How to compare wedding vendor quotes
You have two quotes and a budget to stick to. Start by checking that both vendors are pricing the same wedding, then compare what you would actually pay, including the extras.
Before you choose a vendor
- Match the date, location, hours, staffing, and what you will receive.
- Add required fees, travel, setup, rentals, likely overtime, and tax.
- Compare the full contract total with your category limit, not just the deposit.
- Read the payment dates, cancellation, rescheduling, and refund terms. Get important promises in writing.
Keep both quotes while you compare. You only select one commitment per category in the planner.
A $3,200 package can cost more than a $3,500 one
These fictional photography quotes are in USD. They demonstrate the calculation, not typical wedding prices. Assume both cover the services you need.
| Cost | Silverline Photography | Willow Photo Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Package price | $3,200 | $3,500 |
| Required fees | $180 | $100 |
| Travel or delivery | $120 | $0 |
| Rentals or add-ons | $250 | $150 |
| Likely overtime | $300 | $200 |
| Subtotal | $4,050 | $3,950 |
| Tax at an assumed 8% | $324 | $316 |
| True cost | $4,374 | $4,266 |
Silverline starts $300 lower. After extras and tax, Willow costs $108 less.
That gives you a fairer price comparison, not an automatic winner. You still need to judge the work, coverage, communication, backup arrangements, and whether you want to work with that vendor.
If you set a $4,000 Photography limit, Silverline is $374 over and Willow is $266 over. Check your own limit in Budget; it may be different. You could change the scope, move money from another category, revise the limit, or keep looking. The status tells you how the quote fits your plan, not which vendor to choose.
Try it with your quotes
- Open Vendors and add each quote under the same category. Enter the package price and each extra in its matching field.
- Check the true costs against Budget. Select your chosen quote when you want it counted as a commitment; leave the others for comparison.
- In Payments, choose that selected vendor and record the deposit, installments, and balance with their due dates. Those payments do not add the contract cost again.
The CSV contains the fictional comparison above. The planner link opens Vendors; it does not add the example to your plan.
When you need more detail
Open the questions that apply to your quotes. Keep the written quote and contract beside you.
Are both vendors quoting for the same work?
Six hours of photography is not the same as eight. A florist who delivers, sets up, and clears away offers something different from a pickup-only quote. Ask each vendor to price the requirements you actually need.
- How many continuous hours are included? What does overtime cost, and who approves it?
- Who will attend? Check second shooters, assistants, servers, and technicians, including any required staffing charges.
- What will you receive, in what format, and by when? Check files, albums, edited video, flowers, rentals, and printed items as relevant.
- Does the price include travel, parking, loading, delivery, setup, and teardown? Ask about meals and accommodation too.
- Is this the expected final invoice total, including taxes and mandatory service fees? What is excluded?
How does the planner calculate tax?
It adds package price, required fees, travel or delivery, rentals or add-ons, and likely overtime, then applies the entered tax percentage to that subtotal. The example uses 8% on the whole subtotal.
Your vendor may tax a different amount. The planner has a tax-rate field, not a separate tax-amount field. To reproduce a quoted tax amount, divide that tax by the planner subtotal and multiply by 100, then compare the displayed total with the quote. Rounding may leave a small difference. This is a calculation aid, not advice on which charges are taxable; confirm those with the vendor.
What happens when I select or replace a quote?
You can save several quotes in one category, but the planner lets you select one current commitment. If you select another, it names the existing selection and asks you to confirm the replacement. The other quote stays available for comparison.
The selected amount counts in Budget and the vendor becomes available in Payments. Replacing or unselecting a quote does not erase its payment history. Review any payments linked to the previous vendor separately; a new selection does not cancel the real contract or settle its balance.
Does a smaller deposit make the quote cheaper?
No. It changes when you pay part of the bill. Compare the full contract total and record each payment separately.
- Confirm the deposit or retainer, its due date, and the refund terms.
- Write down the remaining balance and every installment date. Several vendors may need payment at the same time.
- Ask what could change the invoice: extra hours, guest changes, travel, rentals, replacements, or rush work.
What should I check in the contract before paying?
Read the whole agreement. Ask the vendor to put important promises, prices, and agreed changes in writing rather than relying on a conversation, social post, message, or package screenshot. Keep the quote, contract, invoices, receipts, and payment records together.
- Exact date, location, arrival time, service hours, staffing, and deliverables.
- Full price, tax, mandatory charges, deposit, balance, and payment dates.
- Extra-work approval and overtime rates; travel, delivery, setup, teardown, parking, meals, and accommodation.
- Cancellation, rescheduling, refunds, and date changes.
- A backup or substitute if the named vendor cannot attend.
- Your responsibilities, deadlines, guest-count changes, access requirements, and anything excluded.
Contract and consumer-protection rules depend on where you live. For a large or unclear commitment, get local advice before signing. UK readers can consult the Competition and Markets Authority's guidance on deposits and cancellation charges; it is not a statement of the rules in other countries.
Which missing details should make me pause?
Resolve these before paying. They are reasons to ask questions, not proof that a vendor is unreliable.
- Services, hours, deliverables, or the final balance date are missing.
- Required fees are left as "to be confirmed later."
- You are pressured to pay before you can read the agreement.
- Verbal promises are absent from the contract, or cancellation, rescheduling, and refund terms are unclear.
- The payment recipient or business identity does not match the contract.
The worked comparison and planner instructions were checked against the current code and fictional test records. They do not verify any vendor's service or replace advice about your contract.