MONEY MORAL DILEMMA: Should Monica and Chandler not pay their wedding planner?

dale151549

As an ex wedding planner, I would not be contracted to do the flowers or the catering it is down to the individual contracts provided by the florist and the caterer etc.

There would be only so much a wedding planner can do other than make the flowers herself and cook the food herself which she is not under contract for.

Some venues well alot actually do not like "outsiders" coming in to their establishments and therefore often refuse to work with the planner of which I have experienced many times so requests for the food to be served hot or quicker etc goes by the way side.

I have even took meals back to have them warmed back up or a new plate to be served etc. I have gone and collected flowers myself and done all the running around which is not in my contract with the couple so I did not have to do it but did it because you want a couple's day to run as smoothly as possible. Nearly all of the time the couple will not know that the florist, caterer, transport company did not come through until way after the wedding as you don't want the bride and groom to be worried on their day.

It is not the wedding planners fault and the couple should not refuse to pay the wedding planner they should refuse to pay the florist and the hotel/catering company and any way any couple with half a brain between the will have paid for wedding insurance which means they can make a claim off that.:j

Terry_D

In a couple of weeks time my wife and I will be celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary. We had a registry wedding with 6 family/friends and back to our place for a finger buffet before jetting off to Canaries for honeymoon. Excluding the last bit I doubt the day cost more than twenty quid. I just do not understand why people spend so much on weddings - it certainly doesn't guarantee long term happiness.

CL

If her job was to organise these things and make sure everything was perfect, she obviously hasn't done her job.

I wouldn't pay her a penny, in fact I'd take her to the small claims court for ruining my wedding day.

pineapple

It may not be the wedding planners fault, but if they are contracted to provide a service and it hasn't happened, I would say, unfortunately, the planner is the initial fall guy. Presumably the planner has contracted with the other suppliers so he/she would have to take it up with them.
In the meantime I would pay the planner a percentage of the fee to reflect the service received.. I always thought it was better to show willing and pay at least something. And if you did this, you were less likely to receive a claim. I did this with a plumber a couple of years back and have had no come back.

NJD001

Whilst this is hypothetical, it does illustrate what this country is coming to.
Most reasonable people would surely negotiate some sort of discount in a situation like this.
Whilst things have gone wrong, you cannot expect this person to provide their services at a loss. It is surely down to the responsibility of the couple to ensure as best they can that they are dealing with a reputable person if they consider it so important. Would they not get references from previous clients?
Sadly it seems that most people are quite happy to get a freebie regardless of the implications to the service provider. I have to also say that sites like this, whilst beneficial in lots of ways to most of us are also damaging in respect of ridiculous surveys like this one.

Muffcat

Terry_D wrote: »

In a couple of weeks time my wife and I will be celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary. We had a registry wedding with 6 family/friends and back to our place for a finger buffet before jetting off to Canaries for honeymoon. Excluding the last bit I doubt the day cost more than twenty quid. I just do not understand why people spend so much on weddings - it certainly doesn't guarantee long term happiness.

Well said, Terry D, although you are just a beginner! In two months time we shall be celebrating our 50th anniversary. We had a Church wedding with all the usual trimmings, but the only wedding planners were me and my mother. It really isn't that difficult or expensive if you are prepared to put in some effort yourself.
I thought times were supposed to be hard, especially for young people, and the thought of spending hundreds of pounds for someone to organise your wedding is just extraordinary. Get your priorities right!

MissLead

dale151549 wrote: »

As an ex wedding planner, I would not be contracted to do the flowers or the catering it is down to the individual contracts provided by the florist and the caterer etc.

There would be only so much a wedding planner can do other than make the flowers herself and cook the food herself which she is not under contract for.

Some venues well alot actually do not like "outsiders" coming in to their establishments and therefore often refuse to work with the planner of which I have experienced many times so requests for the food to be served hot or quicker etc goes by the way side.

I have even took meals back to have them warmed back up or a new plate to be served etc. I have gone and collected flowers myself and done all the running around which is not in my contract with the couple so I did not have to do it but did it because you want a couple's day to run as smoothly as possible. Nearly all of the time the couple will not know that the florist, caterer, transport company did not come through until way after the wedding as you don't want the bride and groom to be worried on their day.

It is not the wedding planners fault and the couple should not refuse to pay the wedding planner they should refuse to pay the florist and the hotel/catering company and any way any couple with half a brain between the will have paid for wedding insurance which means they can make a claim off that.:j

Surely the wedding planner is the one who contracted the services which went wrong? i.e., the couple used a florist and caterer recommended by the planner. Morally, the planner should not expect to be paid when it all goes pear shaped and I'm afraid your last point about the couple taking out Wedding Insurance would rather suggest that the couple should spend hard earned money on buying insurance so that the Planner can avoid any comeback whatsoever! That is called passing the buck! Wedding insurance should only cover items which are beyond anyones making, i.e. WEATHER! Perhaps the couple hired a professional who would carry out their function, rather than rely on insurance payouts to pay for what goes wrong, i.e. they hired a planner rather than pay for an insurance policy!. Ultimately the costs of claims is paid by all of us and certainly not specifically by wedding planners. Hmmmm, perhaps that should be a Wedding Insurance stipulation - that when the couple have hired a planner then specific responsibility should fall on the planner!
The very very least she should have done was to obtain refunds from the offending suppliers! For her to simply say that she could have had a contract with a different couple is ridiculous!

minnehaha_2

It's a few years back, but when a friend got married I reckon she spent £300 tops - a friend made her dress and cake and I believe hubby to be, stretched to buying a new tie.

Admittedly, her parents paid for the afternoon reception as their wedding present to the couple (sit down for about 40 folk - say a grand) but the total was still far less than the average spend at the time. (We all just piled into the local hostelry for the evening 'do'.)

WHY oh WHY when financial pressures are so often the death knell for relationships, do folk self-inflict such harm right at the very start of their life together - all for show and keeping up with the Joneses.

olliedog

They should take her to the small claims court and sue her for the upset she caused them for spoining their wedding day. They will (hopefully) never have another wedding.

montecarlolou

:T

JayD wrote: »

You don't pay for a bad job and you certainly don't pay for a job that wasn't done!

The idea of a wedding planner is to leave all that in the hands of someone else who you trust will have sufficient experience and reliable contacts to make your day run smoothly.

She failed - so she doesn't get paid.

As all those suppliers let the wedding planner down, she should then be reclaiming her loss from them.

Well done JayD, succinctly put.