Hey lovers, so you’re now engaged and it’s time to plan your wedding! First of all, congratulations!!! But there might be thousands questions from you, like where to begin from, what is the first steps to do and what wedding vendors should you consider for your day?

In fact, choosing your wedding vendors is one of the first steps, and can play significant role in the whole journey. By choosing right professional vendors to bring your vision to reality will give you the best experience ever, so take your time to research, read all reviews, meet in person to make sure that’s the vendor you need!

As you are getting married for the first time, all the process of wedding planning will be new to you, so we are here to help with your first steps of looking for your right wedding vendors. We’ve created an expanded list of wedding suppliers, so you can choose which ones you’d need 100%, and which ones might be not important for you. All weddings are different in terms of size, vibe, theme etc, so only you can decide if you need one or another team of professionals.

In the list below you can see vendors that can help you with your dream wedding, and see pros why each one is important to hire for your day.

Wedding Planner

Well, there are some couples who want to dedicate so many time on wedding planning and do everything DIY. At the same time many couples want someone to help them throughout the journey. Anyway, it’s your choice how you want it, but if you’ll eventually decide to have a wedding planner as a part of the team, it’s should be the very first vendor in your wedding vendors list to book, so wedding planner will help you to organise all the other things and will be your right hand every time you need them!

Wedding Venue

As soon as you choose your wedding date, the next vendor to book should be the venue. Sometimes your dream venue can be booked one or two years prior, so don’t take to many time thinking, otherwise consider a weekday wedding, peak-off season or look at other wedding venue that are less popular.

You can read how to plan your wedding just within 6 months here!

Wedding Photographer

Wedding photographer is definitely one of the most important to tick off in your wedding vendors list! If you neglect in choosing professional and reliable wedding photographer who also will be perfect match for you as a person, you’ll be so stressful and disappointed on the day and long time after. You’ll only have the photos left from your wedding day, and having your uncle Bob to do this job is not the best idea. As well as a professional photographer who are so annoying on the day, don’t give you a time to relax and socialize or too passive. So, to have an amazing memories after your wedding day, and excellent experience with your photographer, do more than just look at their portfolio – read a reviews, organise the meeting to see if you are a good match, check socials and ask all questions you are interested in! You don’t want your photographer to cancel it one day before a wedding (yes, it’s happened to some of my couples, who booked me very last minute), so take it seriously!

Wedding Videographer

Some of the couples decide to have just a photographer, while some want their wedding documented as a film. It’s just your choice, if you think a phone video from the phone will be enough. But if you’d decide to have a professional videographer on your day, you should look for them at the same stage as photographer. Just do same things – research, look at their work and feel the personality to see if you’re good match!

Celebrant

One of the most important vendors on your wedding day is the celebrant, as you won’t be able to officially get married without this so important person. To find the right one can be time consuming, but it’s crucially important to find a celebrant who understand your needs and can bring your dream wedding into reality. Book your wedding celebrant with good notice of time, so they can get know you and write the ceremony script without any rush.

Caterer

If you’re planning to have a reception and serving something for your guests to eat, you’d definitely need a caterer, unless your venue will take care of it. It might take time to find the right company and finalise the menu, so I’d recommend to tick off this vendor as soon as you can. If you choose the right one, they will ensure that guests have enough food, it’s looks well-presented and delicious. If your venue doesn’t have drinks, you might need to hire a bar services separately.

Florist

To have the right florist on your wedding day who understand what you need from a half word is so important. This vendor will take care not just of your and bridesmaids flowers, but also boutonniers, ceremony arrangements or flower table decorations. At the very beginning think of what you want, and describe all colour palette and theme with the florist, so the right person will bring it to life and will make your wedding day exactly as you wanted!

Hair And Makeup Artists

Hair and makeup artists are so important for your wedding day, as they will make you look like a princess. You’d love to look the best on your wedding day, so choose your beauty vendors wisely, look at their previous works, discuss with them what you are after and do a trial if you feel to.

Cake Maker

Oh, yes, who doesn’t love the sweetest part of the night? As you choose your cake baker, make sure it’ll taste as good as it’s looks like. Choose your desired flavour, taste it if possible, and discuss the design of the cake, so it’ll meet your requirements. Nowadays cakes like an addition to a wedding decorations, so make your guests “wow”.

