Bridal Industry Pitfalls

With enough advance planning time, you can avoid most industry pitfalls. It is mostly the bride who is planning and enormous wedding in a short amount of time who stumbles into difficult planning situations. Still, you may encounter some of these problems, so be wary, and make smart decisions at all times.


Avoid:

• Booking the first thing you see. It will not save you time. It will just prevent you from finding a better offer.
  
• Being desperate. Coming right out and saying, “I do not care what it costs, I will pay anything” for that gorgeous gown/cake/floral display, is the mark of a first-timer. So be clear about what your budget is, and do not allow yourself to be talked into spending more because “you are worth it.”
  
• Taking a “too good to be true” offer. Usually, these on-time-only advertisements for ring sales and gown clearances can present frauds and fakes. Research fully, and be careful of fool’s gold offers.
  
• Not getting a contract. You know better than this.
  
• Paying in cash. All purchases should be done on a credit card so that your company can either stop payment, refund you, or report fraud. True, some credit card companies are not running at 100% in the sale on your statement. A cash transaction can be disputed.
  

Make sure to:

• Only work with established businesses that have had years of experience. Brides should shop at stores that have been around for a long time, not the fly-by-night jeweler that just popped up last week and could be gone next week.
  
• Take no shortcuts. Measure areas for dance floors, measure tables, measure doorways for adequate space and the delivery of items.
  
• Get all deliveries via certified, return-receipt mail. Send all packages, such as your maids’ gowns, the same way.
  
• Look at everything. Do not book a boat you have not seen, do not book rentals you have not seen. You do not want any unpleasant surprises on the wedding day.
  
• Stand your ground. Do not be talked into-or out of-anything without your full understanding.
  
• Do not plan when you are too stressed. Realize your limits and change an appointment if you have to, rather than make a decision out of frustration or impatience.
  
• Remember to enjoy the process. Keep a wedding journal to record all of the good parts about planning the wedding. Too often, brides just record the appointments, the problems, and the questions. Use your journal or notebook to write down the touching, funny, silly, or memorable moments. After the chaos of the planning process is done, you will have this memento to remember that it was not that difficult. The bad stuff may always be remembered, but the good stuff will outweigh the bad if you make it that way.