Paying Vendors

roseofdeborah

As I am getting closer to the wedding I am getting invoices for my vendors. I'm not sure who I should be paying when. Those that I know will be fully paid ahead of time or are already paid are flowers, venue/caterer, cake, and I might be missing some. My DJ and Photographer also want everything ahead of time. Shold I be paying everyone 100% of balances due before the wedding?

J&K10910

You need to check your contracts.  Due dates of balances will be on the contract, and if they're not, they should be on the invoices.  If they're still not there, then your vendors are weird, and you need to call.  Every vendor is different.  We can't help you here.  However, I will say that every single one of my vendors required 100% payment before or on the day of the wedding.

pokepoke27

It depends on the vendors. What does it say in your contracts?

My caterer required payment 24 hours before the wedding, my DJ required about week before, and (for some strange reason) my cake baker required payment in full six weeks before. We payed the minister the day of because she could only accept cash or check. 

Honestly, if you CAN pay everyone before the wedding, you should. It can be awkward for the vendors to deal with collecting money on the day of, and with so much going on it's possible to forget. 

angelsong21

I agree with PP -- you need to check your contracts for dates.  Everyone that we used had dates clearly outlined either in the contract or on the invoice.  I would honestly recommend just paying everyone beforehand, though.  It's so much easier than worrying about handing out envelopes and such the day of the wedding as you will already have more than enough on your mind that day.  The only person who accepted payment the night of was our DJ, and the only reason I did that is because when I paid the deposit, I somehow also ended up with an extra $100 charge on my credit card.  I paid her with a check + cash tip.

Kate61487

ditto J&K that all our vendors required payment before or on the day of.  I think the venue/caterer were before, photographer and dj were day of.   And actually our ice cream vendor was after the fact b/c it was based on usage.  Look at your contracts and see what they say.

Summer2011Bride

Check your contracts. Some of ours weren't due until the wedding day or even after (the remaining balance wasn't due for our videographer until he gave us the final DVD. We waited until we had the product to pay the rest, and I'm glad we did because he took forever--longer than the contract stated because the guy who was his partner quit).

personally, all the ones that were due the day of the wedding, we paid off early. We didn't want to have to worry about having a bunch of envelopes for each vendor and making sure they got there. Unless you are concerned that someone may not show or perform poorly if you pay them all upfront, it might be easier to do it that way.

J&K10910

Also, I'm really surprised you waited until 3 weeks before the wedding to figure this out.  I had a couple vendors that required payment in full a month before the wedding.  I wonder if that's why you're getting invoices.

I made up a spreadsheet with how much we owed which vendors and when it was due, and checked it off when it was paid.

crash2729

Most of my vendors were due 2 weeks before the wedding, with the exception of the videographer who wanted his balance after I watched the video.

roseofdeborah

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_paying-vendors?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:30fc22b0-374b-49df-a912-61c5eb8b51b7Post:56ca7fb9-5775-4a15-8327-c2913bcb26df">Re: Paying Vendors</a>:
[QUOTE]Also, I'm really surprised you waited until 3 weeks before the wedding to figure this out.  I had a couple vendors that required payment in full a month before the wedding.  I wonder if that's why you're getting invoices. I made up a spreadsheet with how much we owed which vendors and when it was due, and checked it off when it was paid.
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]

I've paid in full most of them, but my contract with my photographer didn't include a date to be paid by. I didn't know if most people pay the photographer in full even though you would be waiting for prints afterwards.

crash2729

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_paying-vendors?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:30fc22b0-374b-49df-a912-61c5eb8b51b7Post:766ce533-2c89-4ee9-aa6a-0cce1417afcc">Re: Paying Vendors</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Paying Vendors : I've paid in full most of them, but my contract with my photographer didn't include a date to be paid by. I didn't know if most people pay the photographer in full even though you would be waiting for prints afterwards.
Posted by roseofdeborah[/QUOTE]
We paid ours in full 2 weeks ahead of the wedding.

coopsbaby

Ours is half when you book, half the night of. I'm surprised it doesn't say in your contract though. It's totally normal to pay by the date or before though, and I'd pay before to have it done.

Summer2011Bride

We paid our photographer in full by the wedding date. I'd have to double check, but pretty sure our remaining balance was due two weeks prior to the wedding. The only vendor who accepted payment after the wedding was our videographer.