When to book your wedding vendors

The first thing on your list of things to book, should be your wedding venue. Some couples may already have a planned date for their wedding, which may narrow your choices when selecting a wedding venue. Other couples might have their dream venue in mind, which means you may have to be flexible with your day and date.

The most popular day for weddings is Saturdays and in my experience Saturdays book out extremely early. If you want to host your wedding on a Saturday, then it might be a good idea to book your wedding venue 18 to 24 months in advance.

Another aspect to take into consideration is if you are having your ceremony in a separate location to your reception. Many wedding ceremonies I photograph occur in a park, garden or beach, and then everybody heads to a traditional reception venue. If this is the case then you will need to make sure that your ceremony location and reception location both have the same date available. Check out this fantastic blog for more information.

Church weddings will normally have a priest or pastor included. Otherwise, a wedding celebrant should be next on your list. In my experience, celebrants come with different level of skills, experience and credentials. The price they charge will be an indication of this, and like many suppliers, there will be good ones, and not so good ones.

Some of the better ones can cost upwards of $1500, whereas others can cost $400 to 500. Personally, I believe it is wise to spend more on a wedding celebrant who you feel comfortable with, and somebody who you know is going to have the ability to create a atmosphere suited to what you want.

In my opinion, wedding celebrant’s have the most important job at a wedding and requires a lot of natural ability as well as professional experience. The celebrant I selected for my wedding, Stephen Lee is perhaps the most popular wedding celebrant in Sydney, and for good reason. He is friendly, welcoming and tailor made a script to suit our wedding. As I had photographed many weddings with Stephen in the past, I knew his style and knew he would do an excellent job.

However, I would highly suggest you check out some videos of celebrants so you can see them in action, and check out some reviews from previous couples at the very least. Believe it or not, I have been at weddings where the celebrant has be rude to guests, impatient with the couple and read from a generic script. Click here for handy tips on how to write your own wedding vows.

A wedding photographer should be pretty high up on your list of things to book. I personally have bookings over 18 months in advance. While there are plenty of wedding photographers out there, it is a good idea to scout around early and meet up with a couple of wedding photographers that you like the look of, as the good ones get booked out pretty early.

Over the years, I have tried to determine how long before the wedding does a couple book their photographer, and from my very un-scientific analysis, it is about 12 months. Having said that, sometimes I may take a booking and the wedding is in just a few weeks so there is no golden rule as to when you should book your wedding photographer.

Again, Saturdays book out pretty quickly, in fact, nearly every Saturday in 2018 is booked out for me. If you are getting married and looking for a wedding photographer, send me an enquiry for my availability.

I suggest booking in the florist, the baker, the band and the transport around six months prior to your wedding day. This will give you enough time to look of alternative suppliers if they are already booked on your date. Again, it is a good idea to check out their music, photos and reviews before booking.

Wedding suppliers live in a world where reviews can determine their reputation and can also be a deciding factor for couples when booking. Try to do as much research as possible, as the last thing you want on the biggest day of your life is your DJ not showing up or your bouquet not being what you wanted.

When planning your wedding, the best strategy you can have is booking all of the important vendors as early as possible to reduce the amount of stress and anxiety as your wedding day approaches.

Doing your research and hiring your wedding vendors early will help you feel more at easy on your big day and allow you to relax, enjoy the day and have the wedding you imagined.

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