Planning binders for vendors?

She could be an over planner maybe? I personally would not be doing all of that. The wedding planning spreadsheet but everything else, absolutely not. For me it’s just too much stuff to keep up with. Do I really need to keep swatches, no.

My sister did that and it helped her. I think it just depends on your planning style. I prefer digital spreadsheets so I don't have to keep track of physical copies.

I'm a type A bride, I have spreadsheets for every aspect of my wedding.

We're a little over a month out from the wedding and yesterday I spent the day making pages for a day of wedding binder (multiple)

I included contact information which included My Mom, the MOB, MOH and Best Man, secondary contacts if those people don't answer, three of my bridesmaids and one groomsmen who I have faith can handle questions for me and FH if they arise and then mine and FH's contact which has the header "if you must call the bride and groom i.e everyone else is dead)

A Vendor Contact Page that has the name, phone number and email address of each one of our vendors.

A bride day of time line, a groom day of time line, a vendor day of timeline and a general day of time line.

I also included rehearsal information, when and where the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner is and some things my venue asked to provide our bridal party.

I still plan to add Set Up information, that states how all the decor should be set up, and a photography shot list of pictures I want taken.

I plan to give my mom a complete binder with everything in it, and then making two more, one for the photographer and one for our Venue Coordinator/Bridal Attendant/Matrie D with the relevant pages they need to complete their jobs!

I think creating the binder for yourself with all of that info is a great idea! It keeps everything in one place. As for creating an identical binder for vendors, I don't think it's really necessary for the photographer - the photographer wouldn't need a copy of the florist's contract, or spreadsheets with invitation lists for the pre-wedding parties, etc. I could see some of the info being useful for the coordinator/wedding planner, such as contact info for all vendors, inspiration images for venue decor, and timeline details.


I think if you were going to put together a binder for the photographer and coordinator, I would only put the relevant info for each one, and leave out things that they wouldn't have any use for. I would also probably check with the vendor ahead of time to see if this is something they would find helpful. Many of them have their own systems for keeping track of info, and may not want a binder of information. If every bride they worked with gave them a binder of info, they'd need an entire library to store them all.

View Quoted Comment I agree to only give the vendor what they need. Or even better, email them a digital version of that page (such as inspiration photos and colors, etc.)


I didn't have a binder or anything, but I was adamant about carrying around a tiny swatch of my bridesmaids' dress fabric in my purse. That way while out shopping, if I came across, say, napkins, I could compare the color and decide if it was worth buying. Also came in handy when we picked out the colors for the guys' suits and again when we found a tablecloth for the cake table

Im not doing binders for the vendors but I am doing binders for everyone in the wedding party. Each binder will have the schedule for the day, important phone numbers, and a list of the numbered totes that I have everything stored in and whats in each tote to make things as organized as possible.