Who Gets Hired First? | The Best Order to Book Your Wedding Vendors

When you first get engaged, it’s hard to know the best order to book wedding vendors. Should you book your wedding venue first? Should you hire your stationery designer before or after your calligrapher? As a Kansas City wedding planner, it’s my job to make sure my couples are booking their wedding vendors in a way that makes sense and is aligned with their priorities. Keep reading to learn what order a professional wedding planner books wedding vendors!

The best order to book wedding vendors: the most common misstep

1. Wedding Planner

One of the biggest mistakes couples make when it comes to the order in which they book wedding vendors is not hiring their wedding planner first. I know, I know. Of course I would say that. Couples usually book their venue first, thinking they need to have that set before meeting with a planner. If you plan on hiring a wedding planner in any capacity beyond wedding management (or day-of coordination), this is a mistake.

A full-service wedding planner will help you evaluate your priorities and create your wedding budget. If you book your venue before understanding how much to allocate towards it, you unknowingly eat up a huge chunk of your budget. More than half of engaged couples end up spending $6000 more than they originally planned, and impulsive venue booking is a huge reason why!

If you’d love to get a clearer picture of your budget but aren’t quite ready to commit to a full-service wedding planner, check out our Budget Beginnings offer!

The best order to book wedding vendors: securing your date

2. Venue

After you hire your wedding planner, they will help you find your venue(s)! If you plan to marry in a specific place of worship, then your ceremony venue will already be determined. Once you have your ceremony and reception venues selected, your date is officially set! Now you’re able to communicate your date to other vendors and get into the thick of the planning process.

3. Hotel Blocks

If you’re getting married during a busy time of year or around any other local events, then you should start securing hotel blocks as soon as your date is set. If you’re in Kansas City and planning on an October wedding, you have both the busy wedding season and Chiefs fans to compete against.

The best order to book wedding vendors: book in order of priority (Phase 1)

The order in which you book this next chunk of vendors will depend largely on your priorities. Most of my couples prioritize photography a lot, so that is frequently the first vendor we book. Others prioritize their flowers, so we may book their floral designer first.

4. Photographer

Photographers are typically individuals with businesses, meaning they don’t have the availability to take on multiple weddings in one day. If there’s a specific photographer you have your eye on, book them early before someone else can!

5. Videographer

Similarly to photographers, videographers can typically only take on one wedding per day.

6. Caterer

Depending on the size of the catering team, they may be able to do multiple weddings per day. If you have a specific caterer in mind, then it’s a good idea to book them early.

7. Floral Designer

Floral designers, depending on the size of the team and the scope of their design work, may be able to take on multiple weddings per day. If they’re a one-human show, then their availability may be more limited. If it is a large team with multiple designers, then they have more flexibility.

8. Stationery Designer

For the most part, a stationery designer’s work is done before the wedding day even happens. If they’re also doing your signage, then they may do delivery and installation on the wedding day. However, you’ll want to hire them before sending save-the-dates so that your full stationery suite is cohesive.

9. Rentals

In Kansas City, specifically, we only have a handful of rental companies to utilize. If you’re looking for standard white or black linens, you can probably hold off on booking them a bit. But if you want specialty items, it’s a good idea to snag them early!

The best order to book wedding vendors: book in order of priority (Phase 2)

Now that you have those key vendors booked, it’s time to start working on the beautiful details that will pull everything together.

10. Hair and Makeup Artist(s)

Specific artists will only be able to take on 1-2 weddings per day, so if you have someone in mind, it’s a good idea to book them early. It’s a good idea to hire your hair and makeup artists before you take engagement photos. You can either have them do your engagement photo hair and makeup or do your trial ahead of them!

11. Bartender / Beverage Caterer

Most venues in Kansas City have in-house bar services, but if your venue doesn’t, you’ll need to hire an external company. Many of these companies have several bartenders who can work multiple events, so their calendars filling up is less of an issue!

12. Musicians & Entertainment

This one is largely priority-based. If there is a specific band or DJ you want at your wedding, go ahead and hire them early! If you want to jam out but aren’t particular about who’s doing that, then most entertainment companies have several DJs available on any given day. The same goes for non-musical entertainment like photo booths, live painters, or dancers.

13. Transportation

There is typically a good amount of availability for transportation, so it doesn’t need to be booked super early on. Keep an eye out for local events such as concerts of Chiefs games that may impact the availability of party buses.

14. Calligrapher

Obviously, if you want calligraphed save-the-dates and/or invitations, you’ll need to hire your calligrapher much sooner. But if you’re just looking for some beautiful signage, you can hold off on hiring your calligrapher for a bit.

15. Cake Designer / Bakery

Most cake designers, even in-home bakeries, are able to deliver multiple cakes in one day. You still want to give them plenty of notice, but this is not typically a vendor you need to book right away.

16. Other Specialty Vendors

Whether you’re looking for cigar rollers or beer donkeys or live tattoo artists, don’t forget to consider them when determining your priorities!

If you need help setting your priorities straight so you know which order to book wedding vendors, don’t hesitate to reach out! Contact us for your 2024 Kansas City wedding.