Post # 1

Member
234 posts
Helper bee
Ladies-
I am starting to book vendors and venues for our wedding, which is exciting, except for having to pay for it. My question is when did you pay for what? Do you put some money down then pay the rest the day of? Please let me know how you are handling payments, I have no idea what to expect.
Post # 3

Member
3295 posts
Sugar bee
all of my vendors so far have required a deposit and then the rest due on the wedding day or a few weeks before 🙂
Post # 5

Member
3315 posts
Sugar bee
We had several vendors who did not require deposits, either because they were friends or because they were new to the wedding business and didn’t yet know they should ask for them. But it really depends on the individual vendor how much they want when. If you love a particular vendor but don’t have all the money for the deposit up front, you may be able to negotiate a payment plan.
Post # 6

Member
504 posts
Busy bee
same here
Photographer- 50% down
Cake Baker- $50 down
DJ- $100 down
Ceremony Venue- $200 down
Post # 7

Member
287 posts
Helper bee
Same here, we put down deposits and we can either pay off the balance by a week before the wedding or pay along the way. I think we are going to continue to pay along the way so we don’t have to pay so much at once!
Post # 8

Member
1221 posts
Bumble bee
Most of our vendors required some sort of deposit, even if it was $50. We put deposits down on things, and then depending on the amount owed we’d either pay it in full ($450 @ one time for the florist), or in payments ($600 one day @ the hall, $400 another day).
Some people did get their deposit, but we’re waiting til day of to finish paying (bartender, pastor).
Post # 9

Member
648 posts
Busy bee
So far I haven’t had to do any deposits yet, but I know I will. The cake lady requires $100 deposit to book the date then balance is due 14 days before the wedding. I think the photographer is 30%, I meet with her next week. DJ is $75, and you can pay in advance or the day of and you can add extra hours the day of. Reception is $25 for insurance, $400 for booking, balance due 10 days before wedding, security gets paid that night. I’m not sure about the florist because I meet with her tomorrow, but I think she requires $75 to book.
My dress is bought and paid for, so are my shoes, and flower girl dress. I’m renting my jewelry and will pay that in November.
Post # 10

Member
7774 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
We overpaid all of our deposits by a couple hundred dollars then made gradual payments over the course of planning. We’re going to pay off the balances in the final 2 weeks. Some are due 2 weeks before, some are the day of.
We booked most of the vendors almost a year in advance, so this worked out well for us.
Post # 11

Member
232 posts
Helper bee
For our reception we had to put $1000 down and then the remaining $3000 just has to be paid two weeks before the wedding. We have been paying some off here and there. For the church we didn’t have to put a deposit down, but we did. We put down $100 to secure our date. The photographer wanted a deposit of $250 and the balance has to be paid two week before the wedding. The florist only wanted a $50 deposit to secure our date.
Post # 12

Member
10283 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
We had to put 1/3 ($1500) down when we booked our venue, another 1/3 is due 90 days before and the remaining 1/3 is due the night of our wedding. Our photographer required a $350 down payment and the remaining balance is due at the wedding. We haven’t booked anyone else yet.
We are planning on paying off these balance (hopefully) well before our wedding.
Post # 13

Member
1086 posts
Bumble bee
DJ: 50% down
Florist: 50% down
Reception: Had us pay 800 to reserve, then the facility fee 30 days later, then another 1000, then we had to pay everything 10 days before.
Post # 14

Member
244 posts
Helper bee
It’s scary when I see how much we’ve spent already, and we still have 5 months to go!
Reception hall: $1500
Church: $100
Makeup: $50
Florist: $100
DJ: $200
Rehearsal dinner: $250
Dress: $785
Photographers: $350
Honeymoon: $1600
No wonder I’m broke!