How to: Shop for Vendors

Planning a Wedding without a planner?

 It isn't as easy or dreamy as it sounds once you get down to the nitty gritty of it but we’ve put together some of the ways you can get through it in once piece. 

Figure out your budget! 

Creating a budget for your event is a necessary part of the planning, even though its probably the least fun part. Setting expectations for yourself and your partner as well as for your vendors will allow you to shop around comfortably and help you to avoid wasting time and energy on things and people who don't fit into your priorities. 

So how do you know if your budget is reasonable? 
Do your research! The best thing to come out of AI is Chat GPT I think, enter your search for each vendor and see what it says. Include your city and province or state too so that the algorithm can give you the most accurate results. Google works too. In fact many vendors include their minimums on their website (we do) and if you find a vendor that you love, shoot them an email and ask. It won’t hurt and it might narrow your search faster.

Let’s be honest though, weddings are a luxury. Deciding what your priorities are for your day will help you to decide what budget is reasonable for you and your partner. If your priority is good food and music but the decor isn’t, then your budget for catering and a band will probably be higher than someone who is imagining Pinterest worthy photographs and decor details but is happy with a buffet over a sit down meal. 

Once you know your priorities, find vendors who can work within them. For example, if floral design isn’t something you notice at weddings and events or it’s something you want to maybe try DIY (I don’t recommend this but more on that another time ) then find a flower farm that will sell you bulk florals instead of a full service events floral company. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what a vendor will and won’t do, but asking and checking out their website is always a good idea. 

Don’t let the internet fool you!!

It’s so hard though, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok is full of the most glamorous looking events, with no detail forgotten and seemingly no expense spared. Don’t be fooled, even the most elaborate weddings have budgets and the most gorgeous wedding photographs are just a curated view. Your day will also be remembered for all of the best parts in the photos and in your memories so don’t stress about including EVERYTHING you’ve seen. Pick what parts are important to you and forget the rest. This won’t be the only party for the rest of your life, you can have a chocolate fountain for your birthday if you really want.

 

Pick 1 WOW factor detail.

Now obviously we recommend your WOW being some magnificent floral installation but as I mentioned before, maybe a 6 piece band or a spectacular seafood buffet is your thing. Whatever your WOW is, you only need one. Your guests will notice something different or extravagant if you include it but stressing over having multiple wow moments will waste your energy and your budget very quickly and honestly, your guests might not notice it all. This day is about you and your partner so focus on what makes you both happy, not exclusively catering to your guests experience. 

 

Tell your potential vendor about you and your day.

Even if it seems verbose, especially on an inquiry form while you’re price shopping it’s in your best interest to get your vendor invested in your vision right away. I definitely will do more to fit into a couples budget if I have a personal connection with their story or venue or if their vision and aesthetic is appealing. 
And if you’re not the creative type or you don’t know where to start, tell your vendor. Having some artistic freedom to design a palette or a vibe for a couple is another treat and we love these clients because they trust us. 

Be ready to book when you start to contact vendors for quotes!

This is a tough one but if you’ve already figured out your budget and you’ve done your research then it should be ok. Booking vendors is intense, we know. It feels like a big step, it involves putting down non refundable deposits in most cases and it makes everything feel very very REAL! By the time you start asking for quotes you should be ready to put down 30-50% down. Most vendors will give you a couple of weeks to decide after they send you their proposal and quote. Our quotes literally expire after 7 days unless you communicate with us and ask for more time. This isn’t meant to add pressure so much as it is to protect us and allow us to secure clients for wedding season. We won’t speak for other vendors but we get ghosted a lot. Most of the time it’s sticker shock, other times people book with someone else and don’t let us know. It’s not personal either way but we have to move on if we don’t get a reply and we unfortunately can’t hold onto a date without a deposit. We recommend waiting to contact your vendors until you are ready to book (as in, the money is in the bank and you know what you want). Contact at least 3 vendors in each category and try to book at least 8 months prior to your event. Once you receive your quotes, review them with your partner and pull that trigger. There is nothing worse than finding the perfect vendor and then they get booked while you’re trying to decide or get the money together. 
If communication with any of your choice vendors isn’t great, it’s a red flag, move on. 
We like to chat over the phone with all inquiring clients before we send a quote. Getting to know each other over a quick chat can tell us both so much about how the working relationship will go. 

It’s not all about budget at the end of the day, finding vendors who fit you and your partner is an important part of the planning process that you won’t regret spending time on.