While a creative event concept and theme idea is a great starting point for your event, your event’s success will be decided by the vendors you hire to pull it off.
This might include caterers, photographers, entertainment companies, planners, videographers, and venue owner, or any other vendor you need to bring your event together.

Here’s how you can choose the right vendors for your event, get the best price, and ensure everything goes to plan on the day.

1. Have your event concept and theme in mind.
   Before you start looking for vendors, make sure you’ve already decided on your event concept and theme. This is because your theme will inform everything from the venue to the food and the entertainment – things your vendors will provide.
   Having decided on your theme beforehand, you can choose the most appropriate vendors and venue to match.
   Holding a conference? You’ll want to pick a venue with conference rooms. Throwing a party to celebrate your brand launch? You’ll need bars and lots of space for dancing, so probably a club.
   Theme is important for more than just venue, too. Different photographers’ styles are better suited to certain events than others, while catering for a corporate networking event is going to be different than for a launch party.
   Having your theme in mind will help you in your search for vendors, helping you to find those with experience in similar events.
   
   
2. Write a list of your needs
   First, think about the vendors you’ll need. Do you need an event planner, a caterer, entertainment vendors, photographers, and videographers? Write a list of every vendor your event needs to run.
   Then, you should write down a list of essentials – like the date they need to be available and whether they need to have experience with the type of event/theme/venue.
   Next, for each vendor, write down your needs regarding the service they each provide. For example, do you need food for 1000 people? Do you want a nightclub photographer or someone who specializes in day events like weddings, and do you need a quick turnaround of the photos? Do you need a rock band or a string quartet for your event?

3. Do your research
   It’s time to begin the search. Make sure to browse online reviews, ask your connections whether they have any recommendations and look at vendors’ websites to judge whether they’re up to the job and would be a good fit for your event.
   It’s a green flag if they have photos of events they’ve helped produce, but make sure to look out for any reports of no-shows or unprofessional behavior on reviews.
   While you’re researching, it’s a good idea to get an idea of pricing for each service so you don’t get hoodwinked into paying more (or offend your vendors by asking too much, for too little).

4. Make a shortlist
   After you’ve finished browsing, it’s time to make a shortlist of the best reviewed vendors within your budget that seem like the best fit for the event you’ve envisioned.
   Try to have a few for each category so that you have vendors to fall back on if one isn’t available on the day of your event.

5. Get quotes
   Now it’s time to make contact. Send off emails or make calls to the vendors on your shortlist.
   Firstly, find out if they’re available on the date of your event and – shortly after – get some quotes on pricing.
   By getting a quote, you can get an idea of how your shortlisted event vendors are priced compared to each other and to the industry standard (and whether your budget can cover them).

6. Meet in person
   Once you’ve narrowed down your preferred candidate – the best fit for your event that also suits your budget – it’s important to meet them in person.
   You’ll be able to get a feeling of whether you trust the person/team with your event. Make sure that you ask vendors questions about the events they’ve done previously, how they envision their work process for your event, and anything else you want to know before you commit.

7. Negotiate
   Once you’re set on your vendors, it’s worth trying to get the price down.
   You can try to make a deal where you commit to only using a particular vendor for future events for a discount. Or you could attempt to lower the price by removing potential add-ons they have as part of their service. Or you might have equipment or other resources that make their job less expensive, giving you bargaining power.
   You can also mention that some of the other vendors you’re interested in have offered a lower price (if they have) to motivate them to discount their service.

8. Make the deal
   Now you’ve got your vendors and you’ve arrived at a price point you’re happy with, it’s time to book them.
   Get the contracts written up and finalize any details before getting ready to host your event.

9. Stay in touch
   Don’t leave it until the day before your event to reach out to your vendors again.
   Check in regularly to make sure everything’s going to plan and make sure to update your vendors with any changes and checklists they need to be aware of.

And that’s it! Your event is ready for lift off with the best vendors secured for your event, at a great price.