I was recently talking with a potential client about her wedding vendors and I said something to her that I think a lot of brides can benefit from. We were discussing “How To Find The PERFECT Vendors For You” and so I am going to share with you all some of my advice on this topic. 

First, in order to find the BEST vendors FOR YOU, you have to know what you want from them. Because my specialty is in Photography, I will use ‘looking for a photographer’ as my example- but know that this applies to most wedding vendors across the board. 

1) DEFINE YOUR OVERALL BUDGET

If you know what you have to spend on the entire wedding, you can prioritize your vendors accordingly. My tip to all of my brides, especially ones concerned about cost, is this: 

Write a list of all of your MUST HAVE vendors for your wedding. Take the top three and plan your budget around those. You can cut corners on the other aspects of the wedding but not on your top three. 

My top three looks like this: 

1) Photography

2) Rentals/Styling

3) Florals

Each bride has different priorities so your list may look different than mine and that is OKAY! 

2) Meet Your Vendors

Once you have prioritized your needs and set your budget accordingly, it is time start selecting your vendors! 

My best advice to you is this: 
You want to hire someone that you trust. Someone who’s work speaks for itself time and time again. Someone with experience, quality gear, and a great client experience. Of course you want gorgeous photos that you will look at for the next 40+ years, but, you most importantly want someone with whom you connect with. Your photos will not feel beautiful, timeless, and romantic if you are working with someone you don’t mesh well with or someone who only poses you in stiff and awkward poses. (I wish I could underline this sentence with 5 lines!)

SO– How do you go about finding the BEST vendor for you?
Meet them. Sit down and have a coffee and get to know them and their heart, talk about your desires for your wedding and your expectations, and make sure they can deliver on those. More importantly, the right person will go above and beyond your expectations! 

Ultimately, you have to do what is best for you. When you are looking at vendors and prices and feeling overwhelmed, just take a step back, breathe, and go back to the basics. Go back to your top three priorities and just focus on booking those first then make your way down the list, cutting corners (and prices) where you need to in order for you to have the best you can without breaking the bank!