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Last Minute Details to Check with the Vendors
1 Month Before your Wedding: Last Minute Details to Check with Vendors
So you have been preparing your wedding for months now and the end is in sight. There is usually a sense of mixed anxiety, excitement, elation, and fear of the unknown. As you enter the final stretch, it can be daunting. It is like a marathon runner entering the last lap at the stadium. Tension and expectations are on a record high at this time.
You need to check all your preparations to ensure that you don’t miss a thing. It is now the time to confirm details with your vendors so they do not disappoint you when you need them most. You have done your part in stating what you need. Now the success (or lack of it) of your wedding lies squarely on the hands of your vendors.
The best way to avoid drama is to iron out details with these professionals about two weeks to your wedding. Although this is not to say that you should wait until two weeks to check in with them. Instead, you must periodically get in touch with vendors of services and tangible products to ensure high quality as follows.
Have the Final Headcount
Exactly how many guests have you invited to your wedding? It is important for all vendors to know the final number. This helps vendors of catering, accommodation, transportation, and seating to be on top of their game.
While taking the headcount of your guests, remember to include vendors who will be working during your wedding. Examples are photographers, band, singers, the DJ, and security among others.
Locations, Arrival Date and Time
Has the venue of your wedding changed or remodified? It is important to update your caterer so she doesn’t deliver the food to the wrong address. Even if the location, date and starting time of your wedding haven’t changed, there is no harm in reconfirming these details with vendors.
People need to know the directions to the venue. This way, they can figure out the fastest routes in order to avoid traffic and snarl-ups that may delay service delivery. Similarly, let your guests have this information so they can plan their transportation in advance.
Hairstylists and makeup artists, for example, need to be at your house or hotel room early. In the same vein, photographers and caterers must be ready with their service at the earliest opportunity.
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Duration of Wedding
Just how long will your wedding take? It is important to let every vendor know how long you will need their services. Sometimes weddings can start late and end late. Leave room for delays when writing the contracts with vendors.
The services of your hairstylists and makeup artists may only be needed for a couple of hours. Otherwise, you can remove makeup and undo hair yourself after the wedding. On the other hand, the DJ and entertainers should be at the wedding for pretty much its entirety.
The Number of Vendors of each Service
Be sure of the number of people that each vendor will send to your wedding. For example, photography may need two people and an extra person to help carry equipment around. Similarly, the catering vendor may bring in a dozen servers to pass plates of food and glasses of wine around. You do not want to cram all these people in a confined space.
Items that each Vendor should Bring
Go through a list of items that each service should prepare. Wedding venue managers need to bring enough chairs and tables just like caterers must bring enough food for all guests. As these professionals are busy planning other weddings and events, it is easy for them to mix up particulars and requirements. Do not overlook these details.
Types of Equipment Required
Have you ordered a specific liquor brand to be part of the wedding theme? It is important to confirm its availability. The last thing you want is to have only one bottle of champagne when you ordered for ten. Let all vendors confirm that they have what you asked for in the appropriate numbers.
Make Pre-Wedding Payments
Make upfront payments of services in advance of the wedding. Making numerous of these gives you room to actually enjoy your wedding. Most vendors ask for a down payment for services rendered. Keep the receipts so you are sure of the figures when settling the balances after the wedding.
Have Emergency Contacts of Vendors
What if a vendor fails to show up on the morning of your wedding? Do you have a back-up plan? If there is no plan to rescue the situation, things can turn ugly. To avoid this heartache and embarrassment, have a secondary vendor for each service required. In doing so, ask a close friend or relative to help you.
The Official Timeline of the Wedding
What does your wedding schedule look like? Share a program of the day with your vendors some 2 weeks in advance. Armed with this information, each service provider knows when and how his services are required. They can then plan meticulously for a wedding befitting a prince.
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