How to Make the Most of Your Wedding Vendor Appointments

This entry is from our Expert Guest series where wedding and honeymoon professionals share their best tips on creating memories that last a lifetime.

During wedding planning, meetings at the florist, venue, bakery, and countless others involved in your wedding become almost as routine as brushing your teeth. Each meeting should have a purpose and make you feel even better about the event you’re planning. Here are my top 10 tips on how to make sure your vendor appointments are successful:

Find the perfect venue for your dream wedding. Alisandra Photography

Read your contracts: Before you book your vendors and start meeting in person, make sure to thoroughly read your contract. Know how many appointments you are allowed to have, what information they need and when, etc.

Make an appointment: Make all appointments at least a week in advance and call if you are going to late or need to reschedule. While some vendors may not mind you dropping by their studio to say hello, most prefer scheduled appointments so they can be prepared for you.

Know your budget: Sit down with whoever will be paying for the wedding at the beginning of the planning and decide how much you plan to spend in each ˜category’. Your vendors can give you better direction to your wants and needs if they know how much you have to spend.

Select the perfect bakery to make the cake.  Alexa’s Photography

Bring inspiration with you: If you have a wedding notebook or folder on your iPad of inspiration photos, bring them along to the appointment. Images of things you like and don’t like serve as inspiration for those working with you.

Do your homework: If your vendors give you worksheets and homework to complete, do it and finish on time! Vendors need to be informed of your details so they can help you to the best of their abilities, and they need to know in a timely manner or something could be overlooked.

Communicate fully: Planning an event you are paying thousands of dollars for is no time to be shy. Ask questions when you have them; your vendors will be happy to answer! If you are afraid you will forget your questions in person, note them down on your phone as you think of them.

Find the perfect wedding band to set the mood. Whitebox Photography

Let your vendor lead the meeting: Try not to steam roll your vendor with a million questions the moment you sit down. They probably have a list of things they would like to discuss and answering your questions at the end is usually the most productive.

Work with a planner: A planner can save you SO much time at appointments. You will not even need to meet with vendors if you have a planner. For the ones you do need to meet with, your planner will be a wonderful advocate for you and have a vision of the full day to convey to your vendors.

Be decisive: Tell your vendors what you like and do not like. I promise you will not hurt their feelings (if you share in a kind way!). Most will really appreciate your giving them feedback on what you envision for your day. For example,  if you hate roses but love sunflowers, your florist is definitely going to want to know that!

But also be flexible: If you are indecisive about something (like do we go with this linen or that one?), trust your vendors and planner to direct you towards the best choice.

Leigh Pearce Weddings Bio: Established in 2009, Leigh Pearce Wedding is one of the leading event production companies in North Carolina. Specializing in destination weddings and event design, LPW is based in the heart of NC and exclusively serves the Southeast. Their bespoke celebrations are created with great love and the utmost attention to detail. You can see more of their work here: www.leighpearceweddings.com