Wedding Planner Qualms

Hi Jen,

I read your forum post, and I wanted to address each point with some context from both the wedding industry perspective, and a personal one because I changed wedding planners 8 months before my wedding after the first one was not responsive.

There are certain wedding venues that require wedding planners for reasons such as:

-The wedding venue is in high demand.
-The wedding venue has other areas of business (ie: hotel rooms, restaurants, and gift shops). Larger, high demand venues may have a list of planners you can choose to work with.

-Precautionary insurance measure and/or a previous incident where insurance is involved (like damage to a property from a drunk guest).
-The venue is smaller, and independent, and it keeps family or friends employed and operations organized. These venues may have a limited planner/coordinator list to choose from.
-The event takes more than one day, and needs at least one point of contact to act as a liaison between the wedding party, the wedding guests, and the venue.

Important wedding venue and wedding industry notes:

-Weddings, particularly those that require staff for extended hours (and from your post it seems like days), will add to the overall cost of the wedding because of food, drinks, labor, setup, tear down, cleaning, any incidentals, etc.

-Wedding packages are sometimes offered to help venues manage resources to not overwhelm staff while making a profit and as a way to communicate the breakdown of costs for prospective couples.

-Wedding seasons can be year-round depending on the area. If the area is in a temperate or tropical zone, there could be weddings at the venue every month. Weddings where there are notably colder temperatures and snow, may close for parts of the year.

With this in mind, wedding professionals, just like anyone, like to take advantage of vacation time during the summer. Due to the nature of the business, vacations have to be planned out much further in advance than most 9-5 jobs. Most wedding industry professionals will have an automated email response stating when they are out of office. I don't know if the venue or the planner communicated in this way, or, if they just stated in a verbal discussion (as implied by your post) that they would be out of town on your desired wedding date.

I do not know how your discussion went, but it appears as if miscommunication could be a factor, as well as some upsetting realities of wedding planning setting in because of costs being higher than the initial budget.

Cancellation of a meeting if it is done once, well before the wedding date is usually forgivable, but if you notice a pattern of lack of communication, and if you feel that you are being steered into a direction you don't want, it is time to look for a new venue.

Important Considerations: Communication With Vendors, Budgets, and Package Selection

-Most vendors, including venues have set packages. Prices will reflect labor, time, and resources.

-Don't try to price haggle or ask for discounts right away. After hearing the vendor speak, or reading their communication, you can ask questions like:

1) I like _____ from this package, even though my budget is _____. Is there a way to add this individual service/selection to this package a-la-carte, and if so, what would the a-la-carte price be?

2) Does your venue offer any seasonal or ______ (such as U.S. Veteran) discounts?

-Have a discussion with your S.O. and go over your budget, and areas where you are and are not willing to compromise. Also discuss about other options if your first venue choice ultimately isn't a good fit, and what other venue and vendor options you are willing to consider.


Hope this helps!