Wedding planner help

[GingeRRRBeef]

If you don't have something constructive to contribute, get the fuck out.

We hired a wedding planner based on a personal reference. My fiancee worked with the wedding planner's husband.

At first, we were unsure whether to hire her for full wedding planning or not but settled for just the day of coordination.

She quoted us $1500 for the day of service. Seeing how it was a personal referral and we had a good rapport with her, we signed up for the day of service and paid 50% deposit.

We later noticed on her website that the day of service starts at $1000. We asked her why our day warranted a 50% premium. She told us that it was based on the number of guests attending. (We had a soft quote of about ~150 people when we first met with her. Our numbers are now closer to 120)

Nowhere in the contract does it states that day of wedding coordination fee is dependent on the number of guests. Nor did she articulate this when we were signing up with her.

We are, understandably, peeved. We feel cheated especially given a prior working relationship with her husband and the personal referral. We don't feel we can have a constructive working relationship because of this. Especially since it's one of the biggest days in our lives, we don't want to take that gamble that she may or may not fuck us over.

So the question is since the "fee is based on the # of guests" is not in our contract, does it count as a breach of contract and are we entitled to void it and get our deposit back?

How would you guys handle this yourselves?

[Mibz]

day of service starts at $1000 There's your hint.

I'd consider it a drop in the bucket and move on. You don't need to be adding things to worry about.

[project240]

If you weren't happy with her price, why did you sign a contract with her?

Obviously you must have been happy with something? It's like buying a car and then finding out someone else bought that same car for $1000 cheaper. No sense crying over it, just make the best of it.

[CanmoreOrLess]

Walk away if it makes you feel better, really $500 is a small amount of cash compared to the entire production. The last thing you need is to have this hanging over your head and from personal experience you really do not want to be the person sticking with anything which jams you up for the occasion. "I told you so" is not what you desire your new wife to be communicating so early in the marriage.... and she will if anything is stuffed by this current wedding planner.

Never use friends, coworkers or family in your projects as they are so hard to fire without bad feelings. I have no problem in firing anyone, but that is just me and I make it clear from the early stages. The wedding planner is offering a professional service (although she sounds far from professional), drop her now if you feel overcharged or live with the doubt. I'd cut doubt like the cancer she is.

[lasimmon]

If your looking for anothing planner drop me a pm. I have a friend in the business.

[ddduke]

Originally posted by Mibz
There's your hint.

I'd consider it a drop in the bucket and move on. You don't need to be adding things to worry about.

THIS.

There may have been other factors that made her choose that number, maybe you guys are overly picky or you had already made her meet with you a few times before signing a contract and she added the extra charge to pay for her time.

My company offers 15 different products in 4 different denominations so we just put our lowest price and beside it write 'prices starting at' and we still get customers saying we're ripping them off daily because they assume they're getting the most high end product for that price.

[GingeRRRBeef]

Originally posted by project240
If you weren't happy with her price, why did you sign a contract with her?

Obviously you must have been happy with something? It's like buying a car and then finding out someone else bought that same car for $1000 cheaper. No sense crying over it, just make the best of it.

It's not the price we weren't happy with. It's her explanation when we asked her what the justification was for a $500 dollar increase. The per guest pricing, which she did not articulate at all, is $10 per guest.

By that standard, if I had 400 guests her day of service would be $4000 and that's what she charges for the full service.

[GingeRRRBeef]

Originally posted by CanmoreOrLess
really $500 is a small amount of cash compared to the entire production

Agreed but $500 here and $500 there adds up real quick. I'm not that concerned with $500 it is a small percentage when compared to the whole thing. But $500 is a 50% increase of her services and that is a lot.

[n1zm0]

are we allowed to know what the company name is?

[KappaSigma]

Is the wedding planning providing things like chair covers, etc..that are all a variable charge based on # of guests?

Consider it a lesson learned...I had a similar experience. Thinsg that were not in the contract were discussed at a high level or assumed...ended up costing more because of this.

