Booking Vendors
Some of the biggest and most important planning decisions you will make lie within who you choose for your vendor team. Having vendors that are professional, responsible, and supportive to you and your vision is so important - selecting a vendor team that works well together is a wonderful way to make your day flow seamlessly and help eliminate variables.
I have worked with hundreds of different vendors over the years, here are some tips on how to put your vendor team together!
Ask your planner/coordinator! This is the easiest way to get a shorter list of vendors who might be a great fit for you in terms of service, style, personality, and budget. Booking your coordinator early on in the process so that they can help you make informed decisions rather than depending on a search engine, truly is invaluable, and means that you will likely end up with a vendor team who is already connected and works together like a well oiled machine!
Check your venue policies - some venues have an open vendor policy and allow you to use whoever you would like, others require them to be approved, and some require you to choose from vendors on their list. Being clear on your venue’s vendor policy prior to being set on any vendors will really help make the process easy!
Do lots of research - looking through social media is a great way to see how active your vendors are, and give you a good idea of their style. I think looking through their website is also really important. Do they have a professional website that showcases what they have to offer?
Contracts - this is a BIGGIE! I think it is so important for all vendors to have a contract with you! This helps make it very clear what services are included and what you can expect them to provide for you. It helps eliminate any questions and makes it cut and dry in terms of what you will be getting, it also helps ensure that they will show up on your wedding day!
License and Insurance - I think this is also important for peace of mind. In most cases (I have worked with a couple of wonderful vendors who are an exception) you can expect professionals to have license and insurance for their field of expertise. Having vendors who are insured can allow you to rest easy knowing that they accept their own liability should something happen with them or their equipment.
Search them in local wedding groups - over the past couple of years there have been a striking number of ‘vendors’ who are not professional and have not been licensed and insured, have not offered contracts, and have either ghosted couples leading up to wedding day, or worse, just not shown up on wedding day. This is of course the last thing you want, and ensuring you have professional vendors secured will put your mind at ease.
Pick someone with good communication - this is of course so important to be able to reach out to vendors when you have questions and know you can expect a response!
Pick someone who feels supportive to you and your vision, prioritizes you and your honey, and makes you feel so special (as you should) for your big day!
Image by Alyssa Saunders Photos
