Contracts with vendors

I would say you should get a contract from anyone that requires money ahead of time. That covers both you and them.

DJs should generally have a contract, flowers are the same. Most everything you will need a contract for.

Agree with PP. Use vendors that require a contract with clear terms on payment and service. It protects you and them. Don't pay anything until you have a written contact proposal in hand from them.

From what I am told/will be following, you always need a contract so that way it is in writing that you have an agreement in writing to provide services that you are paying for.

I will not be paying a vendor deposits without a contract first.

The photographer we are interested in doing requires a deposit before writing a contract, but the contract is written the day of deposit and in-office. I'm not sure if that's how it works with everyone else, but I wouldn't feel comfortable providing money without anything in writing.

All of our vendors had prepared contacts that they use for all their clients. If we discussed anything different from their standard package, the contracts were edited to reflect what we were actually getting (for example, DH and I were living on the other side of the country, so we used a different photographer local to us for e-pics, but our wedding photographer included e-pics in her package. She changed it to an "anniversary shoot" for us). We didn't pay any deposits until the time the contracts were signed.

Definitely use vendors with contracts.

If you have to give a deposit, I would ask for a contract. Possibly a receipt of what you paid. We had to pay makeup 50% to book and when my mom, aunt, and I had our trials they made us pay then, when the deposit should've covered our trials then we would pay the rest the day of. My mom and aunt regularly go to this salon and were so mad as they were texted this info the Saturday morning of the trial and were told that morning of a cash discount.

Always get a contract. You want to have some recourse if they back out last minute.

Contracts, contracts, contracts...get one for EVERYTHING!

My florist doesn't do contracts. I know 100% she won't screw me over since it's my Moms BFF (she owns multiple flower shops). I asked her and she says in general she doesn't do them. For my other vendors I do have contracts, even for my officiant.

Always a contract...always.

Whenever you are exchanging money for services rendered, a professional will absolutely produce a written contract memorializing what is legally defined as "a meeting of the minds". In other words, "the client agrees to pay the vendor $X according to the following fee schedule, and in return, they will receive the following services (and then, details abound)". Your signatures are proof that both of you understand what your contractual obligations are, and if one or the other party fails to live up to their end of the agreement, a legal remedy (a financial remedy) is available (for the vendor or the client). A written contract protects the vendor from closing out a date that could otherwise be contracted to another client and it assures the vendor that they will be paid a negotiated, predetermined fee, and it also protects the client from a vendor who is subsequently approached by a bride who has four times the original client's budget and wants services on the same day as the original client. The vendor without a contract is going to have a far easier time going with the client with the big budget, leaving the original client in the dust (yes, it happens).

It doesn't matter how nice the vendor may be or how close they are to the family of the client (that creates a "friendor" situation...a bad idea for another thread), if they say that they generally don't do contracts, they're either not being forthcoming or they're making the biggest of amateur mistakes. So, if a vendor doesn't offer a written instrument, which is primary evidence of their legitimacy, run,,,don't walk (unless you want to end up be side-eyed by a judge in small claims court who will make you feel like an idiot for handing over hundreds of dollars, if not thousands, with nothing more than the almost impossible to prove "we had an oral agreement" argument). In fact, no legit business should put you in the position of relying on an oral agreement.

It doesn't matter if you're ordering an entertainment center for your home or having someone replace your furnace -- you NEVER hand over a single cent until you've had time to thoroughly read your copy of your protection -- the contract. So, if you're hiring a florist/officiant/ musician/seamstress/caterer/venue to provide services for your wedding -- the next step after your initial consult should be, for couples who are interested in hiring a particular vendor, acquiring a copy of the contract to which you will affix your signature. Remember, a contract protects BOTH parties. Insist on one and read it, line by line, before you sign it and issue a deposit.

ETA: It's absolutely fine for your caterer/venue to leave the meal selections right up until they are tableside if that is their normal procedure, so getting a final menu plan a week before is fine. However, you want a written contract to spell that out -- something like, "Caterer agrees to provide 100 plated guest dinners consisting of either Prime Rib, Chicken Marsala, Baked Salmon, or Eggplant Parmigiana (each entrée will include bread, butter, a salad with dressing, one starch and one vegetable). Client agrees to provide Caterer with a menu that correlates guests and their menu options one week prior to the wedding (no later than March 10, 2018)".

Yes, we are requiring a contract from all of our vendors, otherwise, if you do not get what you paid for it's their word against yours. Any true professional should have some kind of written agreement

Real wedding vendors only work with signed contracts and paid retainers. Best wishes!

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply! For sure i will ask for contracts! Thank you!