[yoda124]

wedding planners don't know anymore than what you could do with a bit of research.I had 150 people at my wedding last summer.I initially thought about hiring a wedding planner and I'm glad I didn't.It would of been a waste of money.

[03ozwhip]

:werd: , my wife planned our whole wedding and it was awesome, she should be a wedding planner for the $$ she can make doing it!

[98type_r]

You should have done more background before signing the contract and agreeing on the price. It is a douche move having her charge you a premium based on the # of guests. What is she providing you for her fees? Unless that $10 per guest includes chair covers or something other than her "being there," I'd walk away from the deposit and move on.

My wife planned our entire wedding without a wedding planner. Flowers, cake, venue decorations at two locations. She did have one of her good and trusted friends take on role the "day of coordinator." She was absolutely flawless in her execution and both of us were really impressed with how smoothly everything went. She did have the help of a few volunteers in the form of family members to help her shuttle things around. We bought her an iPad as a thank you gift and she thought that was more than generous.

[FraserB]

What are you getting over and above the basic $1000? Is it worth the extra $500? Is there the chance the planner messes things up if you piss her off?

If the husband is a really good friend or someone you need to deal with daily, I would just pay it and chalk it up to people being douchbags. If not, and you guys can do what the planner would have done, walk away and chalk the deposit up to a lesson learned.

[spikerS]

Honestly, who cares. You agreed to the price, and afterwards, saw on her website that things start at $1000

Would it have been better if it said starting at $1500?
Would you have even made the post?
Would you be unhappy?

Either way, the planner should be taking enough stress off of your shoulders, and freeing up enough of your time that you don't have to lean on friends and such, and that way, your wedding day becomes that much more special that everyone can get the maximum amount of enjoyment from your special day.

Another way to look at it is:
You already paid a 50% deposit = $750 that I imagine will not be refundable. If you find another wedding planner for $1000, your bill is now $1750. Still cheaper for you to keep the one you have.

No where have you complained that the services she has provided so far were sub par, or that she wasn't doing a good job and what you wanted. Really, her husband has nothing to do with the situation. If you wanted a discount, perhaps that should have been brought up BEFORE you agreed to hire her and signed an agreement.

Having said all that, I hope your wedding goes off without a hitch, and your day is awesome, and you won't let this affect the working relationship with your wedding planner. Because if it does, she might not try as hard, and going after her AFTER your wedding, won't do anything to fix your wedding day, only to be a constant reminder and a source of bitterness.

[max_boost]

My opinion is:

You need to chill out and relax. I think you are over reacting. It was a referral, you had good rapport so you signed up. So it wasn't CLEARLY outlined the break down of her services but I'm pretty sure she had asked you how many guests you were expecting and the quote was based on that. Even on her website it said FROM $1000.

I don't see why she would fuck you over given the strong rapport you have and the personal referral given. If anything she would want to do a better job because you aren't a random stranger.

If I were you, the initial number of guests was 150 and now there will be less so because of that, ask her to consider lowering her fee since less guests=less work.

[KappaSigma]

Also, when is yoru wedding? Most likely the original quote was estimated at 150 people BUT I would be pissed off in her side as well when you say you are giving her business for 150 people and then YOU drop the people by 20% to 120 people. Sure its not your fault some cant come but she estimated for 150 people. If she already sunk costs for 150 people...why should she be out of money and time?

[codetrap]

Beyond is always good for a chuckle... "I didn't do my research and understand what I'm getting into.. what oh what should I do now!?!"

Great Lulz.. keep up the good work. :clap:


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9TzK4b0yCrw/TExeEO2wFJI/AAAAAAAAD6s/98Aj_asM80c/s1600/zzYou%27re_screwed.jpg

[GingeRRRBeef]

Cole Notes

- Cost of "Day of Wedding Coordination" is $1500
- She has done no work outside of meeting us once
- "Day of" coordination does not include chair covers, decor, rentals etc

I know some of you keeping looking this as "It's only $500" but this $500 is a 50% increase of base price. It is not appropriate to ask what justifies a 50% premium?

