Hi all.
This may be useful for brides who have got their bridal packages yet. It's an extract article from Myshopping.sg
Bargaining for the best bridal package
Myshopping.sg
1 Jun 2007
Are you over the moon and still reminiscing the sweet moments when your boyfriend proposed to you? Yes, this is not a dream! Wake up and get into actions now!
Let’s start by finding a bridal shop that will make you the envy of all women on your wedding day. Before you start, let’s familiarized with these bridal terms so that you won’t look blur when people talk to you.
• BS – Bridal shop
• WG – Wedding gown
• EG – Evening gown
• MTM – Made-to-measure
• OTR – Off -the-rack
• AD – Actual day
• PS – Photoshoot
• PG – Photographer
• VG – Videographer
• MUA – Make-up artist
Shortlist
There are hundreds of bridal shops in Singapore - Tanjong Pagar Road alone has already a line-up of more than 20 bridal shops. Before you even attempt to step into one, do your homework first! Ask your friends who are married about their experience with their bridal shop. Read wedding forums and learn from the experience of other brides. The more popular wedding websites are Singapore Brides and Style Weddings, they have very active forum which you can refer.
If you want to have an idea of the wedding gowns designs and style of the bridal shop, buy wedding magazines and note the gowns that you like without first looking at the name of the bridal shop. Bridal magazines like Her World Brides, Style Weddings, Female Brides and Bliss has a lot of information on wedding stuff. If you do not want to spend money in buying the magazines, you can borrow them from the library. You then shortlist the bridal shops based on the gown designs that you like. A list of 5 – 10 shops is enough to keep you busy for the whole week.
Go at the right time
First of all, visit the bridal shop personally. Also, don’t be caught by them on their roadshows or wedding shows, unless you have already decide to sign up with them. You may be able to get a good deal but will not be able to see much unless you visit their shop. There are peak and off-peak seasons in this line too. If you are not superstitious, go in the beginning of Lunar 7th month or right at the beginning of the Chinese New Year. They will go all out to clinch a deal even if it meant earning much less as they believe a good start means good business for them for the rest of the year.
Check them out
Many brides-to-be made the mistake of bringing their boyfriend with them on the first visit. Some bridal shops use hard-selling techniques to get your business, especially when they see the “Finance Minister†with you. Don’t give in to them when you are not sure if that is the bridal shop you want. Don’t believe if they say “this special deal is only valid for todayâ€, “you can’t find this special deal anywhereâ€. These are out-dated sales tactics.
The smart thing to do is to bring along a good female friend, preferably someone who has experience in dealing with bridal shops or who has good fashion sense. They are the ones who can give you good advice and stop you from doing anything foolish (ie. signing on the dotted line on the first visit). Act cool and don’t get too excited. Take your time to go through their photo albums and see if you like their photography style. Request to see their gowns collection and even try on some of them. Most bridal shops allow you to try their gowns without any commitment. Allow them to explain the bridal package to you. At this point of time, don’t attempt to bargain too much since you are not going to sign up anyway. They will usually “automatically†add on many freebies to the package. You can then guage if this is your choice based on their wedding gowns designs and variety, photography style, package price and items they have included, how comfortable you are with the co-ordinator and the overall feeling of the shop.
Decide on the bridal shop
After your first visit, you should have an idea of your choice of bridal shop. If you are still undecided, bring your boyfriend to the pre-selected shops. Ask him for opinions and go with the one he feels is the best. Respect his decision. Afterall, he is the one paying.
Bargain, bargain, bargain
No bridal package should be signed without bargaining. The coordinator will usually tell you the price and the items that are included. The standard items are:
• AD wedding gown (MTM or OTR)
• AD evening gown (MTM or OTR)
• AD groom’s suit
• AD groom’s pants (1 pair MTM to keep)
• Trial make-up or ROM make-up
• AD make-up and hairdo
• Hand bouquet – AD and PS
• Free use of accessories - AD and PS
• Actual day bridal car decorations (may or may not include usage of car on actual day)
• Outfits for PS (studio and outdoor)
• 15 to 20 copies in wedding album (size varies)
• Framed Portrait (size varies)
• 8R table top
• 4R give-away photos
• Mini album (repeated poses as big album)
• Photo CD
Wait! Don’t think this is good enough? For the same price, ask for more!
• Wedding and evening gown – ask for MTM instead of OTR if your package does not include MTM
• AD tea dress/kua
• Extra suit and pant for Groom
• ROM package (if you have not ROM yet) - include ROM dress, make-up, hair-do, hand bouquet, free use of accessories
• AD father and father-in-law’s suits
• Usage of car on AD (if not included in standard package) - including driver and petrol
• More outfits for PS
• Ribbons for accompanying cars
• Corsages
• Dress for bridesmaid and jackets for bestman
• Ask for free PG or VG service during your PS or ROM. But be careful, they may assign inexperience freelancers. So, go through their portfolio before you decide to take them.
• More copies in wedding album – the coordinator will increase a few, but you need to bargain for more. 20 copies is not enough to make into a proper album and you do not want to end up spending more on additional photos
• Reduce cost per photo for additional photos
• More give-away photos
• Extra mini album
• Split your PS into 2 days if you want to, at no additional charge for MUA and PG
• Guestbook (not all bridal shops will have)
And any other items you can think of.
Things to note
After going through the package and finally happy with your bargaining results, check the following
• Are they quoting you nett price?
• How much is the extra charge if MUA were to arrive before 7am on AD?
• How much does it cost for the use of ampoule and eyelashes?
• Can you choose the WG or EG with full lace, beads or embroidery?
• If the PG you opt for resigned before your PS and you do not like the photography style of the new PG, can you ask for refund for the PS portion and look for your own PG? If yes, how much is the refund?
• Does your BS provide a PG assistant for your PS?
• Is there any pages limitation on the wedding album? If yes, how much do they charge for each additional page?
• Can the extra cost for additional photo be lowered if exceed certain quantity?
• Can you get the negatives back?
• What are the payment procedures?
Only when you are fully satisfied, then you can sign on the dotted line. Don’t be surprised if they do not have a proper “contractâ€. Most of the invoices are hand-written, some with scribbles all over the place.