Researching, meeting, and ultimately hiring your wedding vendors is one of the most exciting parts of wedding planning. But it can also be one of the most daunting! After all, these are the professionals who will make your wedding vision come to life and help you to create some of your most lasting memories. Before you officially say yes to your crew, there are several key things to consider first as you vet your potential wedding vendors and review their contracts. To learn the 10 key things to look for, keep reading below!

How to Vet Wedding Vendors:

Before you can officially have a team of wedding professionals, you must first find and choose to work with great professionals! Here are the top five things to consider while you’re in your learning phase. 

Review Their Portfolio

Wedding professionals are inherently creative, which means they all have portfolios filled with their work. Make sure to review their work before you contact them! This means spending time on their websites and Instagram pages to make sure the professional’s style and aesthetic match what you have in mind. 

Read Reviews + Connect with References

WeddingWire, The Knot, and Instagram are all great places to look to when you want to read reviews. Make sure the reviews you’re reading are recent! Then after meeting with the professional, don’t be afraid to ask for a few email addresses or phone numbers to reach out to past clients to speak further if you feel like you need more information before moving ahead. 

Consider Personalities 

Your wedding professionals will be by your side throughout your wedding day, and it’s so important to work with great people who are kind, fun, and fantastic at their jobs. Someone can create beautiful work while also being awful to be around, so consider the professional’s personality while you’re chatting. Do you like them? Can you imagine being friends? Do you want to spend as much as 12 hours with them? If you’ve answered yes to all three, you’re on the right track! 

Think About Response Times

Wedding professionals are typically working events from Friday through Sunday, and they often take Monday (and sometimes Tuesday) off to regroup. If you find you haven’t heard back from a potential wedding vendor within a week, they’re likely not going to be a good fit for your day. 

Determine Their Professionalism 

Even though it’s wonderful to feel as though you can become friends with your wedding professionals, it’s also important to keep in mind that they’re coming to your wedding to do a job. So, you want to make sure they are professional over email, on the phone, and in person. If ever you start to doubt that they are, it’s time to contact someone else. 

How to Vet Wedding Vendors’ Contracts 

Once you decide to work with a wedding professional, the next step is for them to send you a contract! Make sure to review your document to check for these key elements before you sign and make your working relationship official. 

Look for Your Names

Because a contract is a legally binding document, it’s paramount that your names appear on it. Make sure to review your contract in its entirety to make sure your names are the ones that are listed. If you find that someone else’s name appears, flag it to your vendor and ask for a revised document. Many wedding professionals use a template that they update for each event, so it’s totally possible for an incorrect name to appear. But you will want it fixed before you sign!

Confirm Key Details

Your contract should list the date it was sent, your wedding ceremony and reception locations, your wedding date, and the timing of your event. If any of these pieces are missing, inquire as to why and whether they can be added. 

Review Timing + Package: 

As I mentioned, your wedding times should appear on your contract. Plus, vendors should detail the specifics that are included with your package. One of the specifics, specifically for photographers and videographers, is how much time they will spend onsite with you on your wedding day. If you’re booking a six, eight, or 12-hour package, that should be noted on your contract as it’s a specific detail you are paying for (and one your planner will want to review and confirm when working on your timeline). 

Confirm Costs: 

Every contract you sign should note payment details. This includes your total cost, the deposit amount owed, and the dates when payments must be received by your vendor. Plus, your contract should also spell out your vendor’s refund/cancellation policy just in case anything happens. 

Make Sure to Sign

Once you confirm everything on your contract is correct, your final step is to sign it and return it back to your vendor! Until you sign your contract, you have not entered into a formal relationship with your wedding professional, nor have you fully secured your wedding date. So, make sure to complete this step!

As long as you keep these 10 things in mind when chatting with and ultimately signing contracts with your wedding professionals, you should feel confident throughout your wedding planning process. Keep in mind, your wedding day is meant to be fun. So, you want to make sure you’re working with vendors who have that same goal in mind. 

Do you have any additional questions about vetting vendors or reviewing contracts?  Let me know, and I’ll try my best to help! If you want to talk further about vetting vendors and reviewing contracts,  we are always here to chat. 

 

Atlanta Vendor – 

Photographer – Ashley Nicole Photography 
Venue – Epicurean Hotel Midtown Atlanta 
Design – Akeem Clayton Designs