11 Mistakes Couples Make When Booking Their Wedding Vendors
It's so easy to make these mistakes when it comes to booking your wedding venue and suppliers - but here's how to avoid them!
Booking your wedding team is so exciting - person by person, business by business, you get to build your whole wedding and your vision starts to come to life. But you can make mistakes when booking your wedding suppliers or wedding venue.
We’ve listed the 11 common mistakes couples make when booking their wedding suppliers and venues - make sure you read this before you hit up our wedding suppliers section so you’re prepared!
1. Booking the First Thing You See
We’ve been doing this a long time, and we do hear of couples who try on their first wedding outfit, or step into the first venue on their list, and fall for it immediately. It happens.
But that doesn’t mean that you should put down the deposit that day, especially if you had a few other options on your shortlist.
It’s so exciting to plan a wedding so you can get swept up in it and want to book the first thing you see - whether it’s your outfit, your venue or the first business you have a call with - but make sure you take some time to weigh up what you love and at least consider other options so you can be sure it’s not an impulse decision and you’re getting the right option for you and your day.
READ MORE: Nine Wedding Timing Mistakes You Might be Making
2. Over-Enquiring
It’s important to give yourself options so you’re making an informed decision, but don’t go wild contacting every venue within a 30 mile radius the day after you announce your engagement.
Chances are, if you contact too many people, you’ll get yourself in such a muddle when people start responding and you won’t be able to keep up and keep track of all the different options.
Make a shortlist of the venues and businesses you love, and contact a couple at a time - this will help you weigh up the pros and cons and not get totally overwhelmed!
3. Not Making (& Sticking to!) Your Budget
Making a wedding budget is honestly one of the first things you should do - after posting that all-important engagement announcement, you need to figure out how much you can save for and spend on your wedding.
The average wedding now costs £17,300, and that includes an average spend of £7,600 on a venue. Decide what you’re going to spend, and look for venues and suppliers that offer services and packages that align with that.
If you fall for something out of your budget, look at where you can cut and compromise on costs - make sure it all adds up as you don’t want to have the stress of spending more than you can afford.
READ MORE: The Best Wedding Packages to Boost Your Budget
4. Skim-Reading the Contract
Make sure you have an agreement in writing with your chosen wedding venue and vendors, and make sure you read it thoroughly.
You don’t want to be caught out by any unexpected surprises later - be clear on things like whether you need to supply meals for the on-the-day suppliers and who owns the copyright on your wedding photos, including how and where you can share them.
Make sure you’re 100% happy before you pay your deposit - remember many wedding vendors are small, independent businesses and the contracts are in place to protect them, as much as they are for you too.
5. Not Trusting Your Gut
Your gut told you that your partner was the one, right? And now you’re getting married so you know you can trust it.
If you know deep down that your outfit is the one as soon as you catch sight of yourself in it, or you find yourself wondering if your potential photographer could also be in your wedding party because you love them that much, don’t question yourself too much.
If you both feel confident it’s the absolute best option for your day and it works for you - don’t overwhelm yourself with other choices to try and eliminate any doubts. Sometimes, you really do just know.
6. Taking Too Long to Decide
Kind of linked to the above - you’ve found the perfect wedding florist. They’re in your budget, free on your date, but you want to speak to a few more and mull it over and just check the florist listings on Hitched one more time in case anyone new has signed up…
What’s happened? Oh, they’re no longer available on your date. Some vendors might hold a date for you for a little while, but you can’t expect them to hold it for too long so don’t leave them hanging and risk missing out!
7. Seeking Too Many Opinions
If you love them, and your partner loves them, that’s it. Those are the only opinions you truly need.
To be honest, your wedding party probably has enough going on in their life to help you decide on your wedding vendors, and you don’t really need to invite in unnecessary opinions that might complicate your decision making process.
What if you love them, but your mum doesn’t get it? Or your future father-in-law thinks it’s a waste of money? Chances are, when they see it on the day, they’ll love it, so don’t waste time inviting in too many views.
8. Being a Copy-Cat
You might have loved your bestie’s wedding, or have saved every single post from your favourite influencer’s big day, but that doesn’t mean you need to recreate it yourself.
Make sure your day is true to who you both are as a couple, and the wedding team you build reflects that.
You might love the photographer who shot your sister’s wedding’s work, but you might not click personally - there will be someone out there who you love and click with, so make sure they tick all the boxes for you. This is essential when they’re helping you plan one of the biggest days of your life.
9. Going for the Cheapest Option
Yeah, we know that wedding budget is tight - but don’t let the cheapest option be the only option if you can afford more.
If you’re struggling to afford the stuff you want, consider booking a wedding outside of peak wedding season, as more businesses are likely to have deals.
You can always be upfront about your budget and see if the supplier you like can offer you a package to suit it, but understand if they can’t.
Another way to make sure you can afford the best of what matters to you is to assess where you don’t mind skipping or compromising on things to free up more budget for the more important areas.
Check out our special offers section to help save more money on your wedding.
10. Not Asking the Pros for Help
If you’re struggling to find a specific business or creator, ask the wedding pros you have booked for their recommendations.
The wedding industry can feel pretty vast when you’re searching through it, but it’s actually quite a close-knit network, and your chosen vendors will know other businesses they like and trust, and would happily recommend them to you.
This also works if you love someone’s work but they’re not available for your wedding!
11. Trying to Do it All Immediately
Take your time - wedding planning is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t try and book every single vendor all at once as you’ll get burnt out pretty quickly.
Start with your wedding venue, as this will help you narrow down the key things like your wedding date and your wedding style.
Then you need to find your wedding photographer, as they can book up quickly, especially if you’ve chosen a summer Saturday. Once these are both locked in, start looking for and booking the rest!
If you do it all at once you’re going to get in a muddle with availability and keeping track of your spends, and you’re more likely to make compromises on things you don’t love as you rush to get it all done.
Ready to start? Here are the questions to ask your wedding venue before you book!
