Wedding Planning Advice from the Pros (Part 5/6: Venue and Vendors)

Are you looking for some wedding planning advice? We are not surprised! Whether you decide to hire a wedding planner or not, planning your perfect wedding can be time-consuming, stressful, and hard work. But with the right tips, advice, and strategy, it can be much easier and less stressful.

That’s why we’ve searched to find out from recent newlyweds what they wish they would have done differently, and from the wedding planners themselves what expert wedding planning advice and tips they have. We’ve collected all those tips and advice here in this handy six-part guide, organized into categories for easy perusal. If you missed Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 be sure to check those out!

Here is some important wedding planning advice from the pros about your wedding venue and vendors.

1. Choose an attractive venue
2. Know your venue’s ground rules
3. Keep a paper trail
4. Wedding planning advice for communicating with vendors
5. Book the best photographer you can
6. Plan for meals
7. Wedding planning advice for scheduling the setup
8. Wedding planning advice for DIY-ers

1. Choose an attractive venue

One of the best wedding planning advice tips from the pros is to choose an attractive venue. It might sound simple, but it’s important to pick a venue that has inherent charm and attractive interiors and exteriors. This will give you a solid foundation and backdrop on which to base your wedding aesthetic. This way, you can save a lot of money in your decorating budget from having to “dress up” a less attractive space. 

2. Know your venue’s ground rules

Once you’ve decided on your venue, some important wedding planning advice is to make sure you have a clear understanding from the manager of any on-site ground rules or restrictions. Depending on your venue and whether it’s indoors or outdoors, some possible restrictions might include a reluctance for flash photography, bare shoulders (such as in a strict house of worship), or not being allowed to put tent stakes in the lawn.

3. Keep a paper trail

If you’ve made any nonstandard changes to your agreements with vendors, be sure to get those in writing, or send a confirmation email confirming the details of those changes. If you just assume everything is all set, you might end up putting yourself in an unfortunate situation. It’s not entirely impossible that by the time your big day rolls around, that contact you had made the agreement with for a certain vendor might no longer work there and be able to vouch for the changes. Take this piece of wedding advice from the pros and keep a paper trail.

4. Wedding planning advice for communicating with vendors

Another useful nugget of wedding planning advice is not to be afraid to talk to your vendors and ask for any possible extras. You might just get lucky! Most vendors would rather secure your reservation early on than nickel-and-dime you and might be willing to work with you if you request a couple of extras. 

Your vendors are experts in the wedding planning process. They are most likely approachable to explore what you really want for your wedding and what options are truly viable and which ones might not. And they will be able to tell you what can or cannot make work given your wedding budget. 

It is also likely that one excellent vendor knows other excellent vendors that they’ve worked with before. Your florist might know a perfect photographer in your price range, or which caterers are best to work with. However, you might also get lucky and find a top-notch venue that can help you navigate all of your vendors for you.

Also, don’t forget to thank your vendors! The more you express your appreciation for your vendors, the more likely they will be willing to go above and beyond for you and your wedding. And they are working hard to help make the dream of your perfect wedding day a reality, so gratitude is definitely deserved.  

5. Book the best photographer you can

When it comes to wedding planning advice, many of the pros will tell you that it’s important to prioritize photography in your budget and book the best wedding photographer you can. Don’t underestimate the importance of a good photographer for your wedding. Your wedding photos are how you will keep and relive those important memories, and you only get one chance to make sure they are up to the task. So research carefully, make sure you ask your photographer important questions, and find someone who understands exactly what you want. 

6. Plan for meals

Something you might not realize ahead of time that you will need to plan for is meals for your vendors and your bridal party crew. 

You want to take care of your vendors because they are taking care of you. But you might also want to make sure that this isn’t already addressed for certain vendors in the contract. And if you’re going all out on the menu for your guests, you might want to make sure you aren’t obligated to serve the same expensive meals to the vendors if that stretches your budget too thin. Take care of your vendors, but monitor your budget as well. 

Also, some wedding planning advice from the pros is to consider your bridal party as they are spending time taking photos with you. These photos are usually taken between the ceremony and the reception when the rest of the guests are getting to enjoy a cocktail hour. And they’ve already been “at it” with you all day, so by this time, everyone will be getting hungry. So for this in-between time, it’s a nice gesture to prepare or order some kind of picnic hamper-style snack for everyone to enjoy and tide them over until the reception.

7. Wedding planning advice for scheduling the setup

As it gets closer to your wedding day, you need to make sure that there is plenty of time to set up. Check in with your venue to see when your vendors can arrive to start the process. The earlier the better, but if it’s a busy season and your venue is booked solid, they might not be able to be as flexible with you about when the setup for your event can begin. So be sure to check to make sure you can get in as early as you can, and make sure your vendors are informed as well and everyone is on the same page. 

8. Wedding planning advice for DIY-ers 

While DIY-ing some of the decor elements of the wedding yourself can be cost-effective and add some wonderful personal touches, don’t overdo it. You’ll likely end up with way more work than you anticipated or can truly handle. If you do take on some Pinterest-y DIY projects for your wedding, some important wedding planning advice is to start those projects early. These projects inevitably take longer than planned and require touch-ups or redos. Or you might find out you are unhappy with the result and need to scrap the project altogether and find a replacement. Give yourself plenty of time for all possible outcomes.

Be sure to stay tuned for Part 6, the final installment of this guide where we reveal more wedding planning advice from the pros!

Still haven’t found a venue? Give us a call to plan a tour and find out why Jennings Trace could be the perfect wedding venue you’ve been looking for.

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