Finding the Right Vendors (Wedding Series: Part 3 of 6)

Congratulations, you’re getting married! Now you have to plan your wedding. Over the past two posts, I have talked about how you can plan your budget, learn the laws in your state, find the right venue, and send the invitations to your guests. Now it is time to start planning your vendors!

What Do You Want?

Talk to your fiancé about each of your dreams and visions when it has come to your wedding. Has it always been an idea of a large, posh, fully catered celebration; or a small, intimate party with your close friends and family. Here are some questions to ask:

What photos or videos do you want?

Do you want professional quality photos, or are selfies and snap shots fine? If you need a pro to do

it, how much are you willing to spend? Wedding photography and videography is expensive, costing thousands of dollars. If you want a highly professional, all inclusive service, it will likely cost between $1,200 and $4,000 (avg. = $2,000). These costs do not include printing, creating albums, and video or montage creation.

Tip: Do you have any family members that are professional photographers or videographers? If so, ask them to do it. Even if they want pay, often times having a family member do it is still much cheaper than hiring someone else (who will demand that you pay for all of their expenses) to take the photos.

What décor do you want?

Do you have a vision in mind for what you want your big day to look like? What is it? Can your venue provide it for free or at a reduced price? Do you want to decorate? Does your family want to decorate? Do you want to hire someone else? On average, the cost of decorations is around $1,800. If you hire a florist, it will be more.

How big do you want your cake?

You need to find a wedding cake baker, and go with your fiancé to choose the right size and style

cake for your wedding. Make certain that you can taste test the cakes, and that they have photos of what it actually looked like. Since wedding cakes typically are expensive (avg. = $500), talk to people that have been to the same place as you. Be picky! If it’s not what you want, ask them about other flavors or designs. The average traditional wedding cake is 3 tiers, and has a 12 inch base. Feel free to do what you want, though!

What do you want to hear?

Do you want to hear your favorite songs during your wedding reception? Would you prefer for it to be more traditional? Would you prefer a DJ or a musician? Do you want to play your own music? Some people hire someone to professionally play music for them. For some people, this is a professionally hired musician (pianist, violinist, guitarist, etc.), for others they prefer a DJ.

If you would prefer to come up with your own music list, and play it on your own speakers, it will be a lot cheaper. You’ll need speakers and a portable music playing/streaming device. This nice portable bluetooth speaker by zazzle.com allows you to put a photo on it, if you want to show off your engagement photos in a cool, unique way.

What do you want to eat?

After you have rented your reception venue, the costs at it aren’t over. You also have to pay for lunch/dinner for each person. Typical costs are between $60 and $200 per person. This can cost thousands more (and that’s for a dry wedding). If you are planning on letting people drink alcohol, costs are at least $20 more per person.

If there is anything else you want, look up vendors for it. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out the other parts of this series at planandorganize.com.