Singaporebrides | Weddings 101

July 2022

A Guide to The List of Wedding Vendors You Need For Your Wedding

By Audrie Soh

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Feeling overwhelmed by the number of wedding vendors you may or may not need for your wedding? Let us help you.

Weddings are a large scale event that involve many decisions and logistics, and searching for the right vendors to make these decisions and logistics easier may seem like a daunting task for brides who are not familiar with planning such a big event. Throw in the fact that for every vendor category, there is an endless sea of options for brides to choose from, and that might be enough to make them throw their hands up in defeat.

If that’s how you’re feeling right now, don’t worry; we’re here to help! To help you wade through the sea of wedding vendors that you may need for your wedding, we’ve come up with a guide to list the wedding vendors that you need for your wedding based on a must-have and good-to-have basis, and you can refer to this as you plan for your big day. However, there are no hard-and-fast rules!

But First, Get Your Priorities Right

Before you jump right into the list of wedding vendors, you should sit down with your groom-to-be and get your priorities right. Discuss things like your wedding budget, the size of the celebration that you have in mind and want, how minimal or luxurious the celebration should be, and whether you want to outsource most of the coordination and planning or do it yourself.

Talking about these details will help you identify the direction of your wedding, whether you want a do-it-yourself, minimalist wedding on a low or medium budget, or hire a wedding planner to coordinate a grand affair, and the type of wedding vendors you’ll need for your big day. Once you have done so, you may take a look at the lists of must-have and good-to-have vendors below.

A List of Wedding Vendors You Need For A Wedding

For your convenience, we’ve divided the list of wedding vendors most commonly used for a wedding into must-have vendors and good-to-have vendors you’ll need for your wedding, depending on your needs.

Must-Have Wedding Vendors

Venue

Whether you are hosting an intimate celebration at a cosy restaurant or a grand party in a hotel ballroom, your wedding venue is the most important item on your list as it sets the tone of your celebration and gives your guests an idea of what to expect at your wedding. That, and almost everything on your wedding day revolves around the venue, so every couple will need to hunt for and lock in their dream wedding venue before the rest of the items on their wedding planning to-do list can fall into place.

Bridal Boutique/Men’s Suit Tailor

Hands down, wedding dress shopping is one of the most exciting thing about planning a wedding. You’ll need a breathtaking dress to walk down the aisle in, so searching for a bridal boutique that carries that dream dress you’ve been looking for would be the top of the list of almost every bride’s wedding to-do list, after you have confirmed your wedding venue and reached out to your shortlisted list of photographers and videographers, of course.

For grooms who wish to have more mileage from their attire, consider going to a men’s suit tailor to customise a wedding suit that fits you perfectly and is versatile enough to be worn for and after the wedding.

Photographer

Your wedding day is a milestone event in your life that cannot be replicated, so you would definitely want to immortalise this important day and the emotions experienced on this day, which is why engaging a professional wedding photographer is on the top of every soon-to-be-wed couple’s to-do list, right along with searching for the perfect wedding venue.

Every photographer has a limited number of weddings they can take on per day, so once you have a wedding date, you should start reaching out to your list of shortlisted photographers to check on their availability, as the more popular ones tend to get fully booked pretty quickly.

Videographer

Alongside wedding photos, a great way to capture the finer details and genuine emotions on your wedding day is to get it down on video. Like photographers, wedding videographers tend to be booked up rather quickly as they have a limited number of weddings they can cover on a day. So, once you have confirmed a wedding date, do reach out to the videographers who have caught your eye to find out if they are available on your wedding date, their rates, and other information that’ll help you make a decision.

Hair and Makeup

You’ll want to look your best in person and in the photos and video that your wedding photographer and videographer are going to take of you, so engaging a professional hair and makeup artist is on every bride’s to-do list. While some brides may choose to do their own hair and makeup, most would prefer to delegate the task to a professional so that they can fully relax and enjoy the day.

Most bridal hair and makeup artists also offer services for the mother, mother-in-law, bridesmaids, and other women in the family who wished to be dolled up for the wedding as well. So, do enquire with your chosen hair and makeup artist to find out if they offer these services and their rate card.

Jeweller

Be it an intimate celebration or a grand party, every wedding needs a jeweller. From the proposal ring to the wedding bands, right down to the pieces of jewellery needed for the bride during the Guo Da Li and tea ceremony, you, your groom, and your family will definitely need to visit a trusted jeweller for the wedding.

Look through our list of jewellers in Singapore, both commercial jewellers and jewellery artisans who customise jewellery to reflect your story and individuality, to shortlist the ones whom you’d like to visit before making a trip down or an appointment to meet them.

