Top Questions to Ask Wedding Vendors

There is a lot of research that goes into wedding planning. For me, the biggest piece was finding and evaluating venues and vendors to find the right fit for us. We found options on wedding planning sites, social media, and through friends and family, but we still had to meet with vendors and decide who to choose. At first, I didn’t know what questions to ask, but I soon found a few that made it easier to compare our options. I pulled together some of the most helpful questions to ask wedding vendors before you book.

Wedding Venue

Your venue will likely be one of the first wedding vendors you book because it determines your wedding date and impacts many other decisions. In addition to finding out whether your preferred date is available, ask exactly what’s included in the price. Some venues provide tables, chairs, linens, catering, staffing, and other services, while others only provide the space. Our venue includes many of those elements, which meant we didn’t need to hire as many separate vendors. It also made it important to understand the per-person price, fees, and minimums.

Five questions to ask your wedding venue:

• Do you have an approved or preferred vendor list, and are we required to use it?
• What is included in the venue fee and per-person price, such as catering, tables, chairs, linens, place settings, and staffing?
• What is the maximum guest capacity for the ceremony and reception?
• Are there food and beverage minimums, service charges, gratuities, or other fees?
• How many hours are included for setup, the wedding, and breakdown?

Wedding Planner or Coordinator

Depending on how much of the wedding planning process you want to handle yourself, you may want to hire a full-service wedding planner, partial planner, or a month-of or day-of coordinator. Before hiring someone, clarify their responsibilities. A venue coordinator generally focuses on the venue and its staff, while a wedding planner or outside coordinator may oversee your full vendor team and the wedding-day logistics.

Five questions to ask a wedding planner or coordinator:

• What is included in your package, and when will we start working together?
• Have you worked with our venue or similar venues before?
• Will you help find vendors, review contracts, and communicate with vendors?
• Will you create and manage the wedding-day timeline?
• Will you be there for setup and breakdown?

Wedding Photographer

Photography was one of the decisions I cared about most, and I found it helpful to ask friends for referrals and look at photographers’ full galleries to get a feel for their style. A complete gallery shows how a photographer captures the entire day, including family portraits, candid moments, the ceremony, and an indoor reception.

Five questions to ask a wedding photographer:

• How would you describe your photography style?
• Have you photographed weddings at our venue or similar venues?
• What is included in your wedding photography package?
• How do you handle requests for specific photos, including family portraits?
• Will you help us create a photography timeline for the day?

Wedding Florist

The initial wedding florist calls were tricky because vendors kept asking me for my floral budget, but I didn’t know what different elements, like bouquets and centerpieces, cost. The calls became more productive when I created a Pinterest board with examples and discussed the price of each element. We were able to work together to figure out how to get a similar look at a cost that worked for us.

Five questions to ask a wedding florist:

• Based on these inspiration photos, what would you estimate for each floral element?
• What flowers will be in season around our wedding date?
• Which arrangements can be repurposed from the ceremony to the reception, and who will move them?
• Are delivery, setup, breakdown, vases, candles, and other décor included?
• Can we see a sample centerpiece or bouquet before the wedding, and is there an additional fee?

Wedding Caterer

You may not need to hire a separate caterer if your venue provides food and bar service. If catering is not included, ask your venue whether you can choose any caterer or need to hire one from an approved list.

The menu matters, but staffing, rentals, bar service, and dietary accommodations matter, too. As someone who is gluten-free and vegetarian, I would also want to know that a caterer can provide a thoughtful meal for guests with dietary restrictions—not simply remove part of the standard entrée.

Five questions to ask a wedding caterer:

• What is included in the per-person price, such as staffing, rentals, cocktail hour, and bar service?
• Can you accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions?
• Is a tasting included, and when will it take place?
• Are there service charges, gratuities, minimums, cake-cutting fees, or other additional costs?
• When are the final menu and guest count due?

Wedding Hair and Makeup

When you’re comparing wedding hair and makeup vendors, look beyond the price of the bride’s services. Minimums, travel fees, trials, services for additional people, early start times, and touch-ups can significantly change the total. If you’re working with an agency, I recommend confirming who will actually be assigned to you so you can review their portfolio and schedule a trial with them.

Five questions to ask wedding hair and makeup artists:

• Is a trial included, and will the same artists do my hair and makeup on the wedding day?
• Is there a minimum number of services or a minimum spend?
• Will you help create a beauty timeline for the day?
• How many artists will be there, and how much time should we allow for everyone’s services?
• Are travel, early-start, touch-up, assistant, and gratuity fees included?

Wedding Band or DJ

Your band or DJ will have a huge impact on the vibe of your reception, so make sure their style fits what you envision. In addition to listening to their recordings, ask who will actually perform at your wedding and how they handle the timeline, announcements, and song requests.

Five questions to ask a wedding band or DJ:

• Who will perform at our wedding, and can we see recent videos or recordings?
• How many hours of music are included, and can you also provide music for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner?
• Can we provide must-play and do-not-play lists?
• Who will act as the emcee, and how will you coordinate the reception timeline?
• Are sound equipment and setup included, and what are the overtime fees?

Wedding Cake

Your venue or caterer may provide your wedding cake, or you may need to find a bakery yourself. We chose one of our favorite gluten-free bakeries and had a good time trying different cake and frosting combinations to find the one.

Five questions to ask a wedding cake baker:

• Do you offer a tasting, and is there a fee?
• Can you accommodate dietary restrictions?
• How much cake do we need for our guest count?
• Are delivery, setup, and a cake stand included?
• Do you have cake designs we can choose from or customize?

Questions to Ask Every Wedding Vendor

There are also a few questions worth asking almost every vendor before signing a contract.

Make sure you understand exactly what’s included in the quoted price and what could cost extra. Ask about deposits and payment schedules, overtime or travel fees, and insurance. You should also ask about cancellation and rescheduling policies and what happens if the vendor is unable to provide the agreed-upon services.

Read the entire contract before signing it, even after you’ve had a great consultation. You want everything you’ve agreed to—from hours of coverage to specific services—to be reflected in writing.

I’ve also found it helpful to compare proposals line by line instead of looking only at the total. One florist may include vases, candles, setup, and breakdown while another lists them separately. One photographer may include a second photographer or engagement session while another charges extra. The lower quote isn’t always the less expensive option once you compare what’s actually included.

Keep Track of Your Wedding Vendors

Every wedding is different, so you may not need every vendor on this list. You might also need additional vendors, such as a videographer, tent rental company, transportation company, or wedding stationery designer.

I found it helpful to keep a spreadsheet with everyone we needed to hire, who we’d contacted, pricing, and whether we’d signed the contract and paid the deposit. Once you start booking vendors, also keep track of final payment deadlines and anything each vendor needs from you before the wedding.

There are a lot of decisions involved in planning a wedding, but you don’t need to figure everything out at once. Start with the vendors who will have the biggest impact on your date and wedding, then work your way through the smaller details.