How to Keep Track of Your Vendors (Without a Wedding Planner)

You’ll save yourself tons of time (and tons of frantic searching) if you put everyone’s basic info in one doc. Maybe it’s a spreadsheet shared with you and your spouse-to-be, or a simple list in your Evernote account. Keep it up to date with the vendor’s name, email, phone and any other details you want to have on hand.

While that doc will be nice to have, you won’t want to reference it all the time. Go ahead and add everyone’s phone numbers and emails to your contacts in your phone. You’ll be glad you did come wedding day!

You’re not the only one who needs this info! Your future spouse, MOH, mom or other wedding helpers might want to have it on hand, too. Make a pretty printable list that everyone can hold onto.

Save yourself a last-minute headache by divvying up final payments and tips a few weeks ahead of the wedding. Then ask your mom, brother, or anyone else helping with the wedding to hand out the dough on the wedding day.

A totally clear inbox sure feels good, but it’s not a good idea when wedding planning. Save every wedding-related email — those count as written agreements whenever changes are made to your contract. Plus, then you won’t wonder whether you already asked your florist to add one more boutonniere to the list.

The fewer vendors you have, the easier it will be to keep track of them all. Can your caterer provide the cake? Does your florist also provide rentals? Do double duty to save yourself the stress.

Keep a vendor schedule however makes sense to you, whether it’s on your phone, your planner, or somewhere else. Track vendor appointments and when they’re scheduled for the wedding day.

Dedicate half the day before your wedding to confirming details with your vendors. Call to make sure that everything is ready to go, and double check that they know where to be, what to bring, and what time to arrive.

You do NOT want to deal with last-minute vendor phone calls while you’re getting your makeup done. Instead, while confirming with vendors, give them contact information for your MOH, FMIL, or whoever you want to put in charge. They can be the go-to person for your vendors to contact in case of an emergency.