The following post is a guest blog from our friends at Bridal Creations by Essex Florist and Greenhouses!
- Every Contract Should Be Clear and Itemized Regardless of the service you are contracting for, you should expect the contract to be clear, legible, detailed, and complete. Your caterer’s contract should list all services provided, and specifically what types of food, how much, and what brands will be served. Your wedding flower contract should list the kind of bouquets, corsages, and centerpieces you have ordered. It should list the specific kinds of flowers that will be in each design. Avoid contracts that use a lot of flowery language like “a bridal bouquet with lush white blooms, bright greens, and grey accents”. That description could be anything. You might be expecting roses, and end up with carnations!
- Charges for Services Should Make Common Sense In general, a caterer will charge based on the number of guests that will be attending your wedding. When determining food expense, that approach is reasonable. However, if you are being charged per person for an ice sculpture, that does not make sense. Also, make sure you are not double paying for the same service. If you are paying your caterer to set your reception, do not pay the florist to do the same set up. Unless you need specific on sight service that only the florist can provide, the caterer should be able to put centerpieces in place.
- You Should Expect that All Terms Must Be in Writing This includes terms for payment, changes, cancellation, and even natural disaster plans. With respect to payment, make sure you understand how and when the vender expects to be paid. Make sure you can make changes to your contract. All vendors will have a cut-off date for changes, but you should never book with a vendor that will not allow you to make changes, especially ones that downsize your event.
- You Should Expect that Every Contract Has a Cancellation Policy Make sure every contract has a cancellation policy, it should be in writing, and you should understand how it works! Sometimes things happen in life. While you may not be able to conceive of a reason why your wedding might have to be cancelled or postponed, this does happen. If a vendor is unwilling to commit to a cancellation policy, go elsewhere.
- You Should Expect that Every Contract has a Natural Disaster Plan Finally, if you are getting married in an outside venue, make sure there is a plan in the contract that addresses what would occur if a major weather event occurs. Not every outside venue has an indoor option. Further, in the event of say a blizzard or major hurricane, that would cause your event to be cancelled, you need to understand how each vendor would handle this circumstance.
There are a lot of details to consider when planning your wedding. If you want to enjoy the fun of planning, without the headache of reading every contract, consider a certified wedding planner.
Affairs Extraordinaire by Marta comes to you with over 30 years of experience in the planning and coordinating of weddings and parties. If you would like to schedule a consultation with Marta follow this link or call 410-812-7978.
