Confessions of wedding suppliers! | Wedding planning secrets

Published 16 October 2024

Wedding suppliers have a not-so-secret network. We talk to each other privately, behind the scenes. We discuss all sorts of wedding planning and organising issues, from the latest scams (yes – there are wedding scams!) to wedding trends and opportunities. Occasionally suppliers will share some of the unbelievable things clients have said to them. We all need to sound off sometimes! If you’re planning your wedding – either a diy wedding or with a wedding planner – you might like to see some examples … in case you’re tempted to say something similar!

Haggling during your wedding planning

‘Is that the cheapest you can do it?’ Most suppliers take pride in offering great value and work hard to deliver excellent service. We appreciate it’s your big day and want everything to be 100% spot on for you. If we could offer a cheaper price we would. Please don’t ask up to cut corners to save a few pounds.

‘I’ll send the booking fee/form/confirmation over later.’ If you say you’ll do this, then please do it! And if you’ve changed your mind please tell your supplier.

‘How can you charge £1,500 for one day?’ This is such a common question! In reality, it’s way more than one day of time. The day itself could be 15 hours, and there always so much preparation time involved before your wedding, plus usually time needed afterwards. The time really does add up! The charge isn’t in place to be unfair; it’s a reflection of the time and cost involved from start to finish to ensure everything is in place and seamless on the day.

‘Can you not just give us that free? You already have to be there anyway.’ Rude.

Real questions about wedding ideas!

‘I want to do something really unique that I’ve seen on Pinterest/Instagram.’ If an idea has come from an internet post, it isn’t unique. We’ve probably already done it. It would be great to discuss how we can tailor it to fit your wedding plans.

‘Can you decorate my venue with everything I’ve bought from Amazon/eBay/Card Craft?’ Wedding venue decorators get very peeved when people pick their brains so they can bypass the supplier and create their own DIY wedding decorations. If you’re feeling crafty, that’s great! But it’s unfair to tap into the professionals’ skills for free.

‘As we’re on honeymoon, do you think we can get a free upgrade?’ Travel agents constantly hear this question. The answer is usually “no”.

‘Can you play something we can dance to?’ This is annoying for DJs, especially when the dancefloor is full or just because you don’t like what is being played. It’s their job to keep the dancefloor busy and read your guests’ preferences. They know what they’re doing!

‘No one really eats the cake so it’s just for decoration.’ That’s simply not true – and no baker wants to hear that comment. How about having your cake as your dessert? If you choose this idea, your cake must be cut up nice and early so people stand a chance of trying it before the end of the night.

‘I’d like flowers everywhere….20 table arrangements, 10 bridesmaids, an archway, hanging foliage hoops, my budget is £400.’ The short answer is “no”. It’s great to get wedding inspiration from Pinterest but those displays have cost a fortune. An archway involves £600 worth of flowers and time. And that’s before your florist has costed “flowers everywhere”.

‘Could you start shooting at 8am? First dance is 8pm then at 11.30pm we’re having fireworks so can you stay for that?  Then the sparkler exit at 1am – would that be classed as overtime?’ You’re asking your photographer to work for 17 hours plus driving. When was the last time you worked a 15+ hour day?

The nitty gritty of wedding planning

When you schedule a meeting turn up for it, and if you have a legitimate reason for running late/cancelling let the supplier know. Just deciding not to bother turning up is rude and someone else may have missed out on an appointment because of you.

Linked to the above, if you’ve been sent reminders about meetings or with requests for updates, please don’t ignore them, even a quick ‘thanks working on it’ text or email will put minds at rest.

Of course, you’ll have lots of questions about planning your wedding and all the exciting details, and you’re probably hoping for an immediate response. Remember that your wedding planner may have other meetings during the day, or be at another couples wedding, or be sleeping at 2am! They will reply when they can.

Across the whole range of wedding suppliers, there’s a common misunderstanding we all face: clients simply don’t appreciate the amount of time and effort that goes into their special day. There’s so much that needs to be done behind the scenes! Some couples cringe at the prices they see for services. Understandably, they want to know how those prices are arrived at. Most suppliers spend hours before and sometimes after your big day getting things just right.

We all love what we do and want our contribution to your wedding to be exactly what you wanted and your day to go without a hitch (other than yours, of course!). So please spare a thought for your suppliers’ time and expertise. Empathise. We really are on your side X