Houston has a long tail of small wedding vendors — many of them excellent, some of them inexperienced, a few of them problematic. Here''s the 20-minute due diligence that separates them.
Tier 1: Public record in 5 minutes
- Texas Secretary of State: search the business name at sos.state.tx.us. Is the LLC in good standing? How long has it existed? LLCs less than 6 months old for a wedding vendor is a yellow flag.
- Texas Comptroller: search franchise tax status. "Forfeited" or "not in good standing" is a red flag.
- Google the business name + "complaint" / "scam" / "refund": see what comes up. Ignore drama; look for patterns.
Tier 2: Professional footprint
- BBB profile (if any): how many complaints, were they resolved, when were recent ones?
- WeddingWire + The Knot profiles: how long on each platform, review trend over time, vendor responses to negative reviews.
- Instagram: post cadence, diversity of real weddings, client tags. A vendor with only stylized shoots and no real-wedding tags is a yellow flag.
- LinkedIn (for planners, coordinators, photographers): employment history, portfolio consistency.
Tier 3: References that actually matter
Ask for:
- Two references from weddings in the last 90 days.
- One reference from a wedding 12+ months ago (tests whether the relationship survived).
- Ideally, contact info for the venue coordinator they worked with. Coordinators see everything.
When you call:
- "Would you hire them again? Why or why not?"
- "What surprised you — good or bad?"
- "How was their communication the week before and day of?"
- "Did any deliverables come late?"
Tier 4: The contract test
Before you sign, request:
- Sample contract.
- Proof of insurance (for photographers, planners, catering: $1M general liability minimum).
- Proof of business licensing where applicable (catering, transportation, venues).
- Their backup plan if they''re sick the day of.
A vendor who can''t or won''t produce these within 48 hours is telling you something.
Red flags that end the evaluation
- Asks for full payment upfront.
- Only accepts Zelle or Venmo ("credit cards have fees").
- Contract is a one-page template with no deliverables specified.
- No separate business address or entity (invoice comes to a personal Venmo account).
- Offers to waive the contract in exchange for a discount.
- Reviews are all extremely recent (less than 60 days) and very positive — possible review-bombing.
- Extensive negative reviews with consistent specific patterns.
- "I''m new to weddings but I''ve shot 200 families" — weddings are a specific skill.
Green flags worth paying for
- Multi-year consistent portfolio.
- Clear, itemized contracts.
- LLC in good standing 3+ years.
- Proof of insurance readily produced.
- Responses to negative reviews that are professional and factual.
- Referrals from established planners or venue coordinators.
- Willingness to accept credit card payment without penalty.
Sources: Texas Secretary of State Business Search, Texas Comptroller Franchise Tax, BBB Houston.