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Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wedding Planners (Bridal Consultants): Wedded To Your Wallet
Many of us women dream about our wedding day long before we even meet the man we will marry. From the time we are old enough to grab a few white sheets from the linen closet to wrap around our heads, we plan and perfect our wedding all the way down to the last petal. But when the moment finally comes years and years later, we often find that we don't have the time, the resources, or the know-how to realize our perfect vision on our own. With a huge emotional and financial investment at stake, many of us decide to place our trust - and our bank account - in the hands of a professional: the wedding planner.
Wedding planners—also known as wedding co-ordinators, wedding consultants, and bridal consultants—make a living on helping couples with the big day. Sometimes, planners will only tie up a few loose ends, such as booking a band and hiring food servers. Other times, planners will be given carte blanche to build an all-the-trimmings extravaganza from scratch.
No matter how much or how little the planners end up planning, the profession is a lucrative one. Although some months are more popular than others, weddings are held all year round, so the wedding planner never finds any shortage of clientele. Furthermore, no one wants to come off as cheap when spending on his or her wedding, and the wallets open up at the slightest suggestion—something all planners are aware of, and many of them are willing to exploit.
Finally, because wedding planners are little more than glorified subcontractors for florists, caterers, decorators, and other wedding services, their living is rife with opportunities for kickbacks and corruption - all at the expense of the unsuspecting couple, their finances, and their dream day. So how can you get a wedding planner who actually considers your interests, all while leaving your wallet intact 'til death do you part?
What It Costs:
As with any service, the charge will vary from provider to provider. No couple wants a first-timer getting her feet wet in their punch bowl, so the more experience a planner has, the more she is disposed to charge. Some planners will micromanage down to the last detail; others will delegate many tasks and decisions to the couple and charge a fraction of the cost; others will do as much or as little as the couple wants and price their services accordingly. Another factor in the cost of hiring a wedding consultant is the number of attendees. A quiet, 30-guest ceremony will demand much less of an investment than a 300-guest gala blow-out.
Comparison shopping of wedding planners can be tricky, because some of them charge an hourly rate, others charge a flat fee, and others charge a percentage of the total wedding costs. For most planners, the hourly fee is a staggering $50 – $150 an hour. That means if a planner works just five hours a week for four weeks on your wedding, your bill can skyrocket to $3,000. A percentage-based fee, usually 10% – 15% of the grand total for the wedding, won't change the bottom line by very much. According to a 2000 Bride's Magazine survey, the cost for the average wedding in the United States is $19,000, netting the planner between $1,900 and $2,850…and what bride-to-be wants the average wedding? Furthermore, that was almost 10 years ago. The same study today would yield a higher number.
Most full-time wedding planners assist about forty couples every year and end up profiting $76,000 – $120,000. This already astronomical salary doesn't even include their income from extra services, such as printing out wedding invitations, or any kickbacks they may be pocketing. So while the final cost may vary depending on who the planner is and just how much planning you want, she will charge enough money to make more than many doctors and lawyers do.
The Wedding Planner Says:
"Whether you're interested in a simple, no-frills ceremony or a lavish celebration with all the works, it is my job to help you realize the wedding of your dreams. With every decision I make, I will always keep what you want in mind before everything else. I will work quickly and efficiently, wasting neither your time nor your money. I would never think of exploiting you at the most important time in your life. Working together, we will prepare the day you'll remember forever as the happiest day of your life."
The Snitch Says:
"Money may not be able to buy love, but to hear the wedding planner tell it, it can sure buy happiness. Every day couples spend as much or more on their wedding as they will on the down payment for their first home. Don't let the romanticism of their profession fool you; many people become wedding planners with the best of intentions but the bills mount up and sooner or later many wedding planners begin to see starry-eyed couples as dollar signs and suppliers (caterers, florists, etc.) as business partners. This is an industry where a wink and a smile are worth thousands of dollars and there are no licensing or educational requirements. Many wedding planners’ total experience comes down to having planned their own wedding and maybe helped with weddings or bridal showers for friends.
If the wedding planner pegs her fee at a percentage of the total cost, it is obviously in her best interest to sell you the best of everything. You will splurge on the most expensive flowers, decorations, and catering—whether you want any of it or not—even if she could get the same services for a lower price. Wedding planners are notorious for ignoring couples’ wishes and making commitments on behalf of the couple that they never would have agreed to had they been fully informed and then asked in advance.
Like anyone else paid by the hour, wedding planners who charge on an hourly basis have every incentive to delegate their responsibilities to “partner” vendors and inexperienced assistants and then charge for as many hours as the wedding planner believes the couple will be willing to pay for. Never mind that many couples and their families stay up at night worrying about how they will pay for the wedding and entrust the planner with the responsibility of making sure it all works out OK.
In short, many wedding planners purport to do things your way, but will only do it your way if it coincides with their way, which is whatever way they can make the most money off of you.
Obviously, flat-rate wedding planners are your best choice. But by no means does hiring one on a flat-rate basis get you out of the woods. Let’s talk a little bit more about what happens behind the scenes between bridal consultants and vendors.
A staple tactic of the profit-oriented planner is to mark up the prices of the subcontracting vendors and pocket the difference, even after you're already paying the planner by the hour. What makes it all the more devious is that this practice is almost impossible to detect. Any experienced wedding planner will have connections with a stable of florists, caterers, decorators, and so forth.
