You just got engaged – and are pretty excited to start planning your dream wedding! But now what? If you feel slightly overwhelmed and are totally lost where to even begin and what vendors to book first, this post has all the answers!

Here is the order I recommend for booking your vendors for a stress-free wedding planning experience:

1. FIND YOUR VENUE AND CHOOSE YOUR DATE

The first vendor you should book and search for is your venue. Booking your venue will be the foundation for your wedding day because it is directly tied to your wedding date! Start your search as early as you can as many popular venues book out far in advance.

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2. BOOK A WEDDING PLANNER

Once you have a date and your venue locked in, the next vendor to book for your wedding day should be a wedding planner. There are lots of different options, from full service and design, to month-of, to day-of wedding planners. Whichever level of service works best for your wedding day, booking a planner will save you time, energy and nerves!

Planners will also be an amazing resource when it comes to finding your other vendors. Many planners have a full list of recommendations they can send you so you don’t have to look through the hundreds of options out there.

3. BOOK VENDORS WITH LIMITED AVAILABILITY

With the recommendations in hand from your wedding planner or venue, start your search for all your other vendors. Your first priority should be on vendors who can only take on one wedding per date (think businesses who are run by just one person rather than a large team/company):

Your photographer, your videographer, your florist and your hair and makeup artist, your officiant and the band.

4. BOOK ALL OTHER VENDORS

Next up, it’s time to reach out to all other vendors: rentals, caterers, stationary designers, specialty vendors etc.

KEEP IN MIND: The earlier you reach out to ALL of these vendors, the better. I can never hurt to book as soon as possible to avoid vendors you love being already booked or you having to stress last minute about finding someone.

THROW THIS EXACT ORDER OUT OF THE WINDOW IF you’ve been eyeing or following a certain vendor that you already love and know you want to book! Again, start with the venue so you have your wedding date, but other than that, just go ahead and book them 🙂

I hope this blogpost was helpful as you are beginning this fun journey of planning your wedding and you now know exactly who to reach out to next!

If you’re ready to book your wedding photographer, click here!