Vet the Vendor Before
the Deposit

Why the star rating tells you almost nothing

Sixteen years in, we have watched the same thing happen to hundreds of couples: they book the vendor with 4.9 stars and 200 reviews, and the day goes badly anyway. The rating wasn't lying, exactly. It just wasn't measuring what they thought it was.

On the big planning sites, anyone can leave a review — a friend, a cousin, a vendor's own team. The sites don't check that a wedding happened, and they don't check that the reviewer paid for it. And the order you see vendors in is largely an ad product: the studios at the top of a “best photographers in Dallas” list are usually the ones paying the most that month, not the ones couples were happiest with.

So a high rating on a paid listing is a starting point, not a verdict. The five checks below are what we'd do for our own family.

Check 1 — The business is real, and it's the one you're talking to

Search the exact business name plus the word “LLC” or “Inc.” on your state's business registry. You're looking for two things: that it exists, and that the person messaging you is connected to it. A vendor who books under one name and contracts under another is a vendor you can't hold to anything.

Then look at the last ninety days of their Instagram or gallery, not the highlight reel from 2022. You want proof they are shooting, cooking, or playing weddings right now, in the style they're selling you.

Check 2 — The reviews come from couples who actually booked

Read the three most recent reviews and the three worst. Skip the five-star wall in the middle — it's the least informative part of any profile.

Better still, use a platform that only publishes reviews from couples who paid and were married. That single filter removes the friend-and-family padding and the competitor sabotage in one move. This is the main reason we chose to be listed on Lazo: every review there is tied to a booking, and no vendor can buy a higher spot in the results. If a review can't be traced to a real wedding, it isn't evidence.

Check 3 — You saw a price before you sent a message

This is the question most couples forget to ask, because the big sites train you not to: “What does it cost?” A vendor who hides pricing behind a “request a quote” button isn't necessarily expensive — but they are planning to price you after they've read your budget, your venue, and your enthusiasm.

Ask for the starting price and what it includes in your first message, or use a marketplace that puts packages and starting prices on the profile so you can compare what things actually cost in your city before you commit to a call. We publish ours on the packages page for the same reason.

Check 4 — The contract says what the sales call said

Every promise that mattered on the call has to be on paper: hours of coverage, who is actually showing up (the owner, or a subcontractor you've never met), delivery timeline, what “raw footage” means, travel, overtime, and what happens if they cancel. Read our note on what raw footage really means — it's the line most often misunderstood.

Then look at the money terms. A deposit of 20–30% is normal. A vendor asking for the full balance months ahead of the date, or only taking Zelle and Venmo with no contract, is asking you to carry all of the risk.

Check 5 — They answer like someone who wants the job

Response time before you've paid is the best predictor of response time after. Two business days is fine. A week is a warning. And when they do reply, your note should reach the person who will be there on the day, not a sales inbox that hands you off later.

Ask one specific question about your venue or your timeline. A pro answers it. A lead-farm sends you a brochure.

The red flags, in one list

No business name you can look up.  No recent work.  Reviews with no wedding attached.  “Pricing on request” with no range at all.  A contract that doesn't name the shooter.  Full payment up front.  A week to reply, then a hard sell.

One of these is a question to ask. Three is a different vendor.

Where we'd send you to do all five at once

Most of this list exists because the big sites make you do the vetting yourself. The honest shortcut is a marketplace that has already done it: Lazo is the verified wedding marketplace — real reviews from couples who booked, real prices on every profile, rankings no one can buy, and a planning assistant, June AI, who tells you what to book next based on your date, city and budget. It's free for couples, and it was built by working wedding pros, which is why we're listed there ourselves. Your message goes to the actual vendor, and the proposal, the contract and the payment stay in that same thread.

Vet us the same way. We'd expect nothing less.