In this episode of Now That I’m Engaged, How Do I Get Married?, Kevin sits down with Phoenix-based wedding photographer and videographer Craig Peterman, who has captured more than 500 weddings and brings a clear, practical perspective to the vendor booking process.

Craig walks couples through what really matters between the first inquiry and the moment you officially book a vendor. He explains what information to include in that first email, how to avoid overwhelming your vendors, and why communication early on sets the tone for your entire experience. He also introduces his simple Vendor Scorecard, a tool designed to help couples compare options fairly and choose their finalists with confidence.

Whether you're unsure how to reach out to vendors or feeling stuck sorting through too many choices, Craig offers a calm, actionable framework that simplifies the journey from inquiry to contract.

Highlights

• First impressions matter: How your initial inquiry sets the foundation for your vendor relationship.
• Keep it simple: The essential details couples should always include in that first message.
• The Vendor Scorecard: A quick way to narrow down your top choices and avoid decision fatigue.
• Choose wisely: Why three finalists is the sweet spot for vendor selection.
• Don’t wait too long: How a one-month research window helps you avoid losing your preferred vendors.
• Trust your instincts: What red flags to look for—and why vibe matters.
• Set a deadline: Creating a decision timeline that keeps planning on track.
• Budget awareness: Understanding your range before inquiring saves time and frustration.
• Better conversations: Tips for productive Zoom consults and clear communication.
• Enjoy the process: Why working with vendors you genuinely like leads to a better wedding day.

Craig’s thoughtful, easy-to-apply advice gives couples the tools to move from inquiry to “we’re booked!” with confidence, clarity, and far less stress.

Download the Vendor Scorecard PDFs here!

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All right, folks, welcome to another episode. And now that I'm engaged, how do I get married? I have the one and only Craig Peterman with me today and Craig's going to be talking to us about inquiry to books. And we're going to be helping couples today book their vendors. So Craig, welcome.

Yeah, thanks so much for having me on today. I'm so excited to dive into this subject. But yeah, I do photo and video for weddings. I've been doing it for about 10 years now. I've seen over 500 weddings now, believe it or not. So I've seen a lot of cool things, a lot of not so great things. And yeah, I think my experience is really useful for couples and can help with certain subjects.

All right, we love it. All right, so Craig, we're gonna be talking about from inquiry to we're booked. So we're gonna be talking about the inquiry process and we're, I mean, in my market, we're coming up, this is kind of what we always call a booking season for us right now. So, and I know that that's different for everybody across the country, because I think you being in Arizona, you guys are in the middle of wedding season right now, because your weather's nicer from what I understand.

Yeah, yeah, we're right in the thick of it right now. The weather's great here. So we go all the way through the holidays, all the way till May. Once it starts heating up, then we're done.

Yeah.

Yeah, and it's funny and then I'm in California, but we have some indoor venues that we do do weddings year round. But we call it we get busier as the outside venues come online and that's where you know, so there is a little bit of season to us, but we do do weddings year round here. So everyone and that's the thing across the country and across the world. Everyone has their own seasons and when the weddings happen and when they go, but.

All right, so we're going to jump into inquiries and really excited to talk to you about this, because this is, you we're going through it right now. why is the first correspondence so crucial to the sales process?

Yeah, this is a great question. So I think it's really crucial to have a great opening inquiry with a vendor because it's really the first time that you're talking to them, giving them enough information to know what you need and want without like overloading them with too much unnecessary stuff. So it's really tough as a vendor when you see like an inquiry for the first time and it's like a scrolling inquiry where after like scroll to read to read to read, it's just a lot of information to give us at once. So

I think it's important to just give the essentials and what you're looking for right away instead of just overloading and then talk about all those details that you want to talk about during a console. That way you can dive deeper and you have a one-on-one with the vendor. So I put together a cool template to send to ⁓ send to vendors for the first time, which I'll share with you and you can share with the viewers, but it's really essential stuff like what date you're getting married on the venue that you chose.

Mmm.

Also, the approximate guest count that you're gonna need at your wedding, which can change things a little bit depending on the vendor. Also some things that really matter to you most, like one or two or maybe even three things that really matter to you. And this can be different for every vendor of course, but if there's a certain vibe or style that you're going for overall, it's kind of important to share it with the vendor just right off the bat, just so they know what they're working with.

And then of course just your general budget, know, kind of what you're looking to play with as far as money goes for your wedding ⁓ and for that vendor in particular. That way we know for maybe a good fit or not. So yeah, just a general email right from the start with just some essential information is really important I think for vendors.

All right, so what are some of the mistakes that couples make when doing the initial inquiry?

