The day you wed your beloved is the most
important day of your life and planning for it
can be hell even when everything goes right. But
for some poor souls, things go very, very wrong
when they’re scammed by a money-stealing
wedding planner or no-show photographer.
Wedding vendor scams are scary, and there are
various scams you could fall victim to, but you
do have the power to protect yourself.
On the day of her wedding,
Courtney got a call from her
soon-to-be-hubby James
saying that the limo was
more than an hour late. After he and
his groomsmen found another way to
the ceremony, the couple found out
that no photographer or videographer
had shown up, despite the checks
they cut to their wedding planner,
who was also missing in action. While
Courtney’s mother-in-law was able
to find someone at the last minute to
shoot their wedding, she later learned
that her wedding planner had run off
with the money for the vendors and
had similarly scammed other couples.
Wedding vendor scams
are scary, and there are
many common scams
you could fall victim
to, but you do have the
power to protect yourself.
Now image you hire a photographer
and pay a hefty deposit. Then, on the
day of, he isn’t there. And you call and
call and can’t get a hold of him. The
tears stream down your face as you
realize you’ve got nobody to provide
evidence that this glorious, expensive
day actually happened. Or maybe the
photographer shows up and takes
pictures and never sends you negatives,
prints or digital photos. What’s your big
day without a photographic record?
In the interest of saving a few bucks,
you decide to order your wedding
gown on a legit-looking online
boutique. The dress looks great and
they say they’ll include the shipping
for free. How could this not be a
win-win? Well, your dress might not
show up on time. Or that beautiful
strapless gown shows up and the
lace isn’t ivory but more of a cat
pee yellow and the seams are glued
together instead of sewed. Or you
call and try to get a refund because
the dress that never arrived, but it
takes longer to arrive than it took for
Mr. Wonderful to come around to the
idea of commitment.
There are many ways a
wedding vendor can scam
you, but you can take steps
to protect yourself.
In order to protect yourself from any
of these misfortunes, or other wedding
vendor scams such as price hikes in
the last few days before the wedding,
you would do well to follow these
words of advice:
Work with vendors that trustworthy
friends and family recommend. You’ll
likely avoid hiring vendors set on
ripping you off if you know someone
who hired them and liked the final
results. If you decide to work with
someone who hasn’t been hired by
anyone you know personally, ask the
vendor to connect you with former
clients so that you can independently
verify their credibility.
Try to hire vendors that have
physical offices because then
you know where to go if
things go south.
Pay using credit card (AMEX preferably,
because they have better consumer
protection), never cash or check, so
you can do a charge-back if needed.
Check their ratings on websites like
Yelp and Epinions, Google the business
owner’s name and the business name
with the words “complaint” and “scam”
and check the vendor’s business
license with state entities.
If you hire a wedding planner, demand
copies of receipts for every check you
cut – even for the bulk candy you want
for that candy bar.
For a chunk of change, you can purchase
wedding insurance from companies
like The Travelers Indemnity Company.
Travelers wedding insurance starts
at $160, while there are a few online
companies offering such coverage for
about $95, but we suggest you stick
with a reputable insurance agency
like Travelers. Wedding insurance
covers such things as cancellation
or postponement of the ceremony,
additional expenses, wedding
photographs and video, wedding gifts,
special jewelry and lost deposits. For
additional coverage, you can add liability
and liquor liability to your policy.
Make sure you ask all your vendors if
there are any other costs that could
possibly be added to the final bill at a
later time.
And finally, make sure you always read
every single word of every contract you
sign. Ask for contract changes if you’re
not 100% comfortable. Don’t let them talk
you into signing something that’s not in
your favor. Remember: you can always
walk away and hire someone else.
Above all, remember: if something
doesn’t feel right, leave and find a
different vendor. Oh yes, and try to
have fun with it!
