Choosing Your Wedding Suppliers

With this in mind, I’m sharing a step-by-step guide to choosing your wedding suppliers.

Take your time: While booking your suppliers as early as possible is important, it’s just as important not to rush the process. If you panic book the first suppliers you see, you’ll likely second-guess your decisions later on—especially since there are so many amazingly talented suppliers out there.

Do your research: So, where should you start your research? Most couples in the UK find their wedding suppliers via online searches, recommendations from friends and family, wedding directories, articles, real weddings/inspiration shoots, wedding fairs and advertisements on blogs or magazines. With so many options available, it is important to remember that this can and will take time, but the time you spend researching now will be worth it in the long run.

So do your research and make sure you consider the following:

• The style of your wedding: Are you having a casual or formal day, an intimate affair or lavish celebration, a city wedding or something more classic? And do the suppliers you’re looking at compliment your style and taste?
• Your budget: it’s easy to get carried away and spend more than you can afford, but remember, if you splash out here, you’ll need to cut back elsewhere.
• Location: While some suppliers are willing to travel, others may not be. So consider where your suppliers are based.

Send an enquiry: If you are sending an enquiry, make sure you include the following information:

• Your name (and the name of your partner).
• Your contact details (if you are sending an enquiry via their website).
• The date of your wedding.
• The wedding venue(s)/location.
• The service and/or product you require. For example, if you are looking for a Wedding Planner, do you want them to plan your entire wedding or parts of it or assist with on-the-day coordination?
• A quick overview of your big day!

In terms of the enquiry itself, you will need to ask the following questions:

• Availability.
• Price/packages and optional extras.
• Deposit and payment terms.
• Terms and conditions.
• Booking procedure.

Make a shortlist: Based on the responses you get to Step 3, make a shortlist of no more than two or three suppliers in each category that you love.

If required, arrange a consultation: With some suppliers, a phone consultation or even email correspondence should be enough to understand whether you’d like to work with them. Still, it’s important to check out your chemistry with others, a Wedding Planner, Stylist or Photographer, for example. If possible, try to meet up in person or arrange a video call, depending on location and availability.

Do even more research! Check out your shortlisted suppliers in even more detail:

• Have a good read of their websites, brochures and blogs (if they have one).
• Look at their social media accounts, i.e., Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Are they active on these accounts? Who do they interact with? How many followers do they have?
• See if they have any work featured on wedding blogs or magazines.
• Read through any reviews/testimonials from past couples.

By doing all, or even just some of the above, you will ultimately better understand what kind of person/company they are.

Make your decision: Follow your gut, and once you’ve decided, let the other suppliers you’ve spoken to or met with know that you’ve chosen your supplier. They will appreciate your honesty and courtesy. Then, break the good news to your chosen suppliers and start to iron out the details.

If contracts/terms and conditions are available, then make sure you read these carefully and that you are happy with everything included… If there are any question marks, don’t be afraid to query something if you’re unsure. Now is the time to ask, as you don’t want to have any regrets.

Once you’ve made everything official, it’s time to get excited – you’re one step closer to your big day!