Budget: Sit down with your significant other and prioritize what vendors you want to invest in more. Vendors can be expensive, so it’s always a good idea to go into vendor searching with a clear maximum on what you’re able to spend. Once meeting with vendors, read over their fine print explicitly and ask for their services to be itemized so that you know exactly where your money is going.

Get a Wedding Planner: An experienced wedding planner should have a slew of vendor recommendations to give to you that they believe are tried and true and will match your style and budget. This will reduce overwhelming yourself with looking at too many options at once. Since they also take away managerial duties of yours (like emails, schedules, and meetings), this will give you and your s/o more time to enjoy the wedding planning process and focus your energy on finding the perfect vendors.

RESEARCH: Even if your wedding planner and/or friends highly recommend a vendor, don’t blindly accept a vendor without researching them thoroughly. Ways to go about vendor research can be done through social media (like Instagram, Pinterest, or wedding blogs) and previous client recommendations. This way you can gage a vendor’s character and how they react with other personalities.

Trust Your Gut: Simple… Don’t overthink it. Easier said than done, right? What I mean is: if it feels like they’re the person to do the job, then just go with it; but if you have a sinking suspicion about their character, invest your energy into someone else.

Solidify Your Team: When wedding planning comes into play, a lot of people are shocked at the amount of effort and physical bodies it takes to make a wedding actually happen. You’ll want a strong team of experienced individuals (photographer, videographer, florist, caterer, band, etc.) so that you don’t have to worry about a single thing when your special day arrives.