Wedding Vendor Questions Cheat Sheet
You do not need the same fifty questions for every vendor. You need to understand exactly what you are buying, who owns what and what happens when plans change
Ask every vendor
- Exactly what is included?
- What is not included?
- Taxes, service charges, gratuities or travel?
- Deposit/payment schedule?
- Cancellation/rescheduling?
- What if the vendor is unavailable?
- Backup staff/equipment?
- How are timeline changes handled?
- Overtime charges?
- What do you need from us and by when?
- Who is the primary contact?
- Which promises are reflected in the contract?
Venue
- Setup/access hours
- Climate control
- Capacity/layout
- Included rentals
- Food/alcohol rules
- Décor restrictions
- Vendor requirements
- Cleanup/teardown
- Weather plan
- Exactly what the venue coordinator does and does not do
Photography / Video
- Coverage hours
- Who actually photographs the wedding
- Second shooter
- Family shot list process
- Photo/video positioning
- Formal portraits
- Sunset timing
- Delivery timeline
DJ / Entertainment
- Music selection process
- Requests/do-not-play list
- Microphones
- Announcements/MC duties
- Timeline changes
- Equipment-failure backup
- Volume management
Hair / Makeup
- Service capacity
- Start time
- Buffer
- Illness policy
- Backup coverage
Catering
- Price per guest
- Rentals
- Staffing
- Who clears tables
- Service/gratuity charges
- Dietary needs
- Leftovers
- Final count deadline
Don’t Assume It’s Covered
When someone says, “Don’t worry, we handle that,” follow with: “Great — can you tell me exactly what that includes?” Specific answers make better contracts.
