Step 3: Choosing Your Wedding Vendors: 

Once you’ve chosen your wedding venue and set your date you can start shopping for your wedding vendors. Below are some tips to find the perfect vendors:

Do Your Research:

Research your vendors and read reviews! While most wedding vendors will have excellent, 5 star reviews, read through them to see exactly what other brides and grooms are saying about each vendor. You might prefer a photographer that can be ultra flexible with your needs or prefer a photographer that gets your pictures back quicker. Get a feel for what other couples are saying about each vendor and make a short list for each category filled with vendors that catch your eye.

Your wedding vendors should have some type of contact form, email or phone number available online. Reach out to them, talk about what type of specifics they offer and set up some meetings with them. Choose vendors you click with. It will make your wedding day way less stressful if you like the people that are working for you!

Trust The Pros:

Sites like theknot.com and others are great places to find your wedding vendors. While wedding vendors with the most experience are often the most expensive they will bring a level of quality to your wedding that newer vendors may not be able to match. Everyone has a cousin that “DJs on the side” but will he be able to provide a modern sound system big enough for your venue? Does he know how much planning actually goes into the music for your big day? Even if you are going for more of a DIY approach hiring vendors with lots of wedding experience (and backup plans) will make everything much easier.

Get Everything In Writing:

When you are ready to book, a good wedding vendor will draft a contract for you to look over and sign. This will also serve as a legal document if they decide not to show up on your big day. Most vendors will require some form of deposit or retainer to save the date and will require full payment anywhere from 30 days to 2 weeks before your wedding date! Read everything carefully and make sure any details talked about during your meetings are outlined in the contract as well.