Beware of the Double Dipping Wedding Planner

I came to the realization that this is an ongoing problem that tarnishes the reputations of great wedding planners everywhere – Wedding Planners who charge a fee to their clients and inflate the prices of their vendors to receive a commission, aka a kick back. These wedding planners are not looking out for your best interests and they are NOT thinking about saving you money. It is my hope that I can help you filter through the nonsense to get to the wedding planner who has your best interest in mind, so here are a few tips to keep in mind to help you make a wise decision when choosing your wedding planner:

Be direct and ask during the initial consultation how your wedding planner gets paid for their services. The most common are flat fees for services and percentages of the overall budget. There are some wedding planners who will not take a fee from you because they do receive a commission from the vendors they represent. However, the latter should never charge you a fee for finding the vendors that are also paying them to sell their services to you. That’s double dipping.

Ask what associations your prospective wedding planner is a member of. Some of the most recognized associations, such as the Association of Bridal Consultants, discourages the practice of double dipping and will cancel any vendor’s membership if found to be doing so. Ask to see their membership certificates and don’t hesitate to contact the association to verify whether or not they’re in good standing or even a member at all.

Wedding planners, planning agencies and some venues receive payment to list their preferred vendors on their websites. This doesn’t mean that the quality of their work is poor but it doesn’t guarantee that the vendor is preferred based on their work. Be sure to ask the vendor what their relationship is with the wedding planner/venue and if they’ve worked together before. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading this article. If you need personal, professional assistance with planning your wedding, feel free to contact me at info@stylishweddingsandthings.com. Don't forget to join our email list to keep up to date on the happenings with Stylish Weddings & Things and to receive a free wedding report to help you with your wedding planning.

A Stylish Wedding Awaits you! 

Your Friend and Wedding Planner,

Sherries

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Sherries Pritchard CEO & President is the founding member of Stylish Weddings & Things, LLC as well as the Executive Planner and main writer to the & More Things Blog. With a specialty in planning weddings with below average wedding budgets, she strives to provide helpful and inspirational content that is current, relevant, and budget friendly. Stylish Weddings & Things is a boutique wedding planning and management company based in Pompton Lakes, NJ, serving the NJ tri-state area. For questions, please visit www.stylishweddingsandthings.com or contact Sherries Pritchard at info@stylishweddingsandthings.com or (862)248-2555.