Wedding Vendor Contact Sheet: What to Collect Before the Wedding Day

A wedding vendor contact sheet is not the same thing as a vendor list.

A vendor list tells you who you hired. A vendor contact sheet tells the wedding day who to call, when they arrive, where they go, and what they need when something changes.

That difference shows up fast.

The florist's office email is not helpful when the delivery driver is circling the venue. The DJ's booking contact may not be the person setting up sound. The catering director may be off-site while the banquet captain is running the room. The transportation company may have one dispatch number and a different driver number.

If the only information you have is the name of the company and the person who sent the contract, you are not ready for the wedding day yet.

You need a day-of vendor contact sheet.

Why this matters

Most vendor problems are not dramatic. They are small timing and access problems.

Someone cannot find the loading dock. A delivery arrives early and nobody knows where it goes. A photographer is told to use the front entrance, but security sends them to the service entrance. The DJ needs to know whether speeches are before or after salad. The shuttle driver is waiting at the hotel while the wedding party is at a different entrance.

These problems are solvable. They only become stressful when nobody knows who has the answer.

A good vendor contact sheet gives your planner, coordinator, venue, or day-of point person the information they need without interrupting the couple.

Separate planning contacts from day-of contacts

This is the first rule.

The person you emailed during planning may not be the person working your wedding.

For each vendor, ask:

• Who is our planning contact?
• Who is the on-site contact on the wedding day?
• What cell number should we use on the wedding day?
• Is there a backup number?
• Who should vendors ask for when they arrive?

Do not assume the answer is the same for every company.

For a solo photographer, the planning contact and day-of contact may be the same person. For a venue, catering company, floral studio, transportation company, rental company, or entertainment team, they often are not.

What to collect for every vendor

Use this as your base contact sheet.

The goal is not to build a huge spreadsheet nobody reads. The goal is to make the right number easy to find when time matters.

Use the free Wedding Budget Worksheet to keep final balances, payments, and tips visible before the week gets busy.

Vendor-specific notes to include

Every vendor has a different version of "important."

Photographer and videographer

Include:

• Arrival time
• Getting-ready address
• Parking or loading notes
• Family photo list location
• Timeline contact
• Meal timing
• Any venue photo restrictions
• Whether there is a second shooter or assistant

The photo and video team should also know who the family wranglers are. That one detail can save more time than almost anything else after the ceremony.

Hair and makeup

Include:

• Start time
• End time
• Number of services
• Exact getting-ready room
• Parking/loading notes
• Who should be ready first
• Final touch-up timing

Hair and makeup affects the entire morning. If it runs late, first look, portraits, transportation, and ceremony readiness can all shift. Build the schedule so this team has room to finish cleanly.

Florist

Include:

• Delivery window
• Setup location
• Person receiving personal flowers
• Ceremony installation timing
• Reception installation timing
• Flip or repurpose instructions
• Pickup/load-out plan

Personal flowers should have a named recipient. "Give them to someone in the bridal suite" is how boutonnieres disappear.

DJ, band, or MC

Include:

• Arrival and setup time
• Soundcheck time
• Ceremony audio needs
• Reception entrance order
• Toast timing
• First dance and parent dance timing
• Last song
• Planner or point-person contact

The DJ or MC often controls the room once reception begins. They need the same formalities list as the planner and photographer.

Caterer or venue food and beverage team

Include:

• Banquet captain or catering lead
• Guest count
• Vendor meal count
• Cocktail hour start
• Dinner service timing
• Toast timing relative to food service
• Cake cutting timing
• Late-night snack timing, if any

Food service timing affects speeches, photos, music, and guest experience. Do not let the catering timeline live separately from the main wedding timeline.

Transportation

Include:

• Company dispatch number
• Driver name and phone, if available
• Vehicle type
• Pickup location
• Pickup time
• Passenger list
• Drop-off location
• Backup plan if delayed

Transportation needs exact language. "Hotel lobby" may not mean the same thing at a large hotel with multiple entrances.

