“How do i pick my vendors?

Hello hello my lovely people.

Now that we have an overall vision for your wedding day, we get to move into one of the most important parts of planning:

finding the right people to bring those feelings to life inside the space you chose. Good news is if you picked a full service venue or a venue with required vendor lists, honestly? Half the work is already done for you.

Now it becomes:
“What exists within our investment range?”
“What fits our vibe?”
“What actually makes sense for the space?”

Do the venue chairs make your little planning heart happy?
Or are you immediately thinking:
“Absolutely not. Put a cover on those.”

Do the walls need pipe and drape so the room feels warmer or do you already have beautiful exposed brick and candlelight carrying the design for you? These are the things you wanna think through BEFORE reaching out to vendors,

otherwise everybody ends up in a weird Spider-Man meme standoff of:

“What do you need?”
“Well… what do you have?”
“Well… what do you need?”

“WHAT DO YOU HAVE!?”

Leta avoid that by having some basics set in stone.

This is where planners become really valuable because we can walk into a space and immediately start calculating what’s already working, what clashes with the design, what’s missing, and what’s honestly just unnecessary spending, because weddings are basically giant moving puzzles.

HK loves puzzles -.-

Vendor shopping is a little like dating. You scroll…..You stalk reviews…..You check Instagram…….You ask your friends….
You wonder…. if this person is emotionally available enough to answer an email within 7 to 10…….. to 24 business days. Until you ACTUALLY talk to someone, you really have no idea if they’re your people or not and choosing vendors based on investment alone is usually the WRONG choice. There are DJs that specialize in elevated weddings and there are DJs who also identify professionally as “rap gods.” Those are different experiences. Does this vendor fit you?

A catering company that only delivers food is VERY different from a full service catering team that:
handles staffing,
linens,
bar service,
setup,
breakdown,
glassware,
trash,
timeline support.

Once you start making bigger choices early, the smaller choices start cascading into place naturally.

“My catering company includes linens.”
“My bar team includes glassware.”
“My DJ already has uplighting.”

Perfect. Amazing. Love that for us.

Then there’s logistics. A 14-piece band needs a stage. Now you need a rental company. Now that rental company needs load in access. Now somebody has to come back at midnight and strike everything OR maybe your venue already has a stage and your brother suddenly believes this is his moment to debut stand-up comedy….We don’t know your life.

THIS is why logistics matter and here’s the thing people don’t realize every single vendor has a specialty. A florist who doesn’t do installs probably cannot safely hang wisteria over your dance floor and HK? We know our lane. I cannot personally set up a PA system in the rain, in the mountains, in Colorado, while also pinning boutonnieres and cueing ceremony music. That is a DJ problem……Respectfully.

Your vendors SHOULD be specialists. You want people who know their jobs so well they make difficult things look easy, because smooth weddings are not accidental. They are coordinated. A photographer is going to be physically close to you ALL day. Those are intimate moments. You want someone you trust. Someone who can direct you confidently. Someone who notices your hair moved out of place before the photo gets taken. You want vendors who communicate clearly, consistently, and professionally. The vendors who have been doing this for years? They usually don’t feel the need to constantly defend themselves online. They know their value and they’re priced accordingly because people continue paying for that level of service.

Now listen
If you wanna order Dickey’s BBQ,
DIY your florals,
and have your sister officiate?

HK HAS a discount codes for several drop off catering companies. We can set this up! Honestly? Let’s do it. I LOVE a committed DIY couple but have backup plans. Plural. Cause at 1am after everyone’s been drinking, nobody suddenly wants to scrub the toilets, mop floors, or break down a 40-foot tent in dress shoes. These are big jobs with big responsibilities.

Trust your vendors.
Build that trust and those relationships with them BEFORE booking. Talk to them. Feel them out. Find your people. Because at the end of the day, this entire process is really about creating a curated experience full of …..

warmth designed so you can stay fully present during one of the most important moments of your life.

Next time on Curated & Kind:
“What is a reception?”

— HK Events LLP / Homegrown Kindness