Working With Local DC and Baltimore Wedding Vendors: How To Pick The Best Micro Wedding Vendors
If you’ve booked The Tiny Wedding Collective’s Base Package then you’ve already knocked off 5 vendors from your hiring to-do list!
That’s the beauty of our all-inclusive micro wedding package - it automatically includes your Day of Coordinator, Photographer, Florist, Officiant, and your wedding cake! We’ll also help you with creating and managing your wedding day timeline and hand over a pre-loaded Wedding Day Playbook so that you can stay organized while you’re planning your tiny wedding!
If you didn’t include our Partial or Full Planning add-on service then the first step is for you to find a venue and a caterer for your micro wedding!
How to Choose a Venue and Caterer For Your DC or Baltimore Micro Wedding
Guest Count For Your Small Wedding
The first thing we recommend doing is sitting down with your partner and coming up with your guest list. The amount of guests you plan to have at your micro wedding will dictate the size of the venue and your budget.
Maybe it’s just the two of you and your immediate families or maybe you’ve decided to include some close friends and coworkers, too. The average micro wedding in Washington DC and Baltimore is about 30 guests but we’ve worked with couples with guest lists upwards of 50 or none at all!
If you’re having the ceremony and reception at the same location, you’ll want to be sure the venue you choose has enough space for both without your guests having to awkwardly stand around while the room is being flipped for the reception.
Having a space big enough where both the ceremony and reception can take place or having an additional flex space for a cocktail hour is key for a fluid, flawless micro wedding.
Read our post on creating a guest list where we interview a wedding etiquette professional who shares how to confidently put together a list that compliments your budget!
Micro Wedding Budgets & Vision
Once you know how many people you’ll be inviting, it’s time to decide on your micro wedding budget which depends heavily on your style and overall vision. We’ve had couples throw a backyard BBQ at a DC Airbnb with an ice cream truck, couples who share a three-course meal with their guests at a restaurant downtown, and everything in between.
A Michelin-star restaurant is going to cost more than, say, a pizza truck but neither is considered “better” than the other!
Typically, the more traditional you lean, the more expensive the micro wedding but if you’re willing to get creative (and cut down your guest list) you’ll be able to save more money. For a traditional three-course sit-down meal at a wedding venue, we recommend budgeting around $200-300 per person. For something a little more casual, like a restaurant, a little less. For something totally laid back like a BBQ or a pizza party, a whole lot less.
If you’re not sure, we recommend taking our Style Quiz to help determine what kind of DC or Baltimore micro-wedding suits your vision best! Not only will the quiz match you with a wedding day style but it’ll also share a list of venues that match! From breweries to restaurants to cocktail bars, the list has it ALL!
Tiny Wedding Cuisine
Once you determine your overall budget and style, you can decide on the type of cuisine you want to have at your micro wedding. There’s certainly no shortage of incredible restaurants and caterers in the DMV so the world really is your oyster here! You’re welcome to stay traditional and go with one of the many wonderful caterers in the area or you can get a little more creative and go with something more unique. From Afghan food at Lapis to French food at Le Diplomate, there’s something for everyone!
The next step is to book what we call your “minor” wedding vendors. But don’t let the name fool you! Depending on your vision, these can be just as important to your major vendors, as well!
How to Choose Your Minor Vendors like Hair, Makeup, Music, and Rentals
After booking with The Tiny Wedding Collective, we’ll send over an exclusive list of our preferred vendors which includes hair and makeup stylists, live musicians, DJs, and other entertainment like live poets and tarot card readers, rental companies for designs beyond the traditional white linens, where to book room-blocks for your guests and so so much more.
The vendors included on this list are folks we’ve either worked with in the past, vendors who offer micro wedding packages or those we think would make a great micro wedding fit! Have another vendor in mind that’s not on our list? No sweat! The vendors on our preferred list are only suggestions - you can hire whomever you’d like!
When deciding which vendor to hire, always go back to your micro wedding day vision. Does their style fit your vision? Do their values match yours? Are they in budget? These are all things to think about when hiring a vendor for your wedding day. Once you’ve done that, work on the following:
1. Review their portfolio - can you see yourself in their work? Vendors aren’t there to change their style for your wedding. It’s best if you choose a vendor that already matches your vision!
2. Read through their reviews online - do you like what people have to say?
3. Reach out and/or book inquiry calls with no more than 2-3 vendors from each category to avoid overwhelm.
4. Book! Most vendors require a non-refundable retainer for them to hold your date as well as a signed contract.
Questions to Ask a Tiny Wedding Vendor Before You Book Them:
1. How would you describe your style and/or what are your offerings?
2. Do you have liability insurance?
3. What does your average micro wedding couple spend on your services?
4. What are your expectations for me as your client?
5. What is a typical timeline for your services leading up to and on the day of the wedding?
Small Wedding Vendor Red Flags
1. The vendor doesn’t have you sign a contract
2. They have more than 3 bad reviews online
3. They don’t carry insurance
4. Their website is difficult to navigate
5. Communication leading up to booking is poor
We are so excited to help plan your DC and Baltimore tiny wedding with such beautiful backdrops, venues, and amazing vendors to choose from, it’s why we love what we do.
