Bride Guide UK

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Supplier and venue comparison

Line up venues and suppliers side by side: what each quote costs, what's included, when payments are due, and how each one scores on the things that matter to you.

Your supplier comparisons

No comparisons yet. Choose what you're comparing below, or press "Try an example" to see one filled in.

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How to use the comparison tool

  1. Start a comparison for each kind of supplier you're choosing between: venues, photographers, florists and so on. You can keep as many going as you need and switch between them at the top.
  2. Check the criteria. Each category starts with a practical list; the venue list follows the venue viewing questions. Rename, remove or add your own, and mark what matters most as important.
  3. Add each option as soon as it's on your shortlist, then fill in the quote, deposit and payment dates as they arrive. A blank quote means you haven't got one yet; it isn't treated as £0.
  4. Score each criterion from 0 to 5 while the viewing or call is fresh. Leave anything you can't judge yet as "Not scored".
  5. Compare them side by side. The tool names the cheapest quote and the highest score in words, and shows whether each option is free on your date.
  6. Mark your choice and add it to your budget. The quote goes into the matching category of the budget calculator as its actual cost, and the tool asks before replacing anything already there.

A worked example

Example, not real costs

Priya and Tom are choosing between three venues: a country house quoting £12,000, a barn at £9,500 and a city hotel at £10,800. They score each one on the eleven standard venue criteria, marking "Room for our day and evening numbers" and "Accessibility" as important, so the most any venue can score is 65.

The country house scores 56 of 65 (86%) and the barn 46 of 65 (71%). They haven't visited the hotel yet, so they leave "Wet-weather plan" and "How it felt" unscored. On the nine criteria they could judge it scores 48 of 55, which is 87%: the highest percentage, though the tool points out that it wasn't scored on the same criteria as the others.

The barn is the cheapest, but its quote doesn't include catering. After seeing the hotel, they choose the country house and add its £12,000 quote to "Venue and catering" in their budget. Press "Try an example" above to load this comparison and explore it.

Tips for comparing quotes fairly

  • Compare like for like. Use the full cost for your numbers and your date, including the extras you'd actually need, so a low headline price with lots of add-ons doesn't look cheaper than it is.
  • Check what's included. Ask whether the quote includes VAT and service charges, and note what's left out. A venue that includes catering and one that doesn't aren't comparable until you add a caterer's quote to the second.
  • Note the payment dates as well as the totals. Deposits are usually due when you book and the balance a few weeks before the day; the guide to booking order and deposits explains the usual pattern and why to read the cancellation terms first.
  • Score straight after each viewing or call. After three or four, they blur together. The guides to vetting a photographer and vetting caterers, florists and hair and makeup artists have the questions worth asking first.
  • Get the answers that matter in writing before you book, ideally in the contract itself.

This tool is a planning aid. It doesn't give quotes, recommend suppliers or offer financial advice.

Where your information is kept

Your comparisons are saved in this browser only, using local storage. Supplier names, quotes, scores and notes are never sent to this site or to anyone else. When you add a chosen quote to your budget, it's copied into the budget calculator's data in this same browser.

Clearing your browser's data for this site, or using a private window, removes it. To keep a copy or move it to another device, use Your planner data to download a backup.

Questions people ask

How do the scores work?

Each option gets a score from 0 to 5 for every criterion you can judge, and criteria marked important count double. The total is shown against the most it could have been for the criteria you've actually scored, so the percentage stays fair while you're still filling things in. The panel under the comparison, "How the scores are worked out", shows the sum.

Why is "not scored" different from 0?

A 0 means you've judged it and it's poor. "Not scored" means you can't judge it yet, perhaps because you haven't visited or are still waiting for an answer. Unscored criteria are left out of that option's percentage rather than dragging it down. If options have been scored on different criteria, the tool says so, because the percentages aren't quite like for like.

Should we just book whichever scores highest?

Not necessarily. The score is a way of getting your impressions out of your head and onto the page, so a long day of viewings doesn't blur together. Use it to start the conversation, alongside the price, the availability and the contract terms, and if the numbers and your instincts disagree, ask yourselves which criterion you've under-weighted.

What happens when we add the chosen quote to our budget?

The chosen option's quote becomes the actual cost of the matching category in the budget calculator, so a venue goes into "Venue and catering" and a florist into "Flowers and décor". Nothing is ever overwritten without asking: if that category already has an actual cost, you choose whether to replace it or add the two together (useful when a venue and a separate caterer share one budget line). Estimates and payments aren't touched.

Should quotes include VAT?

Compare whatever you'll actually pay. Ask each supplier whether their quote includes VAT and any service charges, and add the extras you'd really need, so the figures in the comparison are like for like.