Yep, it’s true!  Your other vendors can be of great assistance in choosing a reception site after you choose some of your other vendors.  I know some of your books and sites say choose the site first, but there is really some logic to choosing your site perhaps second or third.

 Let’s say you contract a photographer that you have been swooning over for a few weeks or months.  Looking through her portfolio, you might see a  venue that really grasps the vision you are trying to shoot for with your wedding.  You can also seek your vendor’s counsel if you are undecided about a venue or would like some ideas as to where to start.  Your photographer can tell you what venue has wonderful photo opps to add to your photo album.   The same goes with your florist– they can tell you what site is easy to design and decorate.  They can also suggest which sites can be complemented well with minimal design or those that can be “re-concepted” from scratch. 

 There is another reason that this is a good idea– you definitely want your wedding event staff to get along on the day of the wedding.  Contrary to popular belief, your vendors are notsecond class citizsens, nor are they serfs slaving away for the glory of your wedding day. Unfortunately, some venues treat wedding vendors this way, causing a lot of disdain and dislike among professionals in the industry.  So much so, that man vendors actually blacklist venues– they will not work at a specific venue and will not take your wedding if it is scheduled there.

 To spearhead any problems between your vendors and your reception site, when interviewing venues remember to ask additional questions such as:  what type of vendor meals they provide, do they “require” vendors to report to anyone in their staff, are they required to use a certain entrance, etc. Find out as much as you can for your vendors as possible.  Another great resource is your DJ.  He arrives after the setup and is like the “fly on the wall” he sees all and has to interact with the reception site.  Remember to get a successful event, everyone has to work together without ego or any air of superiority.  It should be all about you– not your vendors.