BridalTweet Wedding Forum & Vendor Directory

When Is the Planning Job Done?

Hello All,

At what point after a wedding do you stop acting as planner/coordinator and have a bride handle all outstanding items on her own?

I'm in a situation where I faxed a vendor the bride's credit card information 3 weeks before the wedding. Five days before the wedding they called to tell me that they lost the fax and never charged the card for the deposit, so I gave them the card info a second time.

Five days after the wedding they sent me an invoice and called to tell me that they were trying to charge the card (for the first time, they still never charged it for a deposit) and it is being denied. At this point, the bride was on a 2 week honeymoon and I could not contact her for another card. Also, they charged the bride incorrectly and I am now arguing this with them.

Should I hand all of this over to the bride and say I'm done? What would you do?

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Permalink Reply by Caren Jeanty on November 11, 2010 at 3:23am

I would take care of it, you agreed to represent the couple and anything related to their wedding is your responsibility regardless of the time frame

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Permalink Reply by Xceed Entertainment Inc. on November 11, 2010 at 7:11am

Although this is a touchy matter, I would try my best to amicably work things out between the Bride/ Groom and vendor as the middle buffer. Although the vendor is apparently at fault and maybe a little overwhelmed with business that they first lost the payment information then after collecting the info again not processing it immediately. I would question this companies ability to represent you as a vendor you refer. Anyway, I am getting away from the issue at hand; yes see what you can handle on your part but don't put this companies troubles on your shoulder should the bride decide not to pay. In that case, you should have the vendor contact the bride directly and deal with it accordingly. Good luck!

Courtesy of:
Xceed Entertainment Inc.
Professional DJs You Can Count On!
www.XceedDJs.com
305-433-6400

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Permalink Reply by Glenn S. Ferguson on November 16, 2010 at 6:02am

This is an interesting question but an easy one to answer. Your couple hired you to provide them with wedding planning services and your job is not done until they are satisfied.

In this case they would not be satisfied as there is a vendor still looking to them for payment. Payment that you as the planner should have ensured were paid.

And your case is indicative as to why it is so important that we ensure that our vendors are on the same page with us right from the start as your vendor is a reflection of you and your business.

It is important as wedding planners to ensure that we develop a team approach to delivering the service we provide. And that we communicate effectively with those vendors that we have chosen work with.

And instead of abandoning vendors empower them to help you succeed by creating synergies through teamwork and communication.

It was your responsibility to ensure that not only the service delivered was consistent with your standard but also that this vendor was compensated for the services provided.

Unfortunately, your job as a planner is not done until both your internal client (your vendor) and external client (your couple) have been satisfied.

Let me know what you think...

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Permalink Reply by Xceed Entertainment Inc. on November 16, 2010 at 6:42am

Well said.

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Permalink Reply by Janice Smith on November 18, 2010 at 8:27am

Well said.

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Permalink Reply by Maureen Daniels on January 14, 2011 at 2:39pm

very well said....

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Permalink Reply by Deniesha on November 18, 2010 at 3:07am

Something similar happen to me and I continued to work with the vendor and my client until it was settled. However, in this situation it's the vendor's job to communicate and track their payments. It was an oversight on their part therefore it but so far you step in to fix their mistake. Act as the middleman and have an open discussion that includes all parties involved. After that, you are not responsible to ensure they pay the balance to the vendor.

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Permalink Reply by Janice Smith on November 18, 2010 at 8:24am

I maybe wrong, but it sounds like, you contracted the supplier on behalf of the bride. By sending the fax with the payment information, this made you the middleman and therefore, you have to stay with this until completed. However, if the bride had done the contact and payment, then you would be excluded from the transaction, and the supplier would be contacting the bride directly.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Bradford on November 23, 2010 at 10:26am

did i hear that right? you faxed someone's card details? faxed? and they lost them?! And then you faxed them again! Is it me or is that completely mad? Isn't it illegal to keep someone's card details on file - you can take them for a transaction and use them and then they should be lost. Maybe I'm wrong but if it's not illegal it is certainly risky

and what kind of supplier acts like them - how do they afford to stay in business? It looks like you are kind of stuck with the problem for now. What does your contract say about this stuff? maybe you should add a clause limiting your exposure on defaulted payments and insisting that all vendors get their act together before the wedding, not when the bride is maxed-out and on a honeymoon they have killed themselves to afford.

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Permalink Reply by Erin Daniels Holme on November 23, 2010 at 10:50am

Thanks all for your responses.

What I decided to do was organize a call between myself, the vendor and the bride. I laid out all of the facts/details for both parties and then got off of the call for them to resolve the situation on their own. The contract was between the vendor and the bride and I could no longer continue fielding calls and emails from either.

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Permalink Reply by georgeth on September 23, 2011 at 10:12pm

I think is just a week before should complete the wedding requirement job.For starting a planning a wedding should plan before 2 or 3 months from the wedding ceremony dates.Plan the wedding with some help like well wisher or wedding planner.If any one wants help to plan a wedding,they may use the wedding app and get gain from it.