We verify every vendor by hand. Business registration, two real client references, contact info that resolves. Verification is a process, not a checkbox — and we tell you exactly what we did to earn each green check.
§ Live · queried from the database when this page loads · revalidated hourly
We confirm the legal business name, registered status in Ontario, and the registered owner. Sole proprietors are fine — we just need proof the business exists.
We email two couples the vendor has worked with in the past 12 months and ask: did they show up, were they who they said they were, would you book again? If we get a no, the vendor doesn't get the badge.
Phone rings. Email replies. Instagram is active. Website (if listed) loads. We test all of this once at verification, then quarterly.
We check the BBB, our internal complaint log, and recent Google reviews for unresolved disputes. One bad review is normal; a pattern of unresolved complaints is not.
For South Asian-specific work — pandit ji, mehndi artist, etc. — we confirm experience with the specific tradition the vendor markets to. A "Hindu wedding photographer" needs Hindu wedding photos in their portfolio.
Verification is about identity and competence. It is not a guarantee of taste, fit, or future performance. Plan accordingly.
Couples: browsing, shortlists, and wishlists are free, always. The concierge (sourcing, real quotes, introductions) is free for the founding hundred couples, then a flat planning fee for the whole wedding. If we cannot bring you real fits with real pricing, you do not pay.
Vendors:listing is free, and inquiries from a vendor's own profile are free. When the concierge introduces a couple and they book, the vendor pays a flat referral fee agreed in writing before the introduction was sent. Never a percentage of the booking.
The fit promise: every concierge pick states the reason it was chosen: tradition, budget band, confirmed availability. The referral fee is the same flat shape for everyone, so there is no economic reason to favour one vendor over another, and a vendor who never pays us anything still gets recommended when they are the fit. If you ever see a pick that smells like money instead of fit, report it below; that would be a fireable offence in a one-person company, and the one person agrees.
Bookings and payments happen directly between you and the vendor. Melaa holds no deposits and processes no vendor payments, ever.
If a vendor on Melaa misrepresented themselves, ghosted you after taking a deposit, used images that aren't theirs, or otherwise broke the trust that made you reach out — tell us. We investigate every report within 5 business days and remove listings that fail the bar.
Email hello@melaa.ca →Verification is included with every paid Melaa listing. Free vendors can apply anytime — we run the same check. The badge takes ~7 days from application.