Photos on thumbnail courtesy of Ama by Aisha #amabyaisha.

Without a doubt, wedding planning is such a fun experience for you and your soon-to-be spouse! From the initial stages where you’re touring potential venues to crafting your dream team of vendors, selecting a theme and so on, you’ll definitely have a few things to complete before the big day arrives. Given that there are a number of items that compose the wedding planning process, we often like to utilize our wedding blog as a resource covering a wide variety of topics. That could be something general like a look back at a past wedding held at our venue, which can be excellent for generating ideas and inspiration for your own big day. It can also be something specific too, such as advice on picking the perfect photographer for your wedding day. Regardless, the point I would like to make is that there are no shortage of topics to discuss.

With that introduction in-place, we would like to say hello to anyone who may be stopping by our blog for the first time or are new to our wedding venue. Madera Estates is a luxury wedding venue in Conroe, which is close by Montgomery, Texas. Since opening up our wedding venue, we’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of engaged couples as they plan their “Best Day Ever!” It truly has been a blast to witness so many wedding celebrations over the years. Having said that, this week’s blog post is intended to be a resource for both couples that are just starting the planning process, as well as those currently filling out their team of vendors. So…if you’re looking for a wedding venue in Montgomery, Texas or any of the nearby cities (like Conroe, Houston, The Woodlands, etc), hopefully this blog post will provide some guidance on picking both your venue and the rest of your vendors!

Don’t Wait on Picking Out Your Wedding Venue

As we often say on our blog, there are certainly a handful of wedding planning tasks that you’ll want to prioritize in the early stages. The reason for this is because if you wait too long, your favorite venue or other vendors may already be booked up. Furthermore, the importance of this is heightened if you plan on tying the knot during a popular season, such as Saturdays in the Fall.

With that in mind, any guesses why we recommend focusing on the venue selection early on? First off, the venue is most likely going to be the vendor that occupies the largest portion of your budget, so getting it finalized will help in determining future decisions. Not to mention, it will also lock in your date, so you won’t have to worry about your favorite venue getting booked up and will now have a set date that you can share with other vendors to determine their pricing and availability as well. In addition to this, once you have your wedding venue booked, you’ll also quickly see how your contacts at the venue can be an excellent resource for future vendor selections. They’ll likely have experience working with many different local vendors and can help steer you in the right direction of reliable options. After all, if you live in a bigger city, you’ll notice that there is quite the list of potential vendors to choose from and it can even seem a little overwhelming from the onset. To take that point one step further, you’ll also notice that many venues also offer all-inclusive packages, which can make the vendor selection stages even easier and ensure you will truly have the best vendor team!

To sum it up, the primary point we wanted to highlight with this part of the blog post was how important it is to get your wedding venue locked in. While you don’t want to rush this step by any means (after all, the venue will serve an important role on your big day), it’s also a smart idea to not let this task sit unfinished for very long either!

Who Will Make Up Your Vendor Team?

When we discuss tasks that you’ll want to complete shortly after your engagement, there are generally a few different things that come to mind first. As discussed above, your wedding venue selection is a big one, as that also ensures you’ll have a date confirmed too. Going hand-in-hand with this, you’ll also want to get a general budget for the wedding finalized too, as that will help in evaluating how much you can spend on particular vendors and other parts of the wedding! Now…let’s continue on with the next part of this week’s blog post and that will be discussing the other vendors that will help bring your special day to life.

Keep in mind that if your wedding venue has all-inclusive packages available, it is definitely worth considering these options! This can make the entire process all the more stress-free. Nonetheless, what other vendors will make up your team?

Photographer and/or Videographer – A photographer is obviously a MUST as they will be in charge of capturing all of the special moments intertwined throughout a wedding day. From the getting ready moments all the way through the final send-off, a professional photographer is well worth the investment. Looking to also capture your special day in video form? If so, consider adding a videographer to your team as well to create something that you’ll always hold close to your heart.

Florist – Beautiful floral arrangements and weddings are the perfect combination, right? You can adapt the style and type of flowers to your theme and simply put, it adds so much to a wedding day!

Caterer – When it comes to a wedding reception, delicious food is definitely needed! After all, you’re celebrating with all of your loved ones and as such, you’ll want to find a catering company capable of delivering a wonderful meal.

Cake Baker and/or Dessert Table – While on the topic of food, it’s safe to say that everyone loves a beautiful and scrumptious wedding cake too! On the flip side, if you’re not big fans of cake, you can also opt to go with a dessert table too. Simply put, there are plenty of options here!

DJ and/or Live Music – At your wedding reception, the dance floor is going to be packed all night long and who will help bring some of the entertainment to the party? A DJ and/or live band, of course!

Hair and Makeup – During the “getting ready” moments, you’ll want a professional hair and makeup artist to get you all glammed up, right? Add this important vendor to your list as well!

Other Vendors – Thus far in this blog post, we highlighted several of the key vendors that will make up your team. However, this is by no means meant to be a comprehensive list of all potential vendors. Who else might you consider? An officiant is obviously an important one! Looking to add to the fun of your reception? If so, you might think about booking someone for a fireworks display, have a late night snack delivered (maybe Whataburger?), churro bar, photo booth, the list goes on! All in all, there are simply so many options available nowadays when it comes to planning a wedding and that includes a plethora of talented wedding professionals.

Tie the Knot at Madera Estates in Conroe, TX

As shown throughout this blog post, a key part of any wedding celebration is going to be both the wedding venue that you select, as well as your vendor team that will be involved in many facets of your special day.

Here at Madera Estates, we’re all about bringing dream weddings to life. Down to every single detail, we want to make sure your big day is exactly what you had envisioned it being. If you’re looking for a wedding venue in Montgomery, Texas and are interested in any venues in that general area, we would love to show you around our Conroe wedding venue. For those of you who are interested in learning more about Madera Estates, you’re welcome to fill out the form HERE to request a copy of our Pricing Guide. It’s filled with helpful information all about our venue. In addition, if you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call at (936) 441-9337.