Planner or Venue first?

I suppose if you really want a planner, you should start there, but a venue is a close second. My husband and I didn't have a wedding planner, so our top priority was a venue. We shopped around for the other stuff at the same time, but I would check with your top venues to see what they have available for your date. The venues will fill up fast, so be prepared to offer up an alternative date if you find a place you really like.

I booked a venue first. Then I booked my wedding coordinator

I also had booked like 5 other vendors before hiring my coordinator. She was impressed but I am also just a Virgo soooo lol

Getting a planner or doing it it yourself they can take on something they you know for sure that you may have look over or to run by you with flowers etc.

I would start searching for venues first. That's the first main step and some of them can be booked out far in advance and I would start looking around now and secure the date you want with your venue of choice. Then you can hire a planner to help with your theme and decor and all the other things.

We hired our planner first and she recommended some venues that would fit the vibe we were going for. We toured our first choice, spoke to her about it, and then she helped negotiate the contract and did the follow ups when the venue manager wasn’t being incredibly responsive. I felt much better signing such a large contract after she had reviewed it for us, and saving me the time of follow ups has been great.


As others say, you don’t have a date until you’ve booked your venue, so you could parallel path touring venues and finding a planner. I’d definitely recommend having a planner when you get to the contract stage.

The order doesn't really matter. I got my planner after my venue she just reviewed our contract for us and made sure everything was in order. I say venue first then planner but whatever works for you.