Vendors

It depends on where you live, but if you're in a major/large city you should probably have most of your vendors booked by now. Many vendors where we live (Boston) are booking out 1-2 years in advance. We have reached out and put deposits on all of our vendors except a florist and we are 11.5 months away.

That's good you have the venue! That should be the first! You would need your caterer, DJ, photographer, videographer (if you are getting one), officiant. At least those are the more important ones.

I live in Detroit

View Quoted Comment Ok I’m working on all that

Hmm, I'm not an expert, but my wedding is next June. I have venue, dj, photographer, cake, coordinator, transportation, florist, caterer, hair and make up. I'm getting married in popular destination area, so I wanted to get on the ball. You could always ask someone at your venue what they think. Good luck!

Now is a great time to start booking everything!

Yeah..."everything else" is the overarching answer. But I'd start with what's most important to you. If great photos are the most important, start by looking for a photographer you love. If you definitely want food catered from a certain place (or even a specific style of food), start there.

I'd say photographer/videographer would be the most important things. They tend to book up quick and you want to make sure you get a good one! Everything is important, don't get me wrong. But venue, photographer, and videographer were the most important to me. Caterer and HMU also book quickly. But go ahead and book it all. At 10 months, you are not that far away. Time flies when wedding planning.

The earlier you book the better. Venue, DJ, food, and photography are the big ones that you want to do first. The earlier you begin looking the more vendors that will still be available for your date meaning you have a better chance of getting the best vendors. I had all my vendors booked with 18 months out still. I know that's not always possible but I believe the earlier the better.