Photographer | Megan Claire
Looking for your wedding day dream team? Finding both talented AND dependable vendors is super important to ensure a seamless wedding day! We have created a magazine full of our favorite creatives to work within Arizona! Whether you are looking for a photographer, hair and makeup artist, DJ, or florist-we’ve got you covered!
PRIORITIZE YOUR VENDORS
It is beyond important to prioritize the vendors that will be with you throughout your wedding journey. Your photographer! Generally, they won’t only be shooting your wedding, but also your engagement pictures too. you want to be comfortable with them. You also want to make sure their style fits your style! More brides are also starting to hire a videographer, to relive their day over and over. Make sure the photographer and videographer work well together, paying close attention to how their styles match. Floral are a huge part of wedding decor, and often a large chunk of money, so make sure you know your florist is going to deliver! A major vendor, who is often overlooked, is the DJ. The DJ, or other forms of live music, will decide the vibe of the reception. they will ultimately carry this part of the celebration.
VENDOR BOOKING TIMELINE
Every couple is different- different engagement lengths & circumstances, but here are what we suggest for a timeline to book vendors!
12 months before: The venue (all we can say is book this ASAP!) Venues are being booked out due to the overwhelming amount of brides. But can we get a WOOHOO for that? Your wedding planner! think about which of these decisions you would like to make first. Many wedding planners have venues they work closely with and would love to recommend.
10 months before: Next up are some main vendors you cannot go without on your wedding day. This time will include booking your florist, caterer, videographer, and photographer. Consider working with the same photographer on your wedding day that you did with your engagement pictures! This helps create a relationship between the three of you. Plus, they will know your love story! Another tip- check if your venue offers catering services.
8 months before: It’s wedding dress time! Look into getting your dress early enough for alterations, but not too early before the wedding. You want to be confident in the dress and your decision! We also recommend finding your music, whether DJ or live band, for the ceremony and reception.
6 months before: Look into booking your HAMU artist around this time. They will generally want to do a trial before the big day. Consider doing this on your bridal shower day, or another fun wedding-related event. Hire your cake baker & enjoy this! Go on a date with your fiancé to taste some tasty cakes.
2 months before: The wedding ring- yes, you get another one! You want some major heart eyes for your ring stack so take some time to find the perfect wedding band.
THE MUST-HAVES
These wedding vendors are truly amazing people, but that doesn’t mean you can approach it nonchalantly. Make sure you have written contracts with all of your vendors and READ them! Catch the vibe of the vendor through your communication methods to see if they seem like the right fit for you and your groom. A Hughe part of communication is responsiveness! You would like your vendors to be timely in responding, but also understand that they do not only live and breathe weddings (as it may seem like you are right now!)
Visit some amazing vendors by clicking on the images in the gallery below!
As you progress through your wedding planning process, you will surely come to the realization that the process can easily become overwhelming with lots of moving parts. We know that there are so many amazing services available to assist you in capturing your dream vision for your wedding day. We recommend gathering the contact information for your wedding dream team along with any other details that might be helpful to note (arrive/departure time, payment info, etc). This way communication with them will be a breeze! We’ve provided a template for you to utilize to keep all the vendor details organized. It also includes our favorite go-to list for all of your vendors' Instagram handles. You know we love to share all those pretty wedding day details on social!
