Congratulations! You’ve Booked Your Venue…Now What?!

Congratulations! You’ve booked your venue! … Now what!?

Congratulations! You’ve finally picked your venue along with the date. This is such an exciting time and it’s probably hitting you that you’re really getting married! Whether you want to take a break from planning, or jump right into the finer details like centerpieces and bridesmaid dresses; we’ve compiled a list below of the most important vendors that you should focus on next:

1. Caterer – If your venue has only once choice for a caterer then you can skip to the next vendor. If your venue offers up a list of preferred caterer or if you can bring your own, you’ll want to get quotes and see which caterer fits your needs and menu ideas immediately.
   
2. DJ/Band – If you and your fiancé haven’t decided on what time of music entertainment you want for your reception, now is the time to have that conversation! The music entertainment will set the tone and the atmosphere for the entire reception. Make sure you have the conversation with your venue about what audio equipment is available for your ceremony and cocktail hour. This way you’ll know what you need your music vendor to supply for each.
   
3. Photographer – Although picking your photographer may seem like a simple & easy task, there are many different choices to make while picking your photographer. All of the questions below will help you choose the correct photographer, within your desired budget
   
   1. What style of photography are you envisioning? Light & Airy, Dark & Moody, Editorial, Photojournalistic? There are many other varieties but these are the general styles to go off of.
      
   2. How many hours do you want your photographer there for? Do you want shots of you and your bridal party getting ready? Are you doing a first look? Do you want pictures of people dancing at the end of the night?
      
   3. How many shooters do you want? With two shooters, you can get different shots at the same time, which makes for a better variety of photographs.
      
4. Day of Coordinator – If you don’t already have a wedding planner, now is the time to look into a Day of Coordinator. If you’re uncertain if you need one or not, maybe your venue supplies one, be sure to read our blog “Why You Should Hire A Day of Coordinator Even if Your Venue Has a Coordinator.” If you’re still unsure, please reach out and discuss your concerns with All Aboard Event Planning. We’d be happy to explain what we do and why it is important to hire your own DOC. You want to be sure to find a Planner/Day of Coordinator that you work well with and that you can trust and rely on for the details of one of the biggest days of your life.
   
5. House Rental – Depending on where and when your wedding is, if you’re looking into renting an Airbnb that seems desirable, then you should look into booking that right away. Houses book up quick, especially if it’s in a desired area during high season. We wouldn’t want you to lose out on that dream house you were wanting to get ready at for your big day, because it wasn’t booked on time.
6. Videographer- If you plan to have your day translated into a beautiful and emotional video to watch for years to come- we highly recommend booking your videographer sooner rather than later!

A lot of people think when they have booked their venue far enough in advance that they have all the time in the world to book these vendors. The vendors listed above are the most important and make your wedding day the dream that it is. They start booking 18 months in advance, some even closer to 2 years. Although you can wait as long as you want, we’d advise to book these ones before anything else. Booking further in advance will not only give you the time to do research on who you want to book, but you will have a variety of options and give you a peace of mind.

Be sure to ask your wedding planner for suggestions on vendors and what to do after you’ve booked all of these!