Wedding vendors are not a single shopping list—you book them in phases, and getting the order wrong costs money and stress. Book the photographer before the calligrapher; lock catering before you finalise guest count. This checklist shows which suppliers you need, when to hire them, and how to keep quotes and notes in one place.
Whether you are planning twelve months out or compressing into six, use it alongside your month-by-month timeline so nothing slips because Instagram distracted you with flower walls.
Book first: venue, catering, and core team
Venue (or celebrant plus hire space) sets your date, capacity, and many rules about suppliers. Ask every question before you sign—our venue question list is a sensible template—and save answers in vendor notes.
Catering often comes with the venue or as a separate contract. Confirm per-head pricing, service charges, VAT, dietary handling, and cake-cutting fees early.
Photographer and videographer rank high on availability lists, especially for peak Saturdays. Book once venue and date are firm; share your day-of timeline with them in the final month.
Planner or coordinator (if you want one) should join before major deposits stack up—they cannot magically fix a venue contract you signed without reading.
Mid-planning: look, sound, and legal
Once the skeleton is booked, layer in suppliers who shape how the day feels:
- Florist—book after palette and dress direction exist
- Hair and makeup—trials need your dress neckline and ceremony time
- Music—DJ, band, or ceremony musicians; confirm equipment and power
- Stationery designer or printer—lead times bite short engagements
- Cake or dessert supplier—delivery, stand, and cutting fee with venue
- Registrar or officiant—legal wording and timing for UK ceremonies
Build a shortlist before you commit. Our vendor shortlist guide and tips on comparing quotes fairly help you evaluate apples with apples—not the package that hides overtime.
Later bookings: details and day-of support
These suppliers often confirm closer to the date but still need lead time:
- Transport (couple, wedding party, guests if you are providing coaches)
- Photo booth, games, or entertainment extras
- Hire company for chairs, linens, marquees, or lounge furniture
- Lighting and draping if not included by venue or florist
- Childcare or entertainment if you welcome families
- Security or late licence steward if your venue requires it
When negotiating deposits, see how to negotiate without sounding cheap and log every payment in your budget tracker so balances do not surprise you in the final fortnight.
Optional suppliers worth considering
Not every wedding needs every role, but these appear often enough to list: live painter, magician during drinks, ice cream van, late-night snack vendor, and content creator if you want vertical video separate from your main videographer. Each adds a contract and arrival time to your run sheet—book them only when they solve a problem you actually have.
Hair and makeup for mothers or flower girls, groomsmen suit hire with return dates, and dry cleaning for dress preservation all sit adjacent to “vendor” planning. Add them as checklist tasks with due dates so they do not land the week after the honeymoon.
Short engagement? Compress the order
Planning under nine months means parallel booking, not polite sequencing. Secure venue, photographer, and catering in the same fortnight if you can. Skip custom stationery lead times in favour of digital invites. Use our six-month checklist for compressed phases and accept that some Tier B vendors become “book whoever is free.”
Deposits stack quickly when everything lands at once. Track due dates in your budget so three £1,000 holds in one month do not drain the account you still need for dress alterations.
Save vendors and quotes in WedCheese
Scattered emails and screenshot folders fail when three florists send revised PDFs with different VAT treatments. WedCheese lets you save suppliers, attach quotes, draft enquiry emails, and link each vendor to budget categories—so when photography runs over, you see the impact immediately.
AI vendor search helps you discover photographers, florists, and hire companies near your venue, then store favourites beside your checklist tasks. Notes from venue tours sit next to the contract question you still need answered, not buried in a voice memo.
Review this checklist against your wedding date monthly. The right supplier at the wrong time is still the wrong decision—and calm planning beats panic Googling in April. When a favourite photographer is booked, note the referral they suggest in vendor notes so you do not lose the lead in your inbox. A single saved shortlist beats seventeen half-finished comparison tabs open since February. Tick suppliers off as contracts sign— momentum matters more than perfect research at month ten.
Plan with less chaos
WedCheese is the AI wedding planner that turns your real wedding details into an organised plan: checklist, budget, guests, RSVP, decor, vendors, and notes in one calm app.