Stick with your smoke, man. I took the same hit once and just dialed it back a tiny bit on the wood, kept the bark heavy, and the next comp I placed top five. Judges got their own thing going on, but the folks paying for barbecue at weddings are the real vote of confidence.

and honestly once you hit that point where the stuff you did yourself actually looks better than the contractor work, it shifts your whole brain on what "cheap" means. i mean, my buddy redid his bathroom with youtube videos and it cost him a third of what i paid, but he also spent two weekends cursing at a pipe wrench, so it's really about whether your time is worth the frustration or not. maybe it's just me, but i've noticed most people either get hooked on the learning part or they quietly hire someone next time and call it peace of mind.

Thats exactly what happened to me when I stopped using the big sites and hit up a board for my field. Smaller pools mean the hiring managers actually look at your resume instead of just filtering you out.