Florist

From your bridal bouquet to the flowers adorning the solemnisation ceremony and guest tables, flowers make up a big part of your wedding decor, so a florist is definitely one of the wedding vendors that you’ll need for your wedding regardless of its size. Since florists need time to plan and order in the flowers for your wedding, you should start looking for one once you have confirmed a wedding date, as some more popular florists tend to be fully booked during the peak wedding season.

Good-to-Have Wedding Vendors

Wedding Planner/Stylist

Many factors come into play when it comes to deciding whether you need a planner and/or stylist, such as the size and scale of your wedding, whether your work schedule allows you to put in the time and effort needed for the planning, and your budget. While having a wedding planner and/or stylist would definitely take the stress of planning your big day off your shoulders, they can be an extra expense that you may not have the budget for or have budgeted for. But if your work schedule doesn’t allow to plan and style your wedding personally, then you might want to set aside a budget to hire a planner or stylist to help you with this task.

At the end of the day, a self-planned, self-styled wedding is just as beautiful and unique as one that is planned or styled by a professional. Whether you decide to hire a wedding planner and/or stylist entirely depends on what you want and can afford.

Wedding Baker

What’s a wedding celebration without a cake, right? It’s a great way to personalise your celebration and honour an age-old tradition. Besides, who doesn’t love cake? However, some couples may choose to skip the wedding cake altogether and opt for a dummy cake instead to prevent wastage, especially if they are getting married at a hotel ballroom, since most wedding menus include dessert.

Wedding Calligrapher/Stationer

From your save-the-date to your wedding invite, place cards and menu cards, your wedding stationery is one of the best ways to personalise your wedding and make it one-of-a-kind. However, not having a customised set of wedding stationery will not make or break your wedding either, so it is up to you to decide if you want to hire a wedding calligrapher and stationer, or do it yourself.

Musician/Band

It is true that music will set the mood for your wedding, but you do not need to engage a live musician or band just to have the right music for your celebration, especially if you need to spend out of your wedding budget to hire one. You can easily create different wedding playlists on Spotify to suit the different activities that are going to happen during your big day. Play your favourite romantic tunes for your solemnisation ceremony, a mix of upbeat and romantic melodies about love during the wedding reception, and party songs for the after-party with your friends.

If you prefer having a live musician or band during your wedding over a Spotify playlist, by all means go ahead and do so, there is no right or wrong!

Caterer

Not every couple needs to engage a wedding caterer for their big day. If you are tying the knot at a venue that serves food, then you won’t need to engage one. But if you are tying the knot at a venue that doesn’t come with food or a recommended caterer, you might need to search for one on your own. Many caterers also offer wedding styling or decoration services, so do enquire with your chosen caterer on whether they offer these services and their rate card.

You might also need a wedding caterer if you are hosting a small luncheon at home after your tea ceremony or after your church solemnisation.

Emcee

The question of whether you need a professional emcee for your wedding is debatable, but it is entirely up to your own personal preference. While it is nice to have a professional emcee to host your wedding so you can sit back and fully enjoy the night, you may not have the budget to include one or your celebration may be intimate enough to do away with a one. For couples who choose not to engage a professional emcee, you can either host the wedding yourselves if it is an intimate celebration, or you can engage the help of your family and friends to host the celebration, like what most Singaporean couples do.

Car Rental

Whether you need to rent a wedding car or a bus to transport to your guests depends on several factors. If you are unable to find a car or cars for yourself and your bridal party, or are tying the knot at a venue that is not easily accessible, you might want to consider renting cars or a bus for your big day. However, if you or members of your personal bridal party have your own personal car, then you might not need to engage a car rental company.

Similarly, if your wedding venue is easily accessible via public transport, then you are unlikely to need a bus to ferry your guests. That being said, if you would like to indulge in a fancy limousine ride for yourself and your bridal party, then by all means go ahead and do so!

Photo Booth/Activity Vendors

As a good host, you would want to make sure that your guests are kept comfortable and entertained during the lull moments on your wedding day. Activities such as a photo booth, bubble tea or bottled beer booth, or a dessert bar are great ideas to keep them occupied while they wait for dinner to commence or your second march-in, but they are not compulsory.

If you have set aside the budget to do so, that’s great. But if you are working on a tight wedding budget or would like to cut costs down to a minimum to save for your house or honeymoon, you can choose to omit these activities from your big day. Your wedding will be great whether you have them or not.

Of course, these vendors are by no means the only vendors used for weddings. There are many others, depending on your needs and wedding vision. But, at the end of the day, the number of wedding vendors you used for your big day doesn’t dictate the success or failure of your wedding and marriage. Simply follow your heart (and budget), and you’ll have just the right team of wedding vendors for your wedding day.

Feature Image: Rachel and Hui’s Tropical Eclectic Wedding at Corner House by Rheza Paleva and Yipmage Moments

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