How and When to Book Your Wedding Vendors
One of the most important areas of wedding planning of course comes down to booking the right vendors to make your wedding vision a reality. It makes sense right? Your wedding day is a team effort! Even the most DIY weddings end up needing some help from their vendors to make their wedding dreams a reality!! That’s why today we’re going to talk about when you should be booking your wedding vendors throughout the planning process, as well as some tips on how to find the vendors best fit for you! As you read through this article keep in mind that every wedding day is different. We’ll be talking about a LOT of different types of wedding vendors, but not every wedding needs every vendor!
16-12 Months Out
Your Venue
The first vendor you’ll want to look into booking for your wedding day is of course your wedding venue! You’ll want to begin the search for your venue as early as 16 months out from your planned wedding date, if not earlier! In the early stages of wedding planning you and your partner will want to talk about what style of wedding venue you want for your day. Do you want something classy and historic, chic and modern, or something more natural and outdoorsy? Once you know the general feel you’re looking for you’ll be able to start touring venues that fit your vibe.
I recommend you book your venue as early as possible, with the latest being about 12 months out from your wedding date. Doing this is important for two main reasons. One is that it gives you a concrete date to base the rest of your decisions off of! The other reason is that many of the other vendors you’ll be booking will need that concrete date before you can actually book them!! If you’re looking for more help with finding the right wedding venue for you, be sure to check out some of my wedding venue resources!
Your Wedding Photographer
Once you have a date and a venue locked in I recommend you start looking for your wedding photographer as your next wedding vendor to book! I am slightly biased here being a wedding photographer myself, but believe me when I say it’s better to book us earlier rather than later!! Similar to wedding venues, wedding photographers tend to book out around a year to a year and a half in advance, especially for the more popular wedding dates.
This is why it’s so important to book your photographer early, especially if you have one in mind whose work you just absolutely LOVE! The other benefit of booking a wedding photographer early is that many of us, myself included, have a TON of vendor recommendations and can help you throughout the remainder of your planning process!! When you begin your initial search for a wedding photographer use tools like Pinterest, Instagram, and of course Google to search for wedding photographers in the area you plan to have your wedding in.
Your Wedding Planner
Booking a wedding planner as a member of your wedding vendor team can be an absolute lifesaver in some cases! A wedding planner, as the name suggests, is someone who you’ll hire to plan ALL the ins and outs of your wedding day. From finding vendors that fit your vision, to helping plan out your timeline, and all the other little details that combine to create your wedding day, a planner is someone who’s there to help with every step! With that being the case you do want to hire a planner as early as possible so that they can assist with all of these steps! You can even hire a planner prior to booking your venue if you’re really struggling to find the right space for your day as they’ll have plenty of firsthand recommendations to help you choose!
Wedding Stationery
While not an actual vendor that will assist with the wedding day itself, choosing your wedding stationery is an incredibly important part of the wedding planning process! There are PLENTY of stationery options out there to choose from, so don’t be afraid to look around to find a style that best fits what you want. Generally save the dates are sent out between 6 to 12 months in advance depending on the location of the wedding itself.
Your Videographer
If you do plan on having professional video taken during your wedding day you’ll also want to book your videographer in these early planning stages! Similar to booking a photographer, videographers tend to book out further in advance than many other wedding vendors, especially during the more popular seasons of the year.
Your Wedding Attire
As you near the 1 year out mark from your wedding day it’s time to start looking into the wedding attire that you’ll be wearing! This is the case for dresses, tuxes, and suits as you’ll want to find a vendor that has the style you want for your wedding day. Once you have found a place you like things differ slightly depending on the attire options you go with.
For anyone wearing suits or tuxes you’ll have a little more flexibility here and we’ll cover your specific order dates later on in the blog. For anyone wearing a dress, once you find who you plan on ordering the dress from you’ll then want to schedule a date to try on your dress. Once you try it on and you love the way it looks on you you’ll want to purchase it if applicable so that you can begin to schedule your appointments for alterations!
11-10 Months
Your Wedding Officiant
Once you’re within a year of your wedding date things are going to feel like they’re moving fast, REALLY fast! One day you’ll say “Hey we’re officially a year out from our wedding date!” and then in what feels like no time at all you’ll be saying “Holy crap, our wedding is next month!” As you get into this crazy bit of wedding planning there are still vendors you’ll want to start booking. First up is an officiant, who you’ll want to book around 11 to 10 months out. Now if you plan on having your wedding here in my lovely state of Colorado, you actually don’t need an officiant as self solemnization is legal here! You can also self solemnize in California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. For all the other states though you’ll need an officiant!
Your Wedding Entertainment
Whether you go the route of a live band or a DJ for your wedding, booking the vendor(s) that will be providing your entertainment should happen in this 11 to 10 month range! You can book multiple sources of entertainment for different portions of your wedding day. For example you may want a pianist or string quartet for your ceremony, but a DJ or live band for the reception. If you do plan on going this route just be sure when booking these separate vendors that they have no issue with you booking other entertainers for separate portions of your wedding!