Well, I think most importantly, it's just like either like it's either like way too vague or it's like way too much information. I think just right in that like middle zone where you're just giving enough information for us to just kind of build off of is really perfect. But a lot of the times some couples will just give me like nothing, you know, like, are you available? It's like, well, I don't I don't know what date you're getting married on. I don't know where you're getting married at. You know, so I need a little bit more information. ⁓

Yeah.

Or sometimes a couple will just give me like way too much. Like there's just too much to read and just to go over. Or they're just like very, they know like down to the detail and what they're looking for, which isn't a bad thing, but like it doesn't really give me a lot of room to like be a vendor for you. so sometimes you're like weeding out your own choices ahead of time with too much detail. So,

No.

But yeah, I think just right in the middle is a great zone to be at. Just give me the essential information and then let's talk about those details on the consultation.

Yeah, it's amazing because we just got an inquiry over the weekend and they didn't give us any information other than, you available? And it's like, we didn't know the date. We didn't know even what type of event it was for. And then we had to go back and forth, but it was like pulling teeth to get information out of them. it's like, you know, couples want us to help them, but you got to help us out a little bit along the way too. So.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, it's really, it's really hard when you get an email with just are you available? It's like, well, you know, it's really funny.

Yeah. No,

yeah, yeah, yeah. I love it. All right. So

you created a, one page vendor scorecard, you know, so how can couples use it? when trying to book a vendor, what's the secret with the one page scorecard?

Yeah, yeah. So booking a vendor can feel very daunting. As someone that's been married myself, I've seen both sides of it. like, even though I'm in the wedding industry, it's, it was still very like daunting to put this all together and like, try to figure out which vendor would be perfect for us. ⁓ But I think the scorecard I put together is really cool because it can help you figure out if this vendor is worth considering as like a finalist for what you're looking for. The scorecard kind of breaks it down to basically

Like, do they match your style? Do they match your comfortability? Do you vibe with them? They're social proof. And you can rate each vendor based on a scale of one to five, one being the lowest and five being the highest. So at the very end, you can total those points and the vendors that make the cut there, say the top two vendors out of that scorecard, those can be your finalists. So you can kind of decide from there. So it makes it really easy to

narrow down who you think would work best for your for your wedding. Sometimes it's just daunting to have like 10 different vendors from this like 10 different photographers, for example, and you're trying to figure out which photographer is perfect for you. And you've kind of forgotten, you know, the the call and the consultation after so long. So yeah, the scorecard I think is really helpful for for couples trying to plan the wedding.

Yeah.

Well, and okay, so and you mentioned finalists like when couples are putting together, they've gone through done the research is 10 too many you know, like what is there a magic number that they should like try to weed it down to?

i think three. Three is a really good solid number to have. If you have more than that, then you just have too many choices. There's no way that more than three is going to fit what you're looking for. I think nobody's going to be perfect for you, of course, most of the time with any vendor. But there is three people I think you can find that will fit closely to what you're looking for. So yeah, I think three is going to be the magic number to select for finalists.

Okay.

Yeah, all right. I love that. And then like how long should you think couples be spending on researching vendors? Like because sometimes I feel like there's couples that we like just in our business that we'll talk to in the inquiry stage for geez months, you know, like and then by the time they come to book us we're booked, you know, like because they took too long so

What's a good number in there?

i think you should research people for maybe a month, maybe two, ⁓ just to get like, because you have to think too on the vendor side, if you're a couple, like we get booked pretty fast, especially during busy seasons. So I'd say like, if you inquire with me within a month, the dates probably still going to be available. But after that, it's probably going to be gone. So I would say making your decision kind of quickly will be a good idea, just so you're not forced into picking a vendor that you may not like.

Yeah.

or someone lower on your scorecard maybe. But yeah, I'd say a good month of research is great. Take your time with things, make sure that they're good for you. But over a month, I think it's kind of overkill and you start to look into other options and then it's just even more confusing. I think 30 days is probably enough.

Yeah, that makes sense. then things that happen, think every once in a while is like couples will get to their finalists and start reviewing everyone, but then they don't go through the process and finish it all the way because they find one person. And I feel like sometimes they're missing out. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, we get to the end three photographers, they interview the first one, and then they just go with that photographer without seeing what the other ones, you know, offer.

So do you feel it's important that they go through the whole process and interview everyone?

yeah, yeah, absolutely. You definitely got to do a vibe check and interview with each of your vendors. I think that's crucial. I mean, unless it's something very innocuous at your wedding that, you know, doesn't matter that much. yeah, I think, you know, especially for like DJ or photographer, videographer planner, you need to talk to them. You need to have an interview with them. But I think it's also important to set deadlines. Like we're going to choose a photographer by X date and you have to stick to that.

Because if you go over that date or if you keep looking at different people or keep interviewing, time gets lost, life's in the middle of that. So set a deadline for what you're doing, but definitely interview with all the important pieces of your wedding for sure.

Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the DJ, the photographer, you know, the planner. Those are kind of the once you once like for you, Craig, once you get booked, you're done. You can't do it. You can't clone yourself, which sometimes I wish we sometimes feel we wish we could do. But, you know, there's only one Craig to go around on a certain day. So, you know, so that's why it's always important that they don't take too long because I feel like you limit yourself at that point as well. So.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, those dates are not going to stick around, especially the peak season. yeah, set that deadline.

Yeah.

Yeah, and then what about timing? How long do you think like I'm getting married? Is it a year out? Do we start booking? Vendors, you know, when should we try to do that?

So I mean, it just depends. There's a lot of factors in that. I would say people book me out two to three years in advance sometimes. Sometimes people book me three months in advance. It just depends on the wedding. But I would say a fair time for all your vendors and to make sure that you have all the good options available to you would be at least a year out. So anywhere from a year to two years. Anywhere lower than that, you're running the risk of just people just not being available.

Okay.

Okay.

Anything more than that, it's just like way too far out. There's no need to plan like two years in advance usually. But yeah, I'd say at least a year would be great. A year to a year and a half.

Yeah.

some of the things that you think couples the mistakes they make.

⁓ I think some mistakes that you can make is maybe not, I think the number one, let's do this. And number one thing that couples make a mistake on is like not trusting your gut with certain vendors. And I put together like a list of red flags for you to check off when you're searching for vendors and deciding. I think one of the things that like really comes down to it is like trying to talk yourself into a vendor, even though your gut has told you like, this might not be the best option.

⁓

I think that's maybe like the number one mistake or just not doing like a little bit of research on vendors when you're booking your vendor or whatever your selection is. I think it's taking your time without taking too long and trusting your gut. If there's a vendor out there that you vibe with a lot, I think you should go with that over like an aesthetically pleasing vendor instead. i think

being comfortable with your vendors is more important than like having the perfect vendor, if that makes sense. So I think that's probably the mistakes that I see. But yeah, I would definitely put in like more stock when you're searching for vendors for someone that makes you feel comfortable and aligns with your vision versus like the aesthetic of what you could get from them. yeah, ⁓ that would just be my opinion on that.

Yeah, and it's funny a couple things that came to my mind when you were saying all that is like one is like you Craig you spend more time with the couple on the day of their wedding than they do with anybody else because you're you You're with them taking their photos following them around doing all that kind of stuff So you got to be able to connect with that person, you know, and the other thing too is like when A bride really wanted this one photographer in our market And she did not like vibe with them

and it got to the point where We were doing the wedding and she's like, can you please not have the photographer talk to me anymore? And i'm like and in my head it put me in a bad situation kind of thing But her and I got along, know, but then so I was having to run like interference to make it go through But so I think a lot of that what you're saying is like trusting your gut is really really important

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I try not to get like vendor specific with this, but like, especially for a photographer, for example, like if you're not vibing with them, your photos are probably not going to be great, even though they may be like a terrific photographer. So I think like just trusting and like vibing and, you know, just like being like being comfortable with your vendors is so important on your wedding day because it's so stressful. There's so much going on.

and you're putting a lot of trust into each and every vendor. So if you're not comfortable with them fully, it's going to be a problem. Like you mentioned that story there, that's, you know, it's kind of like a nightmare on your wedding day.

Yeah,

yeah, yeah. Well, and I feel like you got to be able to have fun with the people, you know, like if you put together a good team and they're having fun together and they're having fun with you, it's your wedding is going to be very successful in the end.

Absolutely.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's more successful wedding if you're having fun and you enjoy all your vendors for sure.

Yeah. All right. So as we go through, ⁓ we're starting to hire all these folks and we're getting to the interview part. Should we be doing this in person over Zoom? What's your best advice for that?

I think Zoom is just much more easier for everybody. I know that, you know, some people prefer to meet in person, which is fine, but like balancing my schedule and couple schedules, especially since there's two of you and the, you know, that are going to meet with me, balancing that is really difficult. So I think at least initially a Zoom call is perfect because you can talk and see each other and see if like you're vibing with each other.

Mm-hmm.

If you want to do an in-person meeting after that just to kind of seal the deal, that's a good idea. But I think initially a zoom call is fine.

Yeah. All right. So, and once we start, should we come prepared with like a list of questions? You know, couples when they're meeting with the vendor or just kind of let them do their sales pitch, you know, any advice for that part?

Yeah, no, I think you should definitely come with questions. I think you should definitely look it up before you go to and see like, okay, you for example, like a photographer, like, how are you backing up our files? That's a great question as a photographer, because not only are you getting like, information that's really crucial in that respect, but you're also seeing how they answer that. And if they give you a certain weird feeling about a question like that, that's a red flag.