Because of all the business she delivers them, they offer her plum discounts in return, unknown and unadvertised to anyone else. The wedding planner will charge you full price and keep the discount as a kickback, knowing that you'd have no way of finding her out, even if you called up the vendors to confirm her prices on your own. Sometimes she will pass the discount on to you, but frequently it will be only a small percentage of what she’s getting, or she will have negotiated lesser service for a lower price so that it seems like she got you a great deal. Cash rebates are also common between vendors and wedding planners when the vendor is required to bill the couple directly."
Protecting Yourself:
Although the usual concerns of experience and cost have to be considered when selecting a wedding planner, you should also keep in mind just what you want in a wedding, and just what you want the wedding planner to do. Some wedding planners will defer to your decisions and act strictly as consultants, others will co-ordinate the entire day for you. If you and your intended just want someone to book entertainment for the reception, you're probably going to choose a different wedding planner than a couple who wants help picking out dresses and printing out invitations. Before signing onto the wedding planner's services, talk to her about just what you need, and ask her what she's willing and unwilling to do.
Before making any commitment, ask the planner about her formal training and experience. Ask whether she does this as a career or simply in her "spare time". A wedding day fraught with mishaps can get the most even-tempered of couples off to a rocky start to matrimonial bliss, so don't waste those hefty consultant fees on an amateur. Check whether the planner is a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants, the industry's most reputable trade group.
Ask the wedding planner about the discounts available to her. If she denies she has any then she's either skimming off the top or too inexperienced to waste a dime on. Every established planner will offer discounts for every facet of the wedding day celebration. Ask for a list of vendors with whom she has standing arrangements, then check out these vendors for yourself to see whether their services are what you're looking for.
As with any industry, always shop around before choosing a wedding planner. Be careful not to consider cost in isolation: a wedding planner might offer similar prices to one of her competitors, but she may buy from high-quality vendors while her competitor goes for bargain basement options and pockets the difference. Prices for the same vendor will often vary from planner to planner, too. One planner may have a longer business relationship or a higher customer volume and thus a more premium discount than another. Another common cause for price discrepancy is, of course, keeping the discount, as discussed above. Two planners might hold the same ten percent discount with a florist, but one of them may tell her clients the discount is five percent and slip the difference into her pocket.
Even at the most carefully planned wedding, something is bound to go wrong at the last minute, so be sure to ask the planner whether she will be on hand for the festivities from beginning to end, rather than just putting in a cameo appearance or not showing up at all. Ask whether the planner will assist in the set-up and tear-down of the décor.
Do everything possible to negotiate a flat fee with your wedding planner. With a flat fee, the planner has no incentive to drag her feet or waste your money. While a flat fee will always seem overwhelming on paper, remember that $150 an hour can spiral beyond the reach of anyone's budget very quickly, and, worse, it can have no limit. If you do consent to an hourly charge, agree on a strict maximum of hours. Similarly, if the planner insists on a percentage of the total wedding cost, cap the budget from the beginning.
Unless you live in the endless-summer climes of Florida, California, or Hawaii—where December can be a very popular wedding month—winter is typically the down season of the wedding industry. Late spring, summer, and early fall are obvious favorites for couples, but if your finances are more important to you than sunshine, consider a winter wedding. Because of the lower demand, you will have much more negotiating leverage in February than you would in June or September.
If you have the time, the persistence, and the patience, you may want to consider co-ordinating your own wedding. The competing advantages and disadvantages are obvious: you will enjoy complete control and you won't have to pay a middleman, but you'll have to do everything yourself. This can be taxing not only emotionally but financially, since you won't be privy to the many discounts that your local wedding planner has wrangled over the years.
The biggest disadvantage of the do-it-yourself wedding is, instead of having to deal with just one person who may try to rip you off, now you have dozens. Florists, caterers, decorators, and all the other wedding service providers are no more above exploiting you than wedding planners. If you do decide to forego a planner, be sure to comparison shop for every service, and read the fine print in every service contract you sign to determine exactly what is and isn't included in your purchase. Never tell anyone that you want their services for a wedding until you get the price: everyone knows people are willing to spend much more on weddings than on typical gatherings and will jack up their prices accordingly.
Leave the 24-karat diamond engagement ring at home, too; the more money they think you have, the more they'll pressure you into spending. Above all, whether you spring for a wedding planner or go it alone, never let anyone tell you what you want and what you don't want. You can't expect to have the wedding of your dreams if you let someone else do all the dreaming for you.
Just Because You Were Curious:
In a recent survey various vendors were called for pricing about an event: half were told that it was a wedding and half were not. Otherwise, the requests were identical. On average, catering services cost 20% more for weddings, floral design was 30% more, invitations were 15% more and limousine services were 15% more as well. Coincidence? I think not.
Posted by admin on 08/31 at 12:26 AM
This sounds like great advice for people with more money than sense. I am not sure how many people use the services of wedding planners here in the UK. I would think many women like to plan all of the little details themselves, so this special day is just right for her. Perhaps peole who use these kind of services don't look at this in the same romantic way we see it, having more to do with Money & Show, than Love. Either way, the capturing the event with a high quality video production, should be every bit as imporant.