Your Wedding Florist
Next up is your florist. This wedding vendor is a crucial one to book as your wedding flowers greatly contribute to the look and feel of your wedding day!! Whether you opt for just a bouquet and boutonnieres, or you go all out with floral décor throughout the ceremony and reception spaces, your florals are always major highlights to your wedding day! Search for florists local to the area you plan to have your wedding in, and talk with them about what flowers are in season during your wedding date to find the best options that will be available in your wedding colors!
Your Wedding Coordinator
If you don’t end up booking a wedding planner as a member of your wedding vendor team you may want to consider booking a wedding coordinator! A coordinator will help with all the coordination of your wedding day in the last couple months leading up to your wedding as well as the date itself. This lets you handle the majority of the planning process, but allows you to really relax and enjoy the moment as the date approaches! I actually have a full article talking about the benefits of wedding planners as well as some of my favorites to work with in Colorado that you should check out!
Your Caterer
If your wedding venue doesn’t have catering included then you’ll want to book your catering vendor within this 11 to 10 month timeframe as well! This includes both your dinner catering as well as your desserts, and any late night snacks you plan on having at your reception. Be sure to check with your venue to ensure that they allow outside catering, and if they have an approved catering list that you must choose from! Lastly, make sure that you schedule tastings prior to booking any of your caterers so that you can be sure you and your guests will love the food the day of your wedding!!
Your Wedding Party’s Attire
Finally you’ll want to look into what attire your wedding party members will be wearing. Whether you want them all to match, or you want to give them the freedom to choose themselves, this is the time that these decisions will need to be made. Again, for anyone wearing a dress they’ll want to order it more in advance in order to schedule fittings before the wedding date itself. Anyone wearing a suit or a tux will have some more flexibility again.
8-9 Months
Your Custom Details
Once you enter the 9 to 8 month out range you’ll want to start ordering your custom details, if you haven’t already! These details can include custom wedding rings, custom shoes, jewelry, champagne flutes with your wedding date, and anything else personal to you and your day.
Your Wedding Registry
This one isn’t so much a vendor you need to book for your wedding, more so just something you should be aware of as you work your way through the planning process! Choose who you’ll have your wedding registry through as well as the items you plan on registering for so that when you send your invites out your guests can easily see what to get you. Speaking of your invites!
Your Wedding Invites
Around this time is when you’ll want to start browsing for different wedding invitation designs. You can go with the same option that you chose for your save the dates, or you can choose something else entirely! It’s up to you when to send your Invites/RSVPs out, but the general rule of thumb is to send them out about 2 months from your wedding date.
6-7 Months
Your Wedding Rentals
The next wedding vendor(s) you’ll want to book are any that are providing different rentals for your day. This means any extra décor, plates, cutlery, additional lighting, etc. Now this largely depends on your venue as many venues either have rules about what additional décor can be added, or offer these rental options as add-ons to their packages.
Your Transportation
Next up is the transportation for your wedding day! If your wedding day is taking place at multiple locations you may want to book transportation vendors to make the day flow nice and smoothly. This can include a party bus, trolleys, or shuttles for your guests to and from their hotels.
Final Wedding Attire
Now that we’ve reached the 7 to 6 months out mark it’s time for anyone wearing a suit or tux for your wedding to order their attire if they haven’t done so already. For those renting you may not receive anything until the last few weeks leading up to the wedding depending on where you order from. For anyone who’s purchasing a suit/tux for the wedding they should receive theirs much earlier so that they’re able to schedule tailoring appointments to get the fit just right!
Hair and Makeup
At this point you’ll also want to book the hair and makeup artists that will be a part of your wedding vendor team! Whether hair and makeup is handled by one vendor or split between two is up to you, but it’s important that you schedule a trial run with them prior to the wedding itself. This ensures that you’ll love the way you look and that your artists will know exactly what you’re looking for the day of!
4-5 Months
Your Rehearsal Venue
If it’s not already included in your wedding venue itself, now is the time to book your rehearsal venue! If you plan on having a more traditional wedding ceremony, having a rehearsal is incredibly important. It gives you, your family, and your wedding party members peace of mind knowing exactly what they should be doing on the day of your wedding. After all everyone there wants things to go perfectly so that you’re the happiest you can be! And it’s also a great way to celebrate and chat with your favorite people before the craziness of the big day itself!!
Your Wedding Favors
Finally you’ll want to sort out your wedding favors if you haven’t done so already! I always recommend my couples to think practically when choosing their wedding favors. You want to fit the look and feel of your wedding day, but you also want your guests to actually enjoy the wedding favors!
The Final Months
As the last few months approach for your wedding day you’ll be finalizing the details of the day alongside all of the wedding vendors you’ve booked. Each vendor will be getting in contact with you, discussing everything they need to know and everything they want you to know in order to make your day run as smoothly as possible! This area of planning falls mostly on us wedding vendors as it’s our duty to guide you through these details and ensure that your wedding day goes off without a hitch!!
And there you have it! How and when to book your wedding vendors in the months leading up to your wedding day!! I know this was a lot, but lucky for you I have even more resources available to help guide you to the wedding day of your dreams. To keep things as stress free as possible snag my free wedding planning checklist to use throughout your planning process. And if you’re ready to book me as your wedding photographer be sure to send an inquiry via my contact page so we can start planning out ALL the details of your day together!!
