When to Book Wedding Suppliers: The Order That Saves You Stress

The order you book in matters more than how early you start. Book the venue first, because it fixes the date, the guest count and the catering rules. Then book the suppliers who can only be at one wedding on your day: the planner, photographer, caterer, marriage officer and band or DJ. Décor, hire and flowers come next, and the cake, hair and makeup, transport and stationery come last.

That’s the short answer to when to book wedding suppliers, or vendors, as American wedding sites call them. Below is a table of typical lead times, why each one sits where it does, how peak season on the Eastern Cape coast pushes everything earlier, and what to get in writing before you pay a deposit.

When to book wedding suppliers: the order at a glance

These lead times are for a Saturday in peak season, which on this coast runs from December to February. For an off-peak month, a Friday, a Sunday or a weekday, you can often book much later.

If you’re short on time, our six-month wedding plan shows how to compress this into a fortnight of bookings.

Book first: the venue and, if you want one, a planner

The venue decides almost everything else. Until you know where and when, a photographer can’t hold your date and a caterer can’t quote. So the very first booking is the venue, and for a beach ceremony that means the beach permission and a reception venue together. How to choose a wedding venue lists what to ask before you sign.

If you want a planner, book them before the venue if you can. A local planner can quickly find out which venues still have your date, and already knows which have the infrastructure you’ll need and which become wind tunnels on a summer afternoon. For a December to February Saturday, eight to twelve months ahead is comfortable with us; off-season and mid-week dates are often available at short notice. Our questions to ask a wedding planner help you choose one.

Book next: the people who can only be in one place

These suppliers can do one wedding a day, so on a popular Saturday they’re the first to go.

• Photographer and videographer. Book as soon as the venue is confirmed. If your first choice is taken, ask whether they work with an associate photographer.
• Caterer. Only if the venue doesn’t provide one. Ask when the tasting happens, when final numbers are due, and what they need on site: power, water, a kitchen tent.
• Marriage officer. Check that the person is a designated marriage officer, and that they’ll travel to your venue. Under section 29 of the Marriage Act, a marriage officer may marry you at any time but isn’t obliged to do so outside 08:00–16:00, so for a late-afternoon or sunset ceremony, get their agreement to the time in writing. Our marriage officer guide covers what they need from you.
• Band or DJ. Saturday nights in peak season go early, for bands and DJs alike. If you want a langarm band for an Afrikaans crowd, start looking as soon as you have the date.

Then the look: décor, hire and flowers

Décor and hire stock is shared between every wedding on the same weekend, so a December date needs an earlier booking than a June one. Ask what’s included in delivery, setup and collection, and what the deposit covers. At Tarika, a deposit secures hire stock, a refundable breakage deposit applies to crockery, cutlery and glassware, and delivery is charged on distance.

Book the florist once you know your colours and roughly what’s in season. On a windy coastal site, ask about dried proteas and grasses, which hold up far better than soft fresh stems. Our wedding hire checklist helps you work out quantities before you ask for quotes.

Finishing touches: cake, hair and makeup, transport and stationery

• Hair and makeup sits earlier than people expect, because an artist can only do one wedding morning at a time. Book six to nine months out and have the trial two or three months before.
• Cake. Book after the venue and caterer, so you know whether you need a full cake or a small cutting cake with dessert served by the caterer.
• Transport. Book once you know how far the ceremony is from the reception, and whether guests need a shuttle home.
• Stationery. Save-the-dates go out as soon as the venue is booked; invitations follow about three months before. Our guide on when to send wedding invitations has the timings.

Peak season on the coast moves everything earlier

December to February is wedding peak season on this coast, and in December and early January the coastal towns also fill with holidaymakers. That affects more than venues:

• Accommodation for guests and suppliers. In December, holiday homes and guesthouses are booked well ahead. Tell guests the date early, and see wedding guest accommodation and travel.
• Hire stock. Popular chairs, arches and tents are booked by several weddings across the same weekend.
• Suppliers from further away. If your photographer or caterer is coming from Gqeberha or further, they need a place to stay and a quote that includes travel.

If you’re set on summer and short of time, look at Fridays and Sundays, which are far easier to book than a peak Saturday.

Deposits, contracts and what to confirm in writing

Every booking should end with a written confirmation that covers:

• the date, the venue address and the exact times the supplier will arrive and leave
• what’s included, item by item, and what isn’t
• the deposit, the balance and when each is due
• what happens if you cancel or postpone, and what happens if they can’t make it
• travel costs, overtime rates and any service charge
• for outdoor weddings, what changes if the wet-weather plan is used

It also helps to know the law. Under section 17 of the Consumer Protection Act, you have the right to cancel an advance booking. The supplier may ask for a reasonable deposit and charge a reasonable cancellation fee, judged by things such as how much notice you gave and whether they can still rebook the date. They may not charge a cancellation fee if you can’t go ahead because of the death or hospitalisation of the person the booking was for. The section doesn’t apply to special-order goods, so items made to your specification may be treated differently. This is general information, not legal advice; read each contract carefully.

Next steps

Make a list of the suppliers you actually need, because not every wedding needs all thirteen. Then book them in the order above, and don’t move to the next row until the one above it is confirmed in writing. For the full month-by-month picture, use our wedding planning checklist.

If you’d rather hand the bookings to someone local, see how Tarika handles full planning, styling and on-the-day coordination. Our quotes are itemised, with third-party costs listed at what the supplier charges and no commission added.