Questions to ask your vendors
- Is your venue available on the required date?
Tip: Some venues offer discounted prices for off season weddings.
- How much does it cost and what is in included in the price?
- How much is the deposit, is it refund able? When do we need to pay the remainder of the bill?
- How many people can your venue accommodate?
- Is your venue licensed to carry out civil weddings? If so, what authority do you come under and can you supply contact details for the registrar?
- What is your weather contingency for outdoor spaces?
- Will our wedding be the only wedding that day?
- What are the parking arrangements?
- Do you have an in-house caterer? What food will be provided, can you cater to our needs (breakfast, evening, buffet)? How much does it cost? Is the Tax Included?
- Do I have an option to use my own caterer? If so, will they have access to kitchen, power, and running water?
Caterers charge extra if they need to use their own.
- Can we do a food tasting session to choose our menu? Is there an additional charge for this?
- Are tables, linens, chairs, plates, silverware and glassware provided, or will I have to rent them myself or get them through my caterer?
Tip: There are places that offer a free glass hire service (just Google it), you pay small deposit, which you will get back when the glasses are returned. Companies charge small fee for any breakages.
- Can I bring in a cake from an outside cake maker or must I use a cake made on the premises? Is there a cake-cutting fee?
- If I use a cake made on site is the fee waived? Do you provide special cake-cutting utensils?
- Are you licensed to provide alcohol service? If so, how is it priced by consumption/per person? Are there additional charges for bar staff? Is there a bar minimum that must be met before the conclusion of the event?What is the average bar tab for the number of people attending my event?
- Can I bring my own wine, beer or champagne, and is there a corkage fee if I do? Can I bring in other alcohol?
- How many toilets are there?
- Does the venue have liability insurance?
If someone gets injured during the party, you don't want to be held responsible - if the site doesn't have insurance, you'll need to get your own.
- What overnight accommodation do you provide? Do you offer a discount for booking multiple rooms? Do you provide a complimentary room or upgrade for the newlyweds? What are the nearest hotels to the venue?
Tip: Some venues have partnerships with local hotels that offer a discount if you book a block of rooms.
- Can we see examples of your work?
- Can we sample different cakes to make our choice? if so is there a charge?
- Can you make the cake we want?
- Is there a minimal amount that we will need to spend?
- Can you do mixed flavour layers?
- Can you cater for allergies?
- How do we pay and when?
- Are you able to deliver and set the cake at the venue or is this our responsibility?
- Can we see examples of your work?
- How many other weddings will you be doing that day?
- Can you deliver to my venue? Is there an additional charge for this?
- How much notice do you need in order to confirm our order?
- How do we pay and when?
- How long do you need to set up?
- Can menus be mixed and matched? What type of food do you provide?
- Have you got a menu tasting service and is it free of charge?
- What do you provide as part of the service (waiters/table linen/cutlery/alcohol etc.)?
- What is your policy on cleanup?
Tip: Be very clear about what "cleanup" means and who's responsible for handling it - and be sure to get it in writing.
We've heard many tales about caterers that left dirty dishes, rubbish and uneaten food behind.
In most cases, when you rent a location it will be YOUR responsibility to leave the place in an acceptable condition.
You don't want to spend your wedding night picking up empty bottles from the lawn!
- How do we pay and when?
- What styles do you specialise in?
The answer should help you determine whether this is a photographer who blends into the background and shoots what unfolds naturally, or creates a more visible presence by taking charge and choreographing shots.
- Have you got a portfolio that we can see? Are all of the images yours and is the work recent?
- Will the photos be retouched and colour balanced?
- What exactly is included in your packages?
- How many hours of coverage do we get?
- What do you charge for extra time?
- Do you have backup photographers who will shoot the wedding if you are sick?
- How many weddings have you done so far and how many do you do in a year?
- Are you doing any other shots on the day of our wedding?
- Can we give you a list of specific shots we would like?
- Are our guests allowed to take photos as well?
- How long after the wedding do we get to see the photos?
- What will you wear?
- Do you require a deposit to be paid?
- How much, and when do we need to pay?
- Is there a fee for trying on dresses?
- Is there a maximum number of dressed I can try on?
- Will there be other girls trying on dresses as well?
- How long is my appointment?
- How many people can I bring with me?
- How long will the dress take to arrive?
- How much do you charge for the alterations?
- How many fittings will I have?
- Do I need to pay a deposit and when is the rest of the payment due?
- Do I need to collect the dress myself or can it be delivered?
