What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
Buckingham provides multiple services and the pricing can get quite detailed. However, we do our best to keep it simple. When you tell us what you want, we will carefully calculate every detail and provide you with one single rate. You don't need to worry about trying to understand some huge spreadsheet and complicated tables filled with a bazillion options. We'll ask you tons of questions and put it all together so it's easy for you to make the final choice. If you need to make some changes, not to worry! We'll just recalculate and present you with the simple price again. No complicated lists upon lists to fret over. We make it easy for you!
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
To the best of our knowledge there isn't any formal form of continuing education for the event industry. However, we do learn something new with every event and every client we meet. Paying attention to things is what keeps us on top of the industry. Staying open-minded leads us to opportunities and educational experiences everywhere we look.
What types of customers have you worked with?
There really is no such thing as a "common" type of job in the event industry. So, I can not comment on what is common.
Describe a recent project you are fond of. How long did it take?
I was the director of photography for a film about slavery. That film is currently part of the curriculum at major universities worldwide. Oxford, Cornell, Stanford and Harvard are four of those educational institutions. One DVD of that film sells for $200+ per copy. Many people think that slavery does not exist anymore. Well, they're wrong. Slavery is very much alive around the world. There are millions upon millions of human beings who are unable to escape a life they were either born into or fell into and in some cases voluntarily entered into. They are abused, cheated, mistreated and can not quit that life or their families suffer. They are slaves. I have personally met victims of slavery and saw the results with my own eyes. The majority of them are female. I pray for them daily and hope that the film I shot makes a difference as students worldwide view it in classrooms and remember it as they become the policy setters later in life.
What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Share your dreams. Open up and share! There are ways to accomplish the things you dream about but if you don't share them with us, we can't take the challenge to achieve everything for you. So, share your dreams for your event. We love a great challenge!
What questions should customers think through before talking to professionals about their project?
I wish people knew how much I love what I do. When i was in high school I was offered a full scholarship to MIT for an engineering degree and guaranteed employment in the aerospace industry upon graduation. I chose to reject that offer and instead make my way alone in the wedding and event industry. It hasn't always been a bowl of cherries but it has been worth it to write my own future. Now, more than 30 years later I chose to continue making clients happy and building their dreams.
