Excited for “happily ever after”? Looking forward to family life? If you’re about to get married, there are surely so many plans in your head right now—setting up your dream home, having kids, going on family vacations. But before you can move on to the “more exciting part”, you’ll have to face one of the busiest yet thrilling part of your transition from being a Ms to Mrs—choosing your wedding suppliers.

Wedding suppliers or vendors are the professionals that you hire on your wedding day. They include caterers, photographers, DJs, chauffeurs and make-up artists. It’s essential that you hire the right vendors so that your special day goes smoothly. Below are a few tips on how to hire the best people for the job.

 

Make sure they’re experienced

By hiring experienced vendors, you can reduce the risk of any problems occurring. It’s important that this experience is wedding-related. For example, your cousin may well have DJ experience, but if they only have experience playing drum and bass at an underground nightclub, you may want to be wary of hiring them for a wedding. Most vendors will have a portfolio of their work that they can show you to prove they are experienced. Positive online reviews are also a good sign. 

Know your budget

You’ll likely have a spending limit on your wedding, and you need to make sure that you don’t spend too much on your vendors to the point that you end up running out of money for other aspects. Create a budget for each vendor and spend time shopping around for vendors within this price bracket. In some cases, you may be able to negotiate down pricing, which is something to consider if a vendor’s pricing is just above your budget. You may not have to hire vendors for every wedding task. For example, you may be willing to make your own bouquets or even decorate the venue in advance. However, it ultimately needs to be a good job and you don’t want to cause yourself too much stress by taking on too many DIY tasks. 

Don’t accept the bare minimum

A good vendor should be willing to go the extra mile to make their service better than their competitors. For example, a good wedding photographer should be willing to stay the entire day, and should be able to offer different packages when it comes to buying photos such as a USB or even a custom photobook. There may even be vendors who are able to juggle multiple roles such as a celebrant that can also handle DJing. This could be a way to essentially benefit from two services in one, also saving you money. 

Know when to look for a specialist

In some cases, you may want to look for someone who is a little specialized. While most general vendors will be able to accommodate different styles of wedding, there may be instances where you get better quality by hiring a specialist. For example, if you want to have soul food at your wedding, you may be better off looking for a caterer that specializes in soul food rather than a general caterer. 

Start looking early

When looking for the perfect wedding vendor, it pays to start looking early. Leave it too late to start looking and you may find that certain vendors are already booked up on the day of your wedding. Searching early allows you to choose from a much greater range of vendors, plus it may be more affordable – some vendors will offer discounts for booking early or instalment payment options. There’s an order of importance when booking vendors – this post offers more information on exactly when to book each vendor.