography and photography as well as musicians and DJs. They may appear to be a consortium or cooperative effort of highly-skilled, artistic videographers and photographers. While an entertainment agency is essential if you are trying to find a musician or a band, the reality is that truly talented and experienced videographers and photographers would never work for an entertainment agency. If you book a videographer or photographer through one of these agencies, chances are that you will get a part-time and/or inexperienced person (or an art or photography student with no experience in covering weddings, who most likely will have to borrow the equipment to provide your services because they can't afford the $20,000 - $30,000 investment required to produce a video documentary) who cannot get business on their own. Also, you should seriously consider what your options will be if there is a dispute between any entertainment agency, photo studio, or large "wedding videography company" and the videographer or photographer they hire to do their work...a not-so-infrequent occurrence! So, if you want a band, contact an entertainment agency, if you want a photographs, call a photographer!