Wedding Contracts For Wedding Planners

A lot can happen: Don't pay for all your wedding planning upfront

After Susan Krista  signed a contract with My Beachside Wedding for her daughter’s wedding on Amelia Island, the family decided instead to have the wedding on a beach in Virginia.

That’s when it got messy.

Krista had paid $764 in advance for the wedding planner’s services. She figured she was out the $100 nonrefundable deposit but expected to get back the rest because the family had canceled seven months prior to the wedding date.

In January, My Beachside Wedding’s owner sent an email saying the business had processed a $799 refund check and mailed it to her, according to email records kept by Krista. (It’s not clear why the check would have been for $799, but that is the dollar amount in the email.) That check never came. In March, another email from My Beachside Wedding said the business had determined the refund would be just $165.

My Beachside Wedding arrived at the smaller refund after deducting the $100 deposit, $82 for its owner to drive to Amelia Island for a meeting with Krista’s daughter about the wedding, $125 for a one-hour consultation, another $125 for an hour of wedding planning via emails and phone calls, and $166 to buy “faux palm trees” for the wedding. Krista said her daughter didn’t order the palm trees and the business provided no paperwork such as an invoice. She said the other deductions from the refund were unacceptable.

“It’s so out in left field,” Krista said. “That’s when I got totally ticked off.”

My Beachside Wedding owner Jennifer Richards could not be reached for comment. She returned one of my calls by leaving a voice mail message saying she would be interested in talking about Krista’s complaints. But she did not return subsequent email messages requesting an interview. The business’s phone number did not allow callers to leave messages.

Krista, who started a Facebook group objecting to My Beachside Wedding, isn’t alone in lodging complaints. In the past year, the Better Business Bureau in Jacksonville has closed 10 complaints against the Middleburg-based company and is still reviewing four more complaints, said Tom Stephens,  president of the BBB chapter.

He said the number of complaints is high for that type of business. My Beachside Wedding never responded to the bureau’s attempts to resolve the problems, he said.

He said customers were frustrated when they repeatedly couldn’t reach Richards, including at critical times on their wedding days. Other complaints centered on not getting services they expected and not getting requested refunds, Stephens said.

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As a Wedding Planner Institute of Canada (WPIC) Certified Professional Wedding Consultant and Coordinator we not only take our role and commitment to you very seriously in ensuring that your weddings in the Bahamas is everything you expect it to be but also committed to ensuring that our services conform to the “Code of Ethics” expected of WPIC Alumni.

 

WPIC Code of Ethics: We do not accept kickbacks (money for referrals) from vendors. Vendors must know that the clients are the recipients of any discounts given. We treat each client fairly, and we will be honest and upfront in the representation of our clients. We uphold our ethics. We will not take or attempt to take clients from, or discredit, other vendors with gossip or slander. Every client will receive a detailed contract for Wedding Day Coordination or Full Wedding Coordination services. We will provide all services agreed upon in the contract that must be signed by both the client and Coordinator at the commencement of service. We believe in continuous education, networking and training within the Wedding Industry. Our pricing is upfront and industry comparable. We will make every effort to return calls and emails in a timely manner. (Within 48 hrs.) We always endeavour to benefit our client and not ourselves. Vendors are suggested on merit, in the best interests of the client, not ourselves or the vendor suggested. We cannot guarantee your wedding will be perfect, but we can guarantee we will do everything within our power to make sure it is as close to perfection as it can be. Wedding Services Island Nuptial Sweet Beginnings (Consultation)

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