Rentals, lighting, decor, and specialty vendors

Include:

• Delivery window
• Setup window
• Load-out window
• Venue access rules
• Contact for missing or damaged items
• Floor plan reference
• Whether someone must inspect before departure

These vendors can affect the venue, photo setup, ceremony start, and end-of-night responsibilities.

Confirm arrivals 7 to 10 days before

Do not wait until the wedding morning to learn that a vendor has the wrong address.

Send a confirmation message 7 to 10 days before the wedding. Keep it short and direct.

Sample email:

Hi [Name], we are confirming details for [Couple] on [Wedding Date]. Please confirm your on-site contact, cell phone, arrival window, setup location, and any load-in or parking needs. The final timeline is attached. If anything here looks incorrect, please reply by [date] so we can correct it before wedding week.

That message does three useful things:

• It confirms the person who will answer the phone.
• It catches wrong addresses or old arrival times.
• It gives vendors a chance to raise problems before the wedding day.

Who should hold the vendor contact sheet?

At minimum, the vendor contact sheet should go to:

• Planner or coordinator
• Venue lead
• Day-of point person, if there is no planner
• One backup helper

The couple can have it, but the couple should not be the person vendors rely on.

If you are the couple, your job on the wedding day is not to tell the shuttle where to park or explain where the florist should place ceremony flowers. Those questions should already have a path.

Keep private notes private

Some notes do not belong in a widely shared vendor sheet.

Private payment details, family conflicts, sensitive guest information, surprise moments, and personal notes should be shared only with the people who need them.

You can keep a private planner version and a vendor-facing version.

The vendor-facing version should answer operational questions. It does not need to expose every personal detail.

Add timeline cue points

Use the free Wedding Day Timeline Builder to turn these cue points into a usable run-of-show with protected anchors, flexible blocks, and real buffers.

This is the field most couples skip.

A vendor does not only need to know when they arrive. They need to know when their work affects the next part of the day.

Examples:

• Florist: ceremony installation must be complete before detail photos and guest arrival.
• Photographer: family portraits must finish before the couple enters cocktail hour.
• Caterer: salads cannot drop during parent dances.
• DJ: reception entrances depend on wedding party being gathered.
• Transportation: shuttle delay affects ceremony start or guest arrival.

The best vendor contact sheets connect names and phone numbers to the timeline.

That is what makes them useful under pressure.

Where EventSync fits

EventSync is useful here because vendor contact information should not live in one place while the timeline lives somewhere else.

If a vendor is tied to a timeline block, their contact and role should be easy to find from that block. If the timeline shifts, the people affected by that shift should see the current plan, not an old screenshot.

That is the operational difference between storing information and running the day.

Helpful day-of planning tool

See the day-of workflow in EventSync

Use the demo to see how timeline changes, roles, and vendor details can live in one shared wedding-day system.

Try the demo Download page

Copyable vendor contact sheet structure

Use this as your starting point:

Add or remove rows based on your wedding. The best contact sheet is not the longest one. It is the one your point person can actually use.

Final advice

Build the vendor contact sheet before the final week, not during it.

By wedding week, your attention will be split between family arrivals, weather, wardrobe, final payments, seating changes, and emotion. You do not want to be searching through old emails for the rental company's load-out number.

Ask vendors for the right information early. Confirm it 7 to 10 days out. Give it to the person who will handle questions. Connect it to the timeline.

That is how a contact sheet becomes more than a spreadsheet.

It becomes one of the quiet reasons the day feels calm.

Recommended planning tool

Keep the handoff in one place

Use EventSync to keep timelines, roles, vendor notes, and updates visible to the right people before the wedding day starts.

Try the demo Download page Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

Author Note

Kali Artistry photographs proposals, engagements, portraits, and wedding stories in New York City. For full wedding coverage, visit Kali Love Stories. After years watching wedding days unfold around vendor timing, photo schedules, family movement, and reception cues, Kali recommends giving your day-of team the right contact information before the wedding begins.