FREE Guide to Booking Wedding Vendors

First off, I'd like to share that wedding vendors are a lot like Santa's Elf's. Without Elf, Santa would not be able to complete his mission. Whether or not you believe in Santa, you should totally treat hiring these pros as if they are the backbone of your big day. If you hire the wrong wedding vendors, unfortunately at the end of the day, you can not change a thing! There are no do-overs, no restart buttons and no going back in time.

Once you seek out your wedding vendors, you can google them for good and bad info, speak with their past clients, stalk their social media and profiles, schedule a phone and even an in-person meeting, etc. Well, maybe not stalk. lol The point is, if there was ever going to be something negative for you to find out you'd want to know ahead of time! While most couples wait and book their vendors at the last minute; if possible, it might be a good idea to book them in advance. This is because booking in advance will allow you to get to know them personally and ensure that they will be a great fit for you!

The following are 5 awesome tips for booking phenomenal wedding vendors:

1. Get a clear overview of what they offer

You definitely don't want to book a vendor assuming they will provide a specific service plus extras and find out later that they don't. Before you book, find out about all of the services they can provide you. From there, choose which services you need and which ones you don't!

2. Rely heavily on references and reviews

The biggest mistake you can make is waiting until the day of your wedding to decide how a vendor operates. Utilize their references from past clients and online review databases to see what others have to say about them. Sometimes past clients will post bad reviews to be mean, but most likely the reviews of a vendor should be their "report card" so definitely take them as serious as you possibly can. You should google your vendors, look them up on Facebook, and check to see if they have an Instagram and maybe a YouTube! These are some popular platforms that vendors are typically operating on.

3. Be smart and sure about the hours of coverage you request

This is going to come from a personal and a professional perspective. For my wedding, I hired 3 photographers. 2 worked together from one company and the third was a close friend. My wedding ceremony went by so fast, that by the time we got to the cake cutting, my photographer notified me that their hours were almost up. My husband and I hadn't even gotten personal shots yet! I was terrified that time had flown by so quick. Thankfully, they handled it in the most professional manner ever and offered us a complimentary 30 minutes extra! It is a possibility that your vendors won't be as generous and will just leave when their time is up. With that being said, make sure you are paying attention to the time your vendors arrive and keeping track of when they need to leave. It would also be a good idea to ask about their policies on exceeded coverage. This way, they aren't walking out on an important aspect you would like covered. From a professional standpoint, we had an instance where a bride claimed that we did not capture their send-off! This is big, but unfortunately, she only hired us for 5 hours. When our time was up, we had asked if they wanted to add on extra hours and they said no. They ended up not having the send-off until the 7th hour which was 2 hours after we had already left. She ended up apologizing and letting us know that they had lost track of time (which is common for most weddings). But, you get the picture.

4. Make sure all package details and services are in the contract

Whatever services you are paying for including the hours of coverage, should be listed in the contract. If it is not, then you risk the chance of a vendor not being liable for any mishaps. When you are ready to book and pay your deposit or full balance, your vendor should provide a clear and thorough contract for you to sign. If they don't have one- run far away! If they do, you should also receive receipts of any payments made. Agreements or fine details discussed should also be listed in writing as well.

5. Keep in touch with them after you book

This is very important if anything were to come up or change with their company. It is also important so that you do not get scammed! There are tons of horror stories where couples booked vendors and never heard from them again after that! If your vendor's policies or anything else important changes with their company- you need to be in the loop. However, the amazing pros will periodically contact you without you having to reach out to them first.

Booking vendors can be a very simple process once you get to the point of being sure that these pros will deliver exactly what it is you are hiring them for. This is supposed to be one of the most special days of your life. You should only look to hire those who have your best interest at heart! Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth it.

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Cheers,

Nefertiti