What did you pay off first?

We paid off photography first.

trying to get the less expensive costs done soon, then we can worry about putting bigger chunks of money to the larger costs like the venue and catering.

I would suggest putting that money in a savings account and earning interest and paying vendors off as per their contract.

We secured the venue and the church first, and then the caterer

I was originally thinking to just put a dent in all the remaking balances. Like $300 to this one then my next $309 to that one and etc. FH thinks I should just let it build up then pay when their due but I want it out the way! Lol

What @Blair said. That's what we did. =] we also paid off as much as we could as we went and it was there later when we were ready for the little stuff.

@Blair love the name! And yea that's where the money goes now. yay for interest!

@Elle good point! I keep seeing photographer cancellation posts on here. Venue it is!

I paid for things as they came along. So I got my dress and paid it off, then we meet with our photographer soon and I'm going to pay her upfront

I'd also recommend letting it sit in an account until the payments are due - in case anything comes up and you have to break contract with a vendor, you don't have to worry about much else besides a deposit.

We paid venue, 5K towards catering, DJ, photog, the condo for honeymoon and then the florist. The only things left now to pay for is suits, shoes and alterations for the girls, my bustle and plane tickets to Vegas.

Aside from obvious up front things (dress, jewelry), everything else we're just paying when they're due for reasons others stated, and most are due at the end of the reception when completed, or my videographer's final payment is due within two weeks before I get the final product. So really the only thing we've paid is the church and reception venue. My bakery isn't due until wedding day but I'll probably pay that one off this week because they do it online.

ETA: oh, we also just paid the entire cost for our honeymoon up front instead of in payments.

I would just keep it in the bank and let it build a little interest. I'm sure it's not much, but at least is something.

I completely understand the want to pay things off early though. We are having our wedding at a resort in Mexico and they won't accept payment for any of the wedding expenses until we get there. We put a small deposit, but I would love to pay off a big chunk that I know we will owe them anyways. They include catering, bar, so, photographer, flowers, ceremony so all we will have paid off before the day of is our clothes, invitstions, and travel. It is frustrating knowing that you have the money to pay it off now but they won't let you make the payment yet.

I agree with @Mrs. Fall Bride, pay according to the contracts. I paid according to our contracts and the first thing I pay in full was my wedding dress and housing near the venue.

We just paid off our videographer and made another payment toward our photog. All the rest of our deposits have been paid. Next month, at two months out, we will pay off photog, florist and DJ. Final payments will be made on the day of or in the month before to Caterer, MUA/Hair, Rentals and Cake.

All of our saved money is in an interest earning savings account. Every little bit helps!

I didn't pay anything off until their final payments were due as per their contract. Unless they're giving a discount for early payment, I would rather keep any interest for myself. Also I was super paranoid about putting money down early incase something went wrong.

Good for you for being cognizant of your money and planning ahead. That being said, as others have said, I would wait until due dates. You take away any flexibility you have as soon as you pay. Hopefully this is not the case but if something comes up on your end or the vendors, it is much harder to get money back then to never have given the money in the first place. Also, you aren't a bank, don't give people interest free loans.

We didn't pay anything until it was due. I'm glad we didn't, too, because even though I could've paid my first venue in full at the time of booking, we ended up cancelling that contract and booking with another venue.

We paid off our Venue and rings 1st. They cost the most so it was a breath of fresh air to get those off of us. Everything else seemed minor.

I evenly distribute all the money to everything I need to pay off. My dress is paid for, my venue, mostly everything. Just need to finish my decor which is the most expensive.

We paid off venue, DJ, and photographer first. They seem to be the most important. We also put a decent amount down towards our caterer to get that mostly out of the way.