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Website Archive for the 'avoiding problems' Category
Hey Susan, I broke off my engagement, what do I do now?
I have been hearing this question a lot lately. I can’t remember another year where I have had so many clients break up and cancel the wedding. Some couples just realize they aren’t in love anymore, others have lost jobs and were worried about not being able to pay for the wedding. Whatever the reason is, it is not an easy thing to deal with.
First of all, I commend you on being very brave. Once those wedding plans are in motion, there is so much pressure from family and friends to move forward. Also, the financial commitments you make for the wedding can make canceling it an expensive prospect. It takes a lot of courage to realize that for whatever reason, going ahead with the wedding is not the right thing to do.
Here are some tips to wrapping up the loose ends from a canceled wedding:
- Notify your closest family and friends first. There is no reward for going through this difficult time alone. Your loved ones are there for support.
- Cancel your wedding arrangements as soon as possible. Make sure to review your contracts to confirm what your vendors’ cancellation policies are regarding getting back deposits, using the deposits for another event and how they need to be contacted (even if your contract allows you to cancel via telephone, I suggest following up with a written notification and request for deposit).
- Return all engagement and shower gifts. Proper etiquette further dictates that if you used any of the gifts, you should purchase a new one to return to the sender.
- Don’t be overly hard on yourself. A canceled engagement doesn’t mean that you are a failure. A very smart friend once told me that if one love doesn’t work out, there is another one, the perfect one, waiting somewhere for you to find him or her.
If you have questions on this or any other wedding related topic, please post for me here or send me an email to susan.southerland@pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan
CommentsHey Susan, I Renegotiated My Wedding Reception Contract
At this weekend’s wedding seminar in South Florida, I spent a bit of time discussing contract negotiations and working with vendors who will help you maintain your budget. I truly believe that a good and ethical wedding professional will look beyond pure profitability in order to make recommendations for ways get services you want without overspending. Sometimes, the vendor’s recommendation may be to suggest another vendor who can accommodate your budget, others will work with you to shave costs of their own packages in order to work with you. In either case, knowing what you can spend is critical.
As we were discussing this, a bride name Megan offered up her story. She has found her location and hired a number of vendors. Almost everything of hers has been contracted. While she was reviewing what she was spending, she realized that she was spending a bit too much. She needed to find a way to cut costs. This is no easy task once a contract is signed.
Megan was very lucky. She went to her reception site and told her representative her plight. He suggested to her that she change the time of her reception in order to save money. That is exactly what she did. She moved from an evening wedding to an afternoon wedding and saved 10 percent on her bottom line. Just enough to help maintain her budget.
I want to emphasize that this is a very risky maneuver. It is much better to plan your budget in advance and stick to it. Going back to renegotiate a signed contract is very difficult.
Do you have a story about saving money at your wedding? Send it to me and I might just publish it on the blog or our Facebook Fan Page.
If you have questions on this or any other wedding related topic, please post for me here or send me an email to susan.southerland@pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan
Hey Susan, What’s the Deal with Wedding Insurance?
I have been asked this question a lot lately. I don’t think it is because more and more couples are planning on canceling their weddings, rather it is because they are worried about losing their jobs or they are worried about their vendors going out of business.
Wedding insurance typically covers deposits if the event has to be canceled due to illness, weather, military action, a vendor not showing up, wedding gown being damaged or other uncontrollable occurrences. It typically DOES NOT cover you if you are unable to pay for services because of job loss. or if you get cold feet.
If you decide to purchase wedding insurance, make sure to read the policy very carefully. The policies I reviewed were seven pages long with a lot of exclusions. You must make sure to understand what you are purchasing before paying for it.
If you have questions on this or any other wedding related topic, please post for me here or send me an email to susan.southerland@pwg.com. Also become a fan on Facebook by clicking here and follow me on Twitter by clicking here.
Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan
CommentsMy Wedding Vendor Went Out of Business How Can I Get My Money Back?
I presented a seminar at the Perfect Wedding Guide bridal show this past weekend. My staff and I had a great time meeting lots and lots of brides. I am happy to say that the recession may have changed weddings, but it hasn’t stopped them!
I met a couple who came to me in quite a panic. They were informed by another vendor that the company that was providing them with their photographer, videographer and DJ went out of business. Evidently the company (who has offices nation-wide) shut down, informed no one, and took off. To make matters worse, the bride and groom were paying in installments and since their wedding is around the corner, they were almost paid in full. They were at a loss as to what to do.
I hate to hear stories like this. Even before the recession, I would get emails about companies who closed their businesses without warning and without informing or refunding their clients. It is unethical, cruel and completely inexcusable. Unfortunately, unless you pay via credit card, there is very little you can do to get a quick fix (or any fix for that matter) after you have made payments. Here are six tips on what you can do to try to get some money back.
- If it is a large company, look for another location or a home office and send a certified letter demanding your money back.
- File a small claims lawsuit. Keep in mind, filing a suit will cost money, you will not be guaranteed to win and if you do win, you still might not get paid.
- For larger sums of money, hire an attorney to pursue the company. Again, this will cost you money and the outcome will not be guaranteed to be in your favor.
- Contact your local Attorney General’s office and file a complaint. Chances are, this company disappointed other couples as well. The AG’s office might get involved.
- Call your newspaper or local television station’s consumer reporter and ask him to look into it. This is free and you may get some satisfaction, if not from the company you hired, perhaps another company will work for you at a discount, in the hopes of getting good publicity.
- File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. This will not guarantee that your issue will be resolved, but it is free and you may save other couples the pain of going through the same thing.
Come back Friday for my post on steps you can take when hiring a vendor to avoid losing money if he goes out of business.
If you have questions or comments on this topic or any other wedding related matter, post a message for me here, or email me at susan.southerland@pwg.com.
Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan
CommentsWedding Secrets: Near Misses and Money-Saving Tips
I hope you took a peek at Rory and Michael’s wedding on “Real Wedding Wednesday” They were a great couple and it was a beautiful wedding. Here is the inside scoop on some of their near misses and a money-saving tip.
The weather was a huge issue that day. The Central Florida area had no rain for weeks, unfortunately, the week of Rory and Michael’s wedding, Mother Nature decided to give us all the rain we were missing in a matter of days. The wedding day looked pretty good up until about an hour prior to the ceremony start time. The sky opened up and poured for forty-five minutes. Everything had already been setup outside. It could have been a disaster, BUT, the florist attached the arbor to the lamppost so the wind didn’t blow it down.
The next issue was Rory’s bouquet. Rory fell in love with a bouquet in a magazine. It was orange mini calla lilies. There is only one problem with orange mini calla lilies… depending on the rain and soil conditions, they can come in more mango than orange. Also, very often, magazines will spray flowers to obtain the colors that they want for the shoot. The florist and I were really worried about what Rory would think. In fact, the florist brought another set of orange roses to the ceremony so she could construct a new bouquet in case Rory wasn’t happy. (I think that’s amazing!). In the end, Rory loved the calla lilies, mango-color and all.
Enough with the bad stuff; here is a money-saving tip from Rory and Michael’s wedding. Above is a photo of their arbor and below is their reception table. Do you notice anything? We took the flowers from the arbor and lined them down the center of the dining table. They looked gorgeous and they saved the newlyweds $360.00!
Speaking of saving money, check out this article on PerfectWeddingGuide.com on setting up your budget. A good budget is the key to saving money on your wedding day.
Thank you again to amagicmoment.com for the great photos!
If you have questions or comments regarding this or any wedding-related topic, please post a message for me here or email me at susan.southerland@pwg.com.
Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan
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