Wedding Planning Tips (fourth of a series)

Florists' contracts might have less information that others. Photo by Happy Buddy PhotoArt.

Every wedding planner has a calendar or timeline laying out the important steps necessary to plan a wedding and reception. The timeline is an important part of planning your wedding, but there are other equally important things to think about in order to have the wedding you really want. Here is one more of them:

Remember when hiring vendors that this is a business proposition, and deal with them in a business-like manner. Never, ever give any vendor a down payment until you have a written contract and until you understand and agree with everything in the contract. A contract should contain, at a minimum, the vendor’s name, business address, and telephone number; an itemized list of services the vendor will supply and dates and times the services will be provided; and the cost for those services and when payment is due. Some smaller businesses, especially busy ones like florists and bakeries, sometimes have minimal information on their contracts. Feel free to hand write missing information on the contract they give you, and get them to initial it. You should also initial any changes. Contracts are also negotiable. You will not be able to negotiate everything you want into a contract, but if there is something important you want, try to get it included. Or if there is a clause you can’t live with, you can try to negotiate it out.