Wedding Wednesdays Q&A: 3 Questions to Ask Every Wedding Vendor

Q: I have appointments scheduled for next weekend to talk to a few different wedding vendors and I just realized that I don’t have a clue what kind of things I should be asking. Any advice on questions to ask would be greatly appreciated!

So, this is a super common question that pretty much every couple has. Because you know you need to research and find vendors. And you know you need to talk to them. But, what are you supposed to find out? What are the important questions you need to know the answers to?

Now there are a lot of questions we could cover and even more specific ones for each type of vendor. But, I want to make this easy for you, so here are 3 important questions to ask every vendor from your venue to your hair and makeup artist. These will apply to every single vendor you’re considering hiring. And will not only give you the information you need, but will help you to decide who you want to work with.

3 important questions to ask every wedding vendor

Question #1 – What’s your experience?

Experience is HUGE when you’re looking at wedding vendors. Experience many times will be the factor you’ll use to make your decision on who to work with. Because you want someone who you can trust to help you create the wedding you’re looking for. Someone who knows what they’re doing. Someone who knows how to plan ahead, but can also adjust on the wedding day as needed.

So, you want to learn what their background is, how they started and how long they’ve been doing this. You want to learn if they do this full time or if it’s a side job. You want to learn what types of weddings they do and what types of couples they work with. And you want to learn how they handle problems or mistakes.

All of this speaks to their experience, their knowledge and their expertise. Which will inform you on whether you feel comfortable putting your wedding in their hands.

(Photo credit: Danielle Coons Photography)

Question #2 – What will the process be like and how do you work with your clients?

To get a clear picture on what the experience will be like for you, you need to understand the process will be like. You want working with your vendors to be easy because you have enough to do with the planning of your wedding, let alone life. So, working with your vendors shouldn’t be a chore. You’re hiring your vendors because they’re professionals at what they do and because they’re going to make your life easier.

But, sadly, not all professionals make your life easier. So, you need to find out what working with them specifically will be like. You need to learn what you should expect from them and the timeline. Will they manage the process or will you have to? You want to know how often you’ll hear from them and what happens if you need something. Will they disappear after you hire them? And what happens during busy season? And you want to learn what they’ll be helping you with (and what won’t they be).

All of this speaks to their process. By learning how they’ve treated their past clients you’ll be able to understand how you’ll be treated.

(Photo credit: David Pullum Photography)

Question #3 – What’s your philosophy? Why do you do what you do?

In the end, we all want to work with people we like. People who you feel understand you and who care about you and in turn care about your wedding. You’re paying someone and you’d like your money to go to someone worthy. So, to get to the heart of it you need to understand why they do what they do.

This is when you literally get to their heart and what matters to them. You want to learn whether this is just a job, or a passion. Whether you’re just another number or someone they care about. What do they value? Yes, they are all businesses and businesses need to make money. But you can have a business and still care. You want to learn what they care about and why.

All of this speaks to the core of their business. And by learning what matters to them, you can see if that also matters to you.

(Photo credit: Andria Lo Weddings)

These 3 important questions to ask will give you a good picture of who you’re working with, what it will be like and whether it fits with who you are and what you care about. And by asking these questions, you’ll be able to choose the right wedding vendors for you and your wedding.

Got a wedding planning question you need help with? Ask away! Leave your question in a comment below and we’ll get you the answer you need.