Live Music / DJ / MC

Music is such an important thing to organise as it’ll make the vibe of the evening. So to ask your brother be a DJ is not the best idea. There are different choices for different budgets – you can choose either a DJ, a singer, musician or the band. All the guests will always remind how fun was on the dancefloor, so choose the performer that you vibe with, and who you feel will bring your expectations to life!

Jeweler

You’d probably think about your wedding bands far before the actual wedding planning, as it’s one of the most important details and symbol of the wedding. Choose your desired style, so jeweler can help you with sizing, polishing and customizing if needed. Sometimes you’d need a jeweler not just for bride and groom pieces, but as a gifts for bridesmaids and groomsmen gifts.

Attire

Usually brides and grooms going shopping after the wedding date is booked along with the most important vendors, so they can relax a little bit, and spend more time on that. There might be quite few things to organise, and the first in the list is definitely wedding dress and tuxedos. You can research the salons and designers online before going to shop, so you’ll not waste time going shops that is not your style. At a later stage, you’d need to think about wedding party attire and all little details.

Rentals Company

It’s depend on what your venue provide, you might also need to find a rental company for tables, chairs, dinnerware, decorations, linens, serving pieces, dance floor, and more. Some of the items might be provided by caterer, but rental company give you a wider options to choose from, so it’ll me all in one style. If your wedding will be outside, it’s always great idea to have a back up plan and add a tent rental company to your vendors list, specially if it’s autumn or winter wedding.

Car Hire

You might need some fancy limo or an old vintage car for you and your bridal party on the day, to go from one location to other. That’s why you’d need to find a car hire company that’ll make you feel special. Research in the internet and go with the company that’ll meet your style. Make sure they are punctual, and will be there on time, without any technical problems, as it’s so important on your wedding day!

Transportation Company

If it’s necessary to have a transportation on your wedding day, than better to lock it, so your guests won’t be worry how to go here and there. It’ll be good to have transportation if you have many guests coming interstate or if you having a destination wedding. You with the bridal party will be like celebrities in your limo or beautiful retro cars, but the most important to take care of guests, and they’ll we so happy that they are important for you!

Wedding Favors

If you want to make feel your guests special and have a little “thank you” presents for them at the end of the night, than you’d need to find a vendor who can do favors presents for your wedding day. It can be anything from edible treats to meaningful keepsakes. Make sure you do it not very last minute, in case it’ll need to be changed or adjusted!

Live-streaming

Nowadays it’s getting more popular to live-stream the ceremony, and sometimes the reception, due to all COVID restrictions. If you are having a big family overseas who can’t come, it’s also a great idea to have them present on your ceremony online. Alternatively, you can put your close friend on charge and simply do a zoom meeting, but it’s always better to hire a professionals.

Photo booth

This vendor is optional for many couples, but it’s definitely make the fun part of the evening, when all guests put funny accessories on, making silly faces and taking those photos that photographer won’t be able to capture. It’s also a great little instant memory that your guest can bring home.

Lighting Designer

This vendor is not must have one on your wedding vendors list, but if you want to have a “wow” wedding, a great lightning will make significant difference of how it looks and feel. Professional lightning designer can make all little details look more spectacular, as well as the vibe and the atmosphere in general!

Stationer

This might be one of the most exciting part of your journey, as most of the brides love to bring their vision to life. Professional stationer can help you with that, and design your save-the-date cards, invitations, escort cards, and other little things.

Hotel Contact

If any of your guests will come from far distance, it’s always a great idea to take care of them and book a hotel block for a night. The little things like that will make them feel so special!

Instant Magnet

This vendor is optional to tick off in your wedding vendors list, but from my experience those couples who had it on their wedding day, was extremely happy, as it gives an instant magnet that guests can put on the fridge. It’s like a photobooth but it’s more like a gift. So if you were considering having this service, you and your guests won’t be disappointed!

Vendor Etiquette

Without key vendors, your wedding day won’t happen. They’re crucial to making the day a success, from delivering rented furniture to snapping those incredible wedding photos to decorating your cake. 

When it comes to working with wedding professionals, there are a few essential things every couple should know, including how to tip your vendors appropriately and which vendors you should plan to feed—the last thing you need on your wedding day is a low-energy DJ or a photographer who misses your first dance because she’s in the back grabbing a snack from her bag! 

These guidelines will help to ensure your wedding day goes off without a hitch.

Love our wedding vendors list? Pin it to save!

Looking for a professional photographer in Melbourne?