Tips for Finding Your Perfect Wedding Vendors
Wedding Planning Tips for Hiring Your Vendor Dream Team
How do you find the perfect wedding vendor team for your wedding?
It can feel overwhelming at times, but know that all the hard work will pay off when your wedding day is executed to perfection—even with whatever craziness the day may try to throw at you. (Sleet, 100+ temperatures, wind, traffic preventing access to the venue for your guests…)
Here are a few tips to help you find your wedding vendor dream team!
- Determine your priorities
- Establish your budget
- Tour venues
- From venue’s available dates, reach out to your must-have vendors
- Lock-in date with venue and must-have vendors (about one year out)
- Ask vendors for recommendations
- Hire remaining vendors
- Trust your vendor team
Keep reading to find out why these are my recommendations and see some of my favorite 2023 images from Behind the Scenes!
What are your wedding day priorities?
This single step will help you inform your decisions and stay within budget. For example, if you want to provide a culinary experience for your guests, catering may be your splurge item.
If you love the scent and look of lush florals, that may be a priority for you. If scenic views and a grand environment are important to you, then your venue could be a top priority.
If preserving memories to have long after the day is a priority, photography and videography may be at the top of your list.
If your goal is an intimate celebration with close friends and family, then a priority may be to keep a trim guest list.
Once you nail down what your vision is of how you want your wedding to look and feel, you can choose the few items you’ll prioritize (and which you may be willing to sacrifice to afford those goal items.)
Establish a rough budget.
If you’ve been busy on Pinterest, you may be surprised to learn the price tag for may of these items. Look at the finances you have available for your wedding day and set a budget. You can go over this with your planner and determine if it’s realistic for the priorities you have set for your day.
Tour venues.
Since you’ll need to know a date when you check availability with your vendors, I recommend starting with your venue. But if you’d feel more comfortable having a planner helping guide you with this decision, start with your planner!
Once you find your dream venue and a date you like, you can lock in with your venue!
Or if you have another vendor that you really want on your day, you can find out dates that your venue has available and reach out to your must-have vendors first. Some vendors can only take on one wedding per day (Or weekend!) and you’ll likely want to start with them. Photographers and videographers would be in this category.
Hire your must-have vendors first.
Once you know your date and venue, hire those must-have vendors first. Meet with them either in person or via a call. Especially for vendors you’ll be working closely with during your day like photographers and videographers, you’ll want to make sure that you’re a good fit!
For photographers, I also recommend asking to see full galleries. You’ll want to look for strong storytelling, candids and emotional shots, portraits and posing, editing, composition and overall aesthetic. Basically, liking the look of the photos is a great starting point. But also look for photos that make you feel. Most importantly, can you envision your wedding day as you look through their galleries?
Ask Vendors for Recommendations.
Ask your favorite vendors to share recommendations for their favorite vendors.
Vendors have worked a lot of wedding days alongside these other vendors. We see who serves our couples above and beyond. We see who made magic happen.
And when couples love their vendors, we see that, too. Vendors love working for awesome couples, and we also love working alongside amazing professionals.
If you want a dream team who is having a blast working together for you, make sure to ask your vendors who they’d hire!
Hire remaining vendors.
Start hiring the remaining vendors. Go in order of the priorities you’ve set for your day. If vendors you love aren’t in budget or available, ask if they might recommend someone who may be!
Trust your vendor team
Wedding planning can feel like a full-time job on top of your actual full-time job at first. But breathe deep and know that you’ve got this! You’ll have a few decisions to make, and then you’ll have people by your side to help things get done from there.
Put your trust in your instincts, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and prepare to be stress-free, amazed and supported on your wedding day!
Here are some of my favorite behind the scenes images of some of my favorite friendors from 2023. And a bunch of photos of me at work taken by some of my lovely second photographer friends! (I have the BEST second photographers—really!)
DMV Wedding Vendor Teams in Action
How gorgeous is this ceremony site overlooking the James River at Estate at River Run wedding venue in Maidens?
Bunn DJ at Estate at River Run kept everyone on the dance floor!