Like I've said already $1500 is not the issue here. The issue is her justification for an $500 increase over the base price is based on the number of guests which she did not articulate prior. Is that not considered misrepresentation or at least not acting on good faith?

[Mibz]

Originally posted by Silver_SpecV
The issue is her justification for an $500 increase over the base price is based on the number of guests which she did not articulate prior. Is that not considered misrepresentation or at least not acting on good faith? No. It's not.

She gave you a quote. That quote is perfectly in line with her advertised rates. You asked her why it was more, she said because of the extra guests.

I have -no- idea why you're getting upset with this.

This is like using an ATM and complaining that the bank is misrepresenting its services when it asks if you're cool with a $1.50 convenience fee. Shit, they don't even give you a REASON with the ATM, but the fact remains that you have a choice whether to accept it or not and making a big deal out of it is a waste of time and breath.

[codetrap]

Ok, here's what you do. Get a coin. Call one side "fire her" and the other side "keep her and move on".. Then flip. Now, when it's in the air, take a close look at your heart of hearts to see which side you're hoping for, and there's your answer.

[FraserB]

Originally posted by codetrap
Ok, here's what you do. Get a coin. Call one side "fire her" and the other side "keep her and move on".. Then flip. Now, when it's in the air, take a close look at your heart of hearts to see which side you're hoping for, and there's your answer.

This.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by Silver_SpecV
Is that not considered misrepresentation or at least not acting on good faith? No it's not. Everyone seems to get it except you bro. You know Beyond is always right. That's why you posted the question here right? :D

[CanmoreOrLess]

Originally posted by Silver_SpecV
Cole Notes

- Cost of "Day of Wedding Coordination" is $1500
- She has done no work outside of meeting us once
- "Day of" coordination does not include chair covers, decor, rentals etc

I know some of you keeping looking this as "It's only $500" but this $500 is a 50% increase of base price. It is not appropriate to ask what justifies a 50% premium?

Like I've said already $1500 is not the issue here. The issue is her justification for an $500 increase over the base price is based on the number of guests which she did not articulate prior. Is that not considered misrepresentation or at least not acting on good faith?

How is that pre-nup coming along? If all this is tightening your sphincter, wait until the in-laws come to stay for weeks every year. Or the brother in law borrows a few grand and never seems to have the cash to clear the debt. You will have bigger fish to fry, choose your battles as this one is so very minor and risks your future points of objection.

My point was... it's always about the money; you feel unsatisfied by the wedding planner and her answers.... walk to another planner. As one who quotes prices daily to clients, if I feel the client is going to be a PITA, I will quote much higher as I know there will be "issues" later in the project. Oddly, the higher quote does not seem to put the PITA clients off, they pay and I have ideas as to why.

[bart]

if you think weddings are expensive wait until you get divorced hahaha

[Amysicle]

Originally posted by spikers
Another way to look at it is:
You already paid a 50% deposit = $750 that I imagine will not be refundable. If you find another wedding planner for $1000, your bill is now $1750. Still cheaper for you to keep the one you have. +1

At the end of the day, you agreed to a service at a the price she offered. It's a bit late now to be all upset about how the quote was formed, as it reminds me of this thread. (http://forums.beyond.ca/st/347626/question-about-invoicing/)

You could try to approach her on lowering the final price based on actual guests vs. estimated guests by repeating the reasoning she used to come up with your quote. If she agrees, great! If she doesn't agree, see Spiker's math above.

What I learned from my wedding - pick your battles.
Yes, weddings are expensive and there are ways you could save and it always seems like someone, somewhere is trying to rip you off but at the end of the day, it's what you make of it.

