Getting your dream wedding vendors is easier than you may think. For many brides, wedding planning can be overwhelming especially after coming home from a 15 hour day at work. If they are your dream vendors, chances are that other brides may have them in their sights as well. Most ‘in demand’ vendors get booked up 9 months or more in advance. I remember from my own wedding, my DJ and Henna artist were booked 1 year out from my wedding date which was surprising and frustrating, but luckily I was able to find other reputable vendors. The more you plan ahead, the better your chances are to get the best vendors for your big day. Here’s a good breakdown of how you can get ahead on planning your wedding.
Get Engaged
Or not, as we know sometimes South Asian brides need to start planning before their Mr.’s put a ring on it.
Discuss Guest Lists
Your guest count will dramatically effect your budget and your ability to hire your dream vendors… For example, having a 200 person wedding for $100,000 with 5 events is plausible ( a simple affair), but having a 500 guests for $50,000 for 5 events is not. Guest lists: will play into the distribution of your wedding events and how much you can spend on decor etc.
Discuss When
When you will have your wedding will be a factor on your wedding costs. It will cost you significantly more during peak wedding season then if you have it in an off season month. Also hotel room pricing for your guests will fluctuate along with the peak season. If you want more bang for your buck, try to have your wedding at the beginning or end of peak season rather than in the middle of it.
Discuss your Budget
Budget: It’s obvious – but you would be surprised at how many people don’t figure this out before they start looking at venues. Sit down with your parents and discuss finances for you and your family. Have your fiance do the same and then you can come to a consensus on your actual budget and what is realistic for that (number of guests and events). You can revisit the guest count and number of events once you have a final budget number.
Discuss Hiring a Wedding Planner
A common misconception is that the venue provides a wedding planner. They in 95% of cases do not, they provide a person to ensure that the venue will set the tables, and buffets and provide servers at a designated time, they will not make vendor recommendations, help you negotiate contracts, create a wedding planning timeline and a minute to minute wedding day timeline. A wedding planner will be able to help you save money on your other vendors.
Book your Venue and your Caterer
Reach out to your Dream Vendors
Now that you have a bit of an idea on what your budget is. You’ve booked the venue and caterer (the largest portion of your wedding budget will be allocated to these 2 vendors) for your Desi wedding. You have the ability to understand how much you have left to allocate to the vendors that are most important to you. From your wedding photographer, to videographer, day of wedding coordinator to makeup artist, henna artist to DJ reach out to your dream wedding vendors for an initial meeting and request a proposal.
Review the Proposal and Send a Deposit
After meeting with your dream Indian wedding vendor, they will most likely send you a proposal on the initial cost of items. If it works with your budget and the costs are in line with what you expected, do not hesitate to ask for a contract and send them a retainer deposit. Chances are if they are your dream vendor, they also may be another bride’s and will get booked up quickly, so act fast if you know you can’t live without them.
Vendors that you should send a deposit along with a finalized contract.
- Photographer
- Videographer
- Day of Coordinator
- Henna Artist
- Makeup Artist
- DJ
Vendors who you should send a deposit to based on an estimate ( you will not be able to have final details this early on)
- Decorator
- Caterer
We hope that you found this useful! Honestly there are many people who jump ahead and book their vendors without factoring in the catering costs and then have to work backwards. Take a few minutes to look through our every growing wedding vendor directory to find your vendors. Come back and visit us soon.
Photo credit: Black Swan Productions.