Wedding planner Tanya Cornwell with Starry Night Events helps a bride with a very demanding bug right before the first look!
Kim Wadsworth is a Virginia Beach makeup artist who provides an unparralelled experience for her brides, sticking around to help with everything from dress and veil fluffs to touchups.
Here’s me photographing a session in Middleburg! I loved the purple blooming tree beside the Red Fox Inn, and the vine covered buildings at Goodstone Inn. I shoot weddings at Red Fox Inn a lot, and am excited I’ll be at Salamander Resort for a wedding this summer!
I love working with the vendor team at Congressional Country Club! They know portrait time is precious and short, and they always have golf carts and drivers ready to whisk us out on the greens to grab those iconic shots with the venue in the background.
Sharing the aisle with the videographer during a church ceremony! Professional photographers and videographers know how to do this and stay out of each other’s shots. It’s a synchronized dance we all learn from years of working together. (Your friend’s cousin’s boyfriend who has a video camera might not know how to do this.)
Marylee Marmer Events is another wedding planner I’ve enjoyed working with! (We even hired her when my daughter got married this August!)
I loved photographing at the beautiful Poplar Springs Manor wedding venue! Look at all that beautiful fall foliage!
Shooting a Charleston Engagement Session at Sullivan’s Island beach.
Virginia Grace Events helping bride Amira with her dress at Virginia House.
My awesome second photographer Liz helps with the dress at The Cavalier in Virginia Beach. Liz is such a helpful and fun person to have along on the wedding day!
The florals at Grace & Mark’s Dumbarton House wedding by Kate Campbell Floral Design were stunning! All the cool-toned blues and purples looked amazing. After we were done shooting portraits at the ceremony site, the team moved them to the reception. Repurposing your florals at both sites is a great way to make the most of your floral budget!
Our DJ friend here from Black Tie Entertainment had the BEST energy. She was clearly having a blast and the crowd was PUMPED!
Back at The Estate at River Run, and second photographer Derek stands for a lighting test. Derek is so helpful on the wedding day and the wedding party and other vendors LOVE him!
DJ Chris is great to work with! He had the dance floor packed at The Historic Post Office.
Second photographer extraordinaire, Emily stands in while I test the lighting at this location at Country Club of Virginia! I’m always grateful to have her along with me on a wedding day.
Rachel with Marylee Marmer Events, putting the finishing touches on a room at Country Club of Virginia, Westhampton before the reception.
Hair and makeup in the beautiful getting ready room at Estate at River Run. (One of the prettiest venues for getting ready.)
Chris at Soundwave DJ, doing his thing at Country Club of Virginia!
Tanya at Starry Night Events at work at Estate at River Run.
Shooting a few potraits on the wedding day for some dear friends in Richmond.
Beautiful Lauren serving double-duty at Historic Post Office as bridesmaid and florist. I hired Lauren (Monarch Flower Farm) for my daughter’s bouquet when she got married, and it was GORGEOUS!
I love shooting in Charleston, SC, and am always looking for an excuse to visit. I was excited to shoot their engagment photos in Charleston where they live, and I will be shooting their wedding in Middleburg, VA where the bride is from!
Hampton Roads baker puts the finishing touches on the cake in the morning.
Samantha, lead wedding planner at Marriage and Mimosas is so detail oriented and she knows how to create a VIBE! I always know Sam’s weddings are going to be gorgeous, and she’s so fun to work with!
2023 was an amazing year for weddings. Thanks so much to all my vendor friends. Thanks for the referrals, thanks for the support on the wedding day, and thanks for making this job so much fun! You guys are amazing.
And thanks to my incredible couples. I appreciate your trust in me immensely. I love seeing your vision come to life and supporting you on such an important day in your lives. And I’m so humbled by your kindness. I seriously have the sweetest and most lovely couples to work with and I’m beyond grateful for each of you.
Here are a few iphone pix of me with my couples. (Usually at the end of the night. Usually a terrible, sweaty selfie. But I love trying to capture a shot with each couple!)
