Will your vendor be in business on the wedding day?

With major businesses closing their doors each week it is no surprise that wedding and mitzvah photographers, videographers and disc jockeys are dropping like flies. It is a scary time to be planning an event in South Florida so how do you protect yourself from a company going out of business and taking all your money with them?

Most important is to make sure you are dealing with a stable wedding service provider. Take the extra time to research their company.

1. How long have they been in business and are they incorporated? Check at http://www.sunbiz.org/corinam.html.
2. Are they licensed and insured? Ask for copies of their documents.
3. Are they behind on their taxes? Find out at https://www.broward.county-taxes.com/tcb/app/ol/licenses.
4. How often have they been sued? Check at http://www.browardclerk.org/clerkwebsite/bccoc2/OdysseyPA/casesearch.aspx?SelectCourt=true&DisplayCitation=no&DisplayType=Civil (make sure you click to do a partial name search to get ALL of the company's DBAs).
5. How is their standing with the Better Business Bureau? http://www.bbb.org/south-east-florida/search.

It may take awhile to do your leg work on a potential company but it will potentially save you hundreds to thousands of dollars and the stress of trying to find another vendor at the last minute.

Also if you are planning an event for more that 60 days away leave a very small deposit so if you do misjudge them you will lose less money! 10% should be fine with most reputable service providers. Remember, the more pressure they put you under to book and put down a large deposit, the more pressure they are under to pay their bills.