The Complete Wedding Vendor Checklist | 26 Best Suppliers
Getting engaged is one of the most exciting moments of your life. Then someone asks “so have you thought about vendors yet?” and suddenly it feels like a full-time job. This wedding vendor checklist exists because that question deserves a proper answer.
This wedding vendor checklist covers every supplier category most couples need to book, roughly in the order you should be thinking about them. Whether you are just starting out or you have already locked in the big ones and want to make sure you have not missed anything, bookmark this page and work through it at your own pace. Think of it as your wedding planning checklist and wedding vendor checklist rolled into one. You can also download the wedding vendor checklist diagram above to keep with your planning notes.
Start with your venue
The first thing most couples book is their venue, and for good reason. Your venue determines your date, your guest capacity, your catering options, and often your budget ceiling for everything else. Until you have a venue confirmed, it is very hard to book anything else with confidence.
Book these vendors next
Once the venue is locked in, most couples move quickly to the wedding suppliers who fill up first: celebrant, photographer, and videographer. These are the three most commonly regretted late bookings. Popular photographers and celebrants in Melbourne and regional Victoria book out 12 to 18 months in advance, sometimes longer for peak season Saturdays.
Wedding suppliers in this category are the ones who shape the feel of the day most directly. Your wedding vendor checklist for the core team should include a celebrant, photographer, videographer, and your music and entertainment. For music, you are choosing between a wedding DJ, live acoustic artists, a band, or a combination. This decision shapes the atmosphere of the whole night more than almost any other vendor choice, so it is worth taking your time.
Spinning Disc Entertainment offers DJ/MCs, acoustic artists, saxophonists, violinists, and hybrid acts across Melbourne and regional Victoria, with the option to mix and match performers for different parts of the day. As wedding suppliers go, entertainment is one of the most talked-about elements after the night is over.
Cars are worth booking earlier than most couples expect. Vintage and specialty vehicles get taken quickly, especially for spring and summer dates.
Flowers sit a little further down the wedding vendor checklist for most couples, but if you have a very specific vision or want a florist who is known for a particular style, earlier is better.
Mid-planning vendors
A wedding stylist or styling hire company handles the decorative elements beyond what your venue and florist provide: things like draping, table settings, charger plates, candelabras, and signage. How much you need depends heavily on your venue and how much styling is included in the package.
Honeymoon planning can be started early or left until closer to the date depending on your destination. International travel typically needs more lead time for visa requirements and peak season accommodation.
Speaking of accommodation, it is worth organising a room block or recommending nearby options for interstate guests and those travelling from regional areas as soon as you have your venue and date confirmed. Hotels near popular venues fill up with other wedding parties. This is one of those wedding planning checklist items that is easy to forget until a guest mentions they cannot find a room.
Your cake is typically booked three to six months out, though some bakers take bookings earlier. Decorations and additional hire items like photo booths can usually be left a little later, but do not leave them so long that you lose your preferred supplier.
Garments and fittings
Bridesmaid dresses, hair and makeup, and formal wear all require fittings and appointments. Bridesmaid dresses in particular often need to be ordered months in advance to allow for production and alterations. A good rule of thumb is to have all garments sorted at least three months before the wedding.
The personal touches
The personal touches complete your wedding vendor checklist: flower girls, invitations, jewellery, shoes, bomboniere, accessories, and the hens or bucks party. These can generally be left until the mid-planning stage, but invitations should be sent at minimum eight weeks out, with save the dates going out much earlier for destination or regional weddings.
Your remaining wedding suppliers cover beauty services. Hair trials and makeup trials are worth booking well in advance of your wedding date, particularly if you want the same artist for both the trial and the day itself.
The complete wedding vendor checklist
Here is the complete wedding vendor checklist in one place, covering every wedding supplier category most Melbourne and Victorian couples need. Print it, screenshot it, or share it with your partner.
Venue, Catering, Wedding Planner (if using one, or check out Wedding Blueprint as an affordable alternative), Celebrant, Photographer, Videographer, Music and Entertainment, Cars, Flowers, Stylist and Wedding Hire, Honeymoon, Accommodation for guests, Cake, Decorations, Photo Booth, Bridesmaid Dresses, Hair and Makeup, Formal Wear, Flower Girls, Invitations and Save the Dates, Jewellery, Shoes, Bomboniere, Accessories, Hens and Bucks Party, Beauty Services.
If you are still in the early stages, focus on the top of the wedding vendor checklist. If you are mid-planning, use it as a wedding planning checklist to identify any gaps. If you have already locked in the big vendors and are scrolling through this wondering what is left, check off the middle and bottom sections. Most couples are surprised to find two or three things they have not thought about yet.
For music and entertainment specifically, Spinning Disc Entertainment is a Melbourne-based wedding entertainment agency with DJs, acoustic artists, saxophonists, violinists, and hybrid acts available across Victoria. We are one of the wedding vendors Melbourne couples have been booking for over 15 years. If you want to check availability for your date or find out what is possible for your wedding, get in touch through our enquiry form. We are happy to recommend other wedding vendors Melbourne couples trust across other categories too, and we are happy to help point you in the right direction even if music is not your next booking.
