Wedding Warnings

Wedding Warnings:

We have all heard the horror stories: Brides left at the alter by their florist who delivered a dead flower bouquet and a few shriveled rose petals, or nothing at all! The Photographer who brought a Polaroid camera to the wedding with only 12 exposures, and then threw the photos on top of each other while they were still developing, or have you heard the one about the photographer who brought only a digital camera to the wedding, put the pictures on a web site for the couple to pick from after they returned from their honeymoon. They picked out their favorites, sent off the full payment and never received a single picture. How about the audio guy who rented a couple a CD player for $25.00, but didn’t tell them until the day of their wedding that it didn’t come with speakers, and that it would cost them $150.00 for each speaker they wanted to use.

What about the Officiate who never showed up for the wedding, or the band who couldn’t play a single instrument! The wedding gown tailor who runs off with the wedding dress and sells it on ebay! How about the bakery that bought the grocery store sheet cake, used pre-made letters and numbers that you buy for children’s birthday cakes as decorations, and charged $800.00. Or how about this one, the site the happy couple has chosen to have their wedding ceremony and reception at puts pad locks on the doors and runs off with their money the day of the wedding!

There are many wedding vendors who are not exactly honest about what they do, how long they have been doing it, and what your final costs are going to be, and it isn’t only Brides and Grooms being taken in, it is Wedding Consultants as well.

Or the latest scam being pulled on unsuspecting people who want to start their own wedding coordination company by a consultant who is claiming to be certified but isn’t! How about the consultant who is charging Interns to work for her! Not only brides are being scammed, so are unsuspecting want-to-be consultants. Remember, if you haven’t been certified by one of the established Associations, then you haven’t been certified, and you could be open to a lawsuit. A certification program from another wedding consultant is meaningless in the wedding industry, especially if the consultant running the program isn’t certified her self. And never pay for an Internship in the wedding industry, if you are being asked to pay someone to do work for them, then chances are, you are being scammed.

These are not new stories, all of these things have happened to someone somewhere, and unfortunately will probably happen again. Make sure you are not a wedding victim. We want to caution all potential Brides and Groom, and future Wedding Consultants to be wary of unscrupulous people. Check out the vendors you want to hire, or those you want to work for. Talk to them, find out what kind of a person they are, and always get a contract in writing. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Hire a Wedding Consultant who is certified by The Association of Bridal Consultants, Weddings Beautiful Worldwide, or June Weddings, Inc. Before you open your own consulting business make certain that you are certified by one of these well-known and respected organizations, and make sure that you are ready for the responsibility of arranging someone else’s wedding and handling a business. After all, this isn’t a hobby or a part time job. It’s a large industry, one that grosses hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Your wedding, your future business, and your pocket book may depend on the research you do today!


Submitted by S. Duperre

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