You’re newly engaged and have shared the good news with everyone! You updated your facebook status and shared dozens of pics of the new bling. Whether you’ve been pinning ideas to a pinterest board for years, or you’ve never thought about how to plan a wedding, you’re probably wondering what to do next. There is definitely a recommended order for booking your wedding vendors, which is why I’ll be covering What Wedding Vendors to Book First today!
What Wedding Vendors to Book First
Wedding Planner. If you’ve decided to get professional help with planning your wedding, it’s definitely best to book this vendor first thing! You’ll get the most out of the services and expertise and have the best experience with your planner. They can help guide you through venue tours, give advice about wedding vendors they’ve worked with, and help build your vision for the style and decor of the day!
Wedding Venue. Whether you’re looking at wedding venues in Crested Butte, Ouray, or here in Palisade and Grand Junction, venues book up fast. This should be the next step in your wedding planning process. I’ve done pieces on Tips for Choosing Your Wedding Venue and Five Things to Look for in a Venue before – check them out for more insight! You’ll want to begin by figuring out what style of wedding you want to have. For instance if you want to be married in a field on a mountainside, that is a drastically different venue search from a rustic barn venue in Olathe or a chic winery in Palisade! From there research what venues are out there that would fit the bill and tour them all. One will probably stick out to you as the one for you!
Wedding Photographer. It’s pretty common for photographers to book 12-18 months in advance (I’m already booking 2019!), so you’ll want to lock yours in as soon as you have the venue and date picked out! For more insight about Choosing a Wedding Photographer check out this post. You’ll also want to keep in mind why your photographer is different from other vendors when choosing yours.
Cake & DJ. I really couldn’t pinpoint exactly which of these vendors I’d suggest booking next. It’s not the typical recommendation in the industry to hire your baker right away, but bakers book up so fast in the valley. Most of the best professional bakers here are booking 12-18 months in advance like photographers! If your desserts are important to you, definitely don’t wait too long on hiring a baker for your goodies. Likewise DJ’s and musical talent book up fast as well, and they can typically only take on one wedding per day (unless they work with a team.) Since music is what makes your wedding a party and keeps the celebration going, it’s important to book your DJ early on in the process.
Florist & Hair/Makeup Artist. Once you’ve got the other vendors locked in it’s time to focus on the details. Many brides find their flowers and hair/makeup to be essential to the wedding, so it’s important to focus on those vendors next. Florists have a limit of weddings they can take on per weekend, and it’s recommended to lock yours in at least six months to sometimes even a year in advance! Hair and makeup artists can also only fit in so many appointments per day. Some of the popular artists in the area book over six months in advance these days! Don’t leave these vendors until the last minute.
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