What order should you book your wedding vendors?

Let’s chat a bit about what order to book your wedding vendors.

Let me guess – You got engaged, decided on a date, and are SO excited that it is hard not to jump headfirst into all the plans without pause.

Or – you got engaged, decided on a date, and are now frozen because you have no idea what to do next.

Either way, I’ve got you covered.

You don’t want to just start booking vendors because you’ve been following their Insta for 7 years (this is a quick way to go over your budget if I’ve ever seen a way). You also don’t want to stall too long, waiting until, well… something?

Let’s chat about what order you should book your wedding vendors. And I’ll throw in some other helpful advice as well.

First Book Your Venue & Wedding Planner

You should be finding your venue and wedding planner around the same time.

This can be a bit tricky as some wedding planners prefer you have a date and venue before booking the planner so that they can be sure of their availability. Others will help you find a venue as long as you have some flexibility with your date so you can find a date that works with both the planner and the location.

Personally, I prefer that clients have a general idea of where and when they will be getting married and we can work from there.

Regardless, these two vendors are always, always, ALWAYS the first vendors that should be booked.

Second, Book High Demand Vendors

Second, are those vendors that can not do multiple weddings on a weekend so they are in higher demand OR vendors that you feel very strongly about having—as in you have been admiring their work for years.

Remember, once a vendor is booked, they are booked and there is little chance of you being able to use them. So think about who you want on your dream team and start booking.

If you don’t have dream vendors you’ve been eyeing from afar, then I recommend booking the following vendors next:

1 – Photographers and videographers

Photographers and videographers are usually next on my list because they for sure can only take one wedding a day—probably only one in a weekend. Photographers and videographers are in super high demand, even more so if you are getting married on a popular date (think 2/22/22) or season (like fall).

2 – Entertainment

Your entertainment should be next on the list since they can only be at one wedding at a time.

I talk about whether you should hire a dj or a band in a previous blog post but, regardless you need to book early.

3 – Florists

Florists can easily book multiple weddings in a day but they do have a cap to the number they can take and usually options for florists are more limited than other vendors.

4 – Hair and Makeup

Hair and makeup is next on the list because it is one of the more important bookings. While hair and makeup can take multiple weddings (but usually no more than 2 or 3), you definitely want to make sure you book someone who can easily emulate your requested style.

5 – Design and Rentals

Design and rentals is next because you have to think about supply and demand and their inventory. Plus, you definitely want to reserve the pieces that pop out to you!

6 – Caterers and Cakes

If your venue does the catering, great. You can just bypass this one but catering and your cake is an important vendor to nail down when you can.

A Few Tips For Booking Your Vendors

First of all, always ask for recommendations from your wedding planner or your other vendors, if you aren’t hiring a wedding planner. Most vendors will be very honest with you because they want you to hire second vendors that are easy to work with. After all, a well-oiled machine is clutch to a stress-free wedding.

Second, mind the budget. Creating a budget at the beginning of your wedding planning is key to getting your dream wedding. Adhere to the budget, find additional funds, or move funds around if you must – but keep to the budget.

Any questions from me on what order you should your vendors?