Ultimate Guide for Questions to Ask Your Wedding Vendors (South Asian Edition)

1. Questions for Venues 🏛️

💡 Venues = hidden fees galore. Don’t miss these!

1. Have you hosted a multi-day South Asian wedding before?
2. What is your guest count limit?
3. What is your pricing structure
   1. For hotels especially: Do you have a food & beverage minimum (by day or cumulative)?
   2. Do you allow outside catering, and if so, is there a surcharge?
   3. What kind of rental fees are involved?
   4. Are there any labour or staff charges (service charges)?
   5. What’s your cancellation & rescheduling policy?
   6. Do you charge additional setup, power, or early-access fees?
4. Do you require an on-site coordinator or planner?
5. Do you have decor or flame restrictions (e.g., open flames for havan)?
6. What kind of insurance requirements do you have for vendors, if any?
7. What are parking costs for guests (especially overnight rates)?
8. For hotels, what is the preferred pricing offered for room blocks?
9. What does the rain plan look like for outdoor events?
10. Do you have a preferred vendor list that we’re required to choose from?

2. Photographer & Videographer 📸🎥

💡 You’re trusting them to capture once-in-a-lifetime memories, so don’t skip these:

1. Have you shot South Asian weddings before? Are you familiar with key moments like varmala, milni, or other steps to your ceremony?
2. What is your process to get to know us and our style as a couple leading up to the wedding so our photos turn out authentic instead of unnatural?
3. What is your pricing structure:
   1. Are there overtime fees charged if we run late? If so, how much are the fees?
   2. Are travel fees, hotel accommodations and check-in luggage included?
4. Will you be the lead photographer/videographer, or will someone from your team handle my wedding?
5. How big is your team and how many shooters will there be at each event?
6. Do you do editing in-house, and what are your turnaround times for edited photos and video like?
7. Knowing details may change over the course of planning, do we have flexibility in changing hours of coverage once the contract is signed?
8. Are you insured? (if your venue requires insurance)
9. Can you share full galleries or highlight films from similar weddings?

3. Decorator & Floral Designer 🎭🌸

💡 A big part of that “WOW” factor comes down to decor. Here’s how to get the full picture:

1. Do you have experience with South Asian wedding decor (e.g., mandaps, sangeet backdrops) and have you ever worked a wedding at the venue I have selected?
2. How does your pricing work:
   1. Do you charge extra for early-morning setups or late-night room flips? 
   2. Is your pricing consistent if we use the same inventory across multiple events?
   3. For costs dependent on guest count, when do you require the final guest count by?
   4. How do labour costs influence the final cost? 
3. For multi-day events, will you need storage space at the venue?
4. If you don’t carry inventory items, will you source? Or will you set them up if we bring them to you?
5. Is there any part of decor you do not provide (i.e. fresh florals, chairs, dance floor?)
6. Knowing details may change over the course of planning, what type of contract flexibility do we have after we sign? When is the last possible day we can make changes to my designs?
7. Are you insured? (if your venue requires insurance)

4. Hair & Makeup Artist 💄

💡 South Asian bridal looks require pros who can nail long-lasting, cultural styling.

1. Have you worked with South Asian brides, and do you handle dupatta setting and jewelry placement?
2. Do you travel to the venue or out of town?
3. How does your pricing work:
   1. How does your pricing differ between bridal hair & makeup, and wedding party hair & makeup
   2. Do you charge travel fees and early morning surcharges?
   3. Do you offer trials, and are they included in your package?
4. Based on the size of my party, how many stylists would be required?
5. What’s your timing for hair-only, makeup-only, and both together?
6. For morning of, between getting ready shots and the start of the ceremony, do you help with final touch ups?

5. DJ & Entertainment 🎧🥁

💡 Your DJ sets the tone for the party—make sure they’re fluent in Desi beats.

1. Do you have experience blending Bollywood, Bhangra, and Western music at South Asian weddings?
2. How does your pricing work:
   1. What is included in your base package
   2. What’s your overtime rate if events go past the scheduled time?
   3. What do you charge if the venue is out of town?
3. Do you bring your own sound system, facade, lighting, and microphones?
4. How do you coordinate with dhol players or live musicians we bring in?
5. Can you provide a sample playlist from a past South Asian wedding?
6. Are there any power or outdoor restrictions we should know about for the baraat or outdoor events?
7. Do you bring a truck or car for the baraat, or are we responsible for sourcing that for you?
8. Do you cut and mix music for dance performances?
9. Do you take live guest requests during the events?
10. Are you insured? (if your venue requires insurance)

6. Caterers & Food Vendors 🍽️

💡 Food is king at South Asian weddings. These questions help you avoid surprise costs.

1. Do you have experience with South Asian weddings and have you ever worked a wedding at the venue I have selected?
2. Can you accommodate specific dietary restrictions (eggless, vegan, Jain, etc.)?
3. What’s your pricing model (per person, per hour, package)?
4. Do you offer tastings before we sign a contract?
5. Do you offer live cooking stations?
6. Is there any equipment you require which you will not provide?
7. How early will your team arrive to set up at each event? Do you need kitchen access, and how will you handle a case where you will not have access?
8. Are you insured? (if your venue requires insurance)

7. Wedding Planner or Coordinator 📋

💡 Your planner is the glue holding it all together—make sure they can handle multi-day weddings.

1. Have you worked on multi-day South Asian weddings before?
2. What services are included: vendor sourcing, design, logistics, day-of coordination?
3. Will you personally be onsite for the full event or will someone from your team lead?
4. How many assistants will you bring for a multi-event weekend?
5. Do you handle vendor management & timeline enforcement directly?
6. What’s your flexibility for last-minute timeline changes?
7. Can you coordinate directly with my vendors?
8. When do you start getting involved and how do you go about taking over? (for day-of coordinators)

8. Henna Artist (Mehndi) 🎨

💡 Bridal mehndi is a must-have, but so is making sure guests don’t wait forever in line.

1. Have you done bridal mehndi?
2. How long do you anticipate for bridal mehndi?
3. Based on my guest count, how many artists would be required?
4. How much time should I plan to allocate based on my guest count?
5. What’s your pricing model (per hour, per person, minimum hours)?
6. What do you need for set up (i.e. tables, chairs, tissue papers)
7. Do you charge for travel or stay?
8. Can you share photos of bridal mehndi you’ve done recently?

💡 Pro Tip from My Own Wedding:

Most vendors don’t advertise their hidden fees up front—these questions helped me avoid unexpected costs when I planned my wedding!

Want trusted vendors who are already used to answering these kinds of questions? Check out Plan My Desi Wedding.