What to Prioritise After Booking Your Wedding Venue
Booking your wedding venue is such a huge milestone, so first of all — congratulations.
Choosing your venue means you’ve locked in two major pieces of the puzzle:
Your wedding date and your wedding location. It’s exciting, it feels real, and for many couples, this is the moment wedding planning truly begins.
Once that box is ticked, there’s often a strong temptation to jump straight into the styling side of planning. And look, I completely understand why!
Styling is beautiful. It’s the fun part.
It’s where you start thinking about florals, tablescapes, candles, linen, chairs, colour palettes, and all the details that make your wedding feel visually “you.” All of the things you have been seeing on Pinterest, Tik Tok and Instagram.
But before you dive into styling, you do need to work on your planning suppliers before anything else.
Prioritise Your Key Suppliers First
This includes your:
Photographer
Celebrant
Videographer
Hair and makeup team
Content creator
Entertainment
And any other planning suppliers required for your wedding such as transport.
These suppliers should be high on your priority list once your venue is secured.
Why?
Because in most cases they’re booked, they’re booked. Unlike styling items that can often be sourced from multiple vendors, many of these suppliers only take on one wedding per day.
A photographer can only be in one place at one time. The same goes for most videographers and celebrants. While some celebrants may occasionally take on two weddings in one day if timing allows, that’s not usually the norm.
So if you already have a particular supplier in mind — someone whose work you love and feel strongly drawn to — I would strongly recommend reaching out sooner rather than later.
Don’t Be Fooled by “We Still Have Plenty of Time”
In your mind, 18 months may feel far away.
In the wedding industry, it really isn’t.
Eighteen months becomes twelve months very quickly. And twelve months becomes six months even faster.
The best suppliers are often booked well in advance, especially during peak wedding seasons.
So if you’ve secured your venue early — amazing. Use that time wisely by locking in the suppliers that matter most to you.
When Should You Focus on Styling?
Once your key planning suppliers are booked, you can shift your attention to styling.
Styling generally doesn’t need to be locked in quite as early, though there are a few exceptions.
For florists, I usually recommend booking around the 12-month mark or earlier, particularly if your wedding falls in peak season or you’re working with a highly sought-after florist.
For styling elements like napkins tablecloths, chairs etc, normally 9-12 months out is perfect. By all means, you can do it earlier, but only if your planning suppliers are all locked in first!
Focus on the Right Things at the Right Time
Wedding planning feels much easier when you know what to prioritise and when.
Instead of trying to do everything at once, focus on securing the suppliers who have limited availability first.
Then give yourself permission to enjoy the creative side of planning afterwards.
The styling will still be there.
But the photographer or celebrant you’ve had your heart set on may not be.
So if you’ve just booked your venue, take a moment to celebrate — and then turn your attention to the planning essentials before diving into the pretty details.
A clear timeline and the right priorities can make all the difference in creating a planning experience that feels calm, organised, and far less overwhelming.
If you’re not sure what to prioritise next, our free Wedding Timeline & Checklist is the perfect place to start.
It walks you through every stage of planning—from the moment you get engaged right through to the week after your wedding—so you know exactly what to do and when.
If you want to plan your wedding with clarity, confidence, and calm—this course was created for you.