We've all heard the horror stories. A couple puts a big down payment on a reception venue only to find out a few weeks before their big day that they double-booked and they're the ones who gets the shaft. Or a bridal shop promises a bride that alterations are included in the price of the dress but later denies the promise. Or the caterer doesn't prepare enough meals for your number of guests. Or the flowers don't arrive as you had specified.
All these are a bride and groom's nightmare, and unfortunately they happen more often than most engaged couple would like. There are many, many wedding vendors out there that get things very, very right 99.99% of the time, but it's that small minority that get it wrong (and sometimes horribly, dreadfully wrong) just a few times that causes brides to stay awake at nights and have nightmares of fallen cakes and no-show DJs.
Well, sometimes it's impossible to avoid slipups, because we're all human and even the best of us make mistakes or forget things on occasion. But there are ways you can avoid those problem vendors who have botched more than their fair share of jobs and things you can do to avoid getting ripped off by them.
1. Ask your friends, family and acquaintances for recommendations.
This is by far the best way to find vendors who will follow through and adhere to what you agreed upon. First of all, if you can't rely on your friends and family to provide you with honest, detailed advice, then who can you trust? In most cases, they will offer a candid (and sometimes brutally forthright) opinion of vendors who either they used or someone who they know used. That's by far the litmus test for vendors.
As far as acquaintances go, one helpful route is to find wedding-related online forums (especially ones for your area) where you can chat with other brides and see if anyone has the skinny on particular vendors to use as well as those who you should stay far, far away from. In addition, Web-savvy, online wedding planners and bloggers who are experts in such things may have a take if you email them and ask them what they think.
2. Conduct an Internet search for the name(s) of vendors.
This is a great way to find out if any vendor in your area has lots of online love or a glut of complaints and unhappy customers. Simply type the vendor's name into Google or Bing with quotation marks around the vendor's name (for example, "Sandy's Floral and Wedding Boutique") and see if the results return anything of note.
3. Get everything in writing.
Although this doesn't guarantee the vendor will follow through on their promises, it does make it clear to the vendor what was agreed upon if there is any confusion, and it gives you leverage if anything does happen to go awry. And "everything" includes an itemized list of what the vendor promises to deliver as well as a dollar amount attached to each item/service and a total amount for all items/services promised.
4. Don't rely on a vendor's client testimonials and references.
No vendor, no matter how great they are, has a 100% customer satisfaction rate, so what makes you think they will give you a list of all their past clients with the chance that you might call one that had a bad or less than ideal experience? Vendors will always, always provide glowing references; it's in their best interest. However, it's not necessarily in your best interest, so do your homework on them upfront before you ever step through their door.
5. Never, ever pay in full upfront unless it's completely unavoidable and you have a golden, stellar reference for the vendor.
If a vendor has all your money already, what is their incentive to go above and beyond for you? Those vendors who are honest and upstanding will follow through because they know that they trade on their reputation, and they'll do anything to keep it fully intact. But vendors who don't care about their reputation don't care nearly as much about you or your wedding if they aren't financially incentivized. So, if at all possible, give them a reasonable deposit to retain their services and don't pay them until those services have been (or are very, very soon to be) rendered.
6. Consult your local Better Business Bureau.
Before you sign on the dotted line, check your vendor out through your local Better Business Bureau or your state's attorney general's office. Here you can see if any complaints have been lodged against the vendor and if you need to run in the other direction.
7. Tell the vendor you have a brother named "Bruiser" who played linebacker for the Bears until he became an ultimate fighter and who is very protective of his younger sister.
