How to choose wedding vendors

Vendors make or break the day — and comparing them is where planning gets noisy. A calm process:

1. Shortlist by fit, not by volume

Three to five candidates per category is plenty. Filter by the things that can't change: your date, your place, your budget band, your style. A brilliant photographer who's booked on your date is not a candidate.

2. Ask the same questions of everyone

You can't compare answers you didn't ask for. The universal five:

• Are you available on our date, and what's your backup if you're ill?
• What exactly is included at this price — and what costs extra?
• When is the payment schedule, and what's the cancellation policy?
• Have you worked at our venue (or one like it)?
• When will we get the photos / final plan / delivery?

3. Read the reply, not just the price

A vendor who answers quickly, clearly, and warmly before you've paid will usually behave that way after. Vagueness about pricing now is vagueness about pricing forever.

4. Get it in writing

Date, hours, deliverables, price, payment schedule, cancellation terms. Every professional vendor expects this; hesitation is a signal.

5. Book, then stop looking

Decision fatigue is real. Once you've signed someone good, close the tab. The venue does not need to be re-researched at 1am.

This whole funnel is what Sukumi runs for you: it shortlists vendors that fit, emails them your details (you approve every message), extracts quotes and availability from the replies, and lines up the tastings — one pipeline, zero chaos.