So every photographer that knows, and again, this is photographer specific, every photographer knows we need to back up the files and it is like critical that we do that. ⁓ So if you're getting a response that's not what you like to hear, that's a good red flag and that's a good way to weed out a vendor right there. So yeah, I think you should definitely ask questions. Just general questions you can find online are fine. I've actually got a guide I can send people to for that, but.

Also use AI. AI is great at giving you like questions to ask vendors ⁓ and it's a really easy tool to use. And it might even give you some stuff that you may not think to ask based on your wedding too. I think it's a really good idea to find some questions to ask your vendors for sure.

Yeah.

Well, it's funny you mentioned AI. i think it's really, we've been doing here on the podcast. We've been asking, like some general wedding questions and we throw them in AI. We answer them and how close is AI and AI has been pretty, pretty on, you know, like, I feel like it's doing a pretty good job, but also the one thing that we started doing too is we'll have, August who helps co-host the podcast with me, she'll, ⁓ she'll have her

because I feel like AI feeds you what you want to hear. it's interesting too, because sometimes we'll get a couple different answers ⁓ based on our algorithms as well. yeah, I think AI is a huge help for people, especially that what they don't know. When they don't know what to ask or what to say, you'll get at least some general questions that get things going out there as well.

Absolutely. It's AIs like Google with a brain. You you just use it to your advantage.

⁓ Yeah,

yeah, it really, I love that Google with a brain because yeah, sometimes I'll throw something in Google and it won't go through and I'm like, I'm going to throw this in a chat GPT and here we go. And I get a very thoughtful answer, you know, from it. So yeah. All right. All right. So we've kind of gone through everything. What are we missing, Craig? Have we missed anything?

Yeah. Yeah.

⁓ no, I would say, think we kind of covered everything that is crucial for booking a vendor. ⁓ you know, so I think the important part here is to find out what your values are and what you're looking to get out of your wedding and what details you need from your vendors too. So when you're on the search for vendors, and I know this is going to sound daunting and a lot of work to do, but it's actually quite easy if you really kind of get what you want out of the way. So

If you figure out what your style is for your wedding, what you're looking to get out of each vendor, ⁓ and then kind of get all that together, your vibe, your style, your aesthetic, also some maybe some non-negotiables. So what is a non-negotiable from a photographer from your perspective? Like what is something that they have to do for your wedding? And do that for each of your vendors. And then also of course, figuring out your budget. Your budget is going to be crucial when you're searching for vendors because

You have to know if you're going to be able to afford a certain photographer or DJ or planner before you even contact them. So knowing what your budget budget is and then also accounting for wiggle room. So there is a budget that you're going to have in mind and you're going to pick, but you know, there's got to be a little bit of wiggle room. If there's a vendor that you really like and they're a little bit over budget, maybe give yourself a little bit of wiggle room on that to get that vendor. So I think those things, just getting those out of the way ahead of time.

and then doing your search and of course, trusting your gut. You know, that's really important when you're searching for a vendor. And if you do all these things and you check out the PDF that we're going to send everybody, I think it'll make it a lot easier for you to pick your vendors and to have an easier time with it and have some fun with it.

Yeah.

Yeah, I love that. And yeah, we will have the PDF available with the show notes and we'll ⁓ have it available for everyone to get. Because I think I loved going through it and reviewing it. Craig, you did a very thoughtful way to help couples. And I love the red flags. It made me laugh. it's, yeah.

Yeah, as a vendor almost makes you cringe, but I'm like, yeah, they should probably do

that.

Yeah,

well, because there's, I feel like there's all kinds of different types of vendors out there. There's people that take this serious and this is what they do for a living. And there's weekend warriors that they'll, you know, they have a full-time job and then they do it on the weekend. And I don't, there's not one that's right and one that's wrong. just, everyone has a different level of, you know, professionalism that they take with their business. I mean, and that sometimes comes with the price as well. the couple's got to understand that, Hey,

Craig's a little bit more because he does this seriously and it, you know, instead of Johnny on that only shoots weddings, you know, does five weddings a year and, you know, does it for fun and, you know, it's a little different. So I think you got to take all that in mind what, what, what the end result is going to be. So, all right. All right. Yeah, it's a big deal. All right, Craig, can you tell us the audience a little bit about your, or how, how to get in contact with you?

absolutely.

Yeah, absolutely. So you can reach me on my socials, which is @craigpetermanphotography or @craigpetermanfilms Also, you can reach my website, which is CraigPetermanPhotography.com or CraigPetermanfilms.com. But yeah, reach out to me and let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to hear from you. I wish everybody the best of luck going forward and booking their vendors.

All right, love it. All right, and we'll have all of Craig's information as well in the show notes. It would be easy to find them. So Craig, we can't thank you. We really appreciate you being here. And we'll see everyone next time on another episode of Now That I'm Engaged. How do I get married? Thanks, folks.

Thank you.