I wish I had a coordinator to help execute the wedding the day of. I tried planning my own wedding and it was a disorganized shit show and I don't have a lot of fond memories about it. I was battling with my in-laws about venues, menus, guest lists, etc. and they were no help at all money or support-wise. At the end of the day, I wish I told them to go shove it right off the bat instead of bending over backwards trying to please them with the same end result.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by bart
if you think weddings are expensive wait until you get divorced hahaha

40% chance OP will get a divorce. :eek:

[yoda124]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Silver_SpecV
Cole Notes

- Cost of "Day of Wedding Coordination" is $1500
- She has done no work outside of meeting us once
- "Day of" coordination does not include chair covers, decor, rentals etc

I know some of you keeping looking this as "It's only $500" but this $500 is a 50% increase of base price. It is not appropriate to ask what justifies a 50% premium?

Like I've said already $1500 is not the issue here. The issue is her justification for an $500 increase over the base price is based on the number of guests which she did not articulate prior. Is that not considered misrepresentation or at least not acting on good faith? [/QU

15 guests or 150 guests the wedding planner does nothing extra and only using this excuse to rip you off.Turf her.

[cancer man]

Your worried about 1500.00?That's cheap.
I don't think you realize how much legwork is involved be greatfull
it's only that.
For all you guys that think it's a rip off go ahead a plan one yourselves.
Op did she give you a list of what's included?
Is she finding the photographer,florist,reception hall,caterer,invitations,doing the mailing and confirming the guests.

[scboss]

500 is two days work tops. She screws you for 500 or you screw yourself for 750.

For 1500 you could have got
-flight to vegas
-hotel
-wedding
-buffet
-couple shows/helicopter tour

I should be a wedding planner :bigpimp:

[jdmakkord]

Wow. We paid $5000 for 1.5 days and that was a bargain. Lol.

[cancer man]

Originally posted by warcaster
500 is two days work tops. She screws you for 500 or you screw yourself for 750.

For 1500 you could have got
-flight to vegas
-hotel
-wedding
-buffet
-couple shows/helicopter tour

I should be a wedding planner :bigpimp:

That's what we call a White Trash Wedding.:poosie:

[Spoons]

Coming from a person who does rate quotes all day long, this is completely acceptable.

Only difference is when people ask me the question you asked, my answer is because I felt like it. Profitability or quoting does not guarantee or outline everything completely. Quotes are to give you an idea on what the price is going to look like. Mine states all over that "price may change without notice."

I look at a job, I determine how tough I think it is going to be, and I base my profitability on that. Her baseline is most likely at $1000, and anything up and above is where she is making most of her profit.

[CompletelyNumb]

What exactly does a wedding planner do for 1 day? The whole day would already have been planned...

[Mibz]

They ensure that people are where they're supposed to be, that any 3rd parties have what they need (DJs having power, caterer having refrigerators, etc) and put out any fires that happen along the way so the bride and groom don't have to worry about them.

They're worth it, even if nothing goes wrong, just for the peace of mind. When we learned about all the shit that went wrong during our wedding we were pretty surprised. Nobody noticed because we had somebody on point taking care of it.

[98brg2d]

15 guests or 150 guests the wedding planner does nothing extra and only using this excuse to rip you off.

Not true at all. Most wedding planners can handle up to 80 or 100 guests by themselves (depending on what they are providing) and need helpers after that. 150 people would likely need two people full time and possibly a third person for part of the time (reception venue setup/coordination etc.)

I can almost guarantee that if the OP asks for a more specific break down of what is provided and how the price changes with varying numbers of guests he will see that the price goes up specifically to accomodate a second or third planner's helper. The price may go up linearly but at some point it makes up the difference of them hiring another helper instead of simply increasing their own work load.

[CapnCrunch]

Originally posted by Mibz
No. It's not.

She gave you a quote. That quote is perfectly in line with her advertised rates. You asked her why it was more, she said because of the extra guests.

I have -no- idea why you're getting upset with this.

This is like using an ATM and complaining that the bank is misrepresenting its services when it asks if you're cool with a $1.50 convenience fee. Shit, they don't even give you a REASON with the ATM, but the fact remains that you have a choice whether to accept it or not and making a big deal out of it is a waste of time and breath.

Totally agree with this.