As a wedding planner you will be called upon by many brides to help them understand the fine print on vendor contracts and to explain fees. If you don’t have much experience in these areas yourself, you may want to get a copy of the July/August 2011 issue to Bridal Guide magazine to start learning some of the basics. In their article, “Hidden Costs, What You Need to Know,” they briefly explain fees and contracts. The article is written for brides but if you are new, you will also benefit from the tips offered by professionals.

Here are 5 of the highlights:

1) Look for phrases such as “additional costs may be incurred” and “plus the cost of setup and delivery”

Always ask vendors how much these costs are and when and if they will apply to your bride’s wedding. Don’t forget to ask that the price they quote include services charges and taxes.

2) Find out about permit fees

Your bride might be responsible for permit fees if she has her wedding outdoors in a public space. Or, if decorations at an indoor venue include candles, your bride may need to get a fire permit. Check with your local government for information for outdoor space and ask venues about any permits the bride might need to purchase if she has lit candles. (Some venues do not even allow open flames.)

3) Ask caterers what is included in their prices

It may sound easy to have the caterer bring their linens, flatware, glassware and china but be aware that their rentals may be billed separately. When they present an estimate to your bride, find out if it includes all of the rental items.

Also, if the caterer is providing bar service, ask how the drinks will be billed, per drink or per person. A crowd of heavy drinkers could skyrocket the cost of per drink service.

If the bride is supplying her own alcoholic beverages, she will incur corkage fees.

4) Check cake-cutting fees

If your bride is not using her venue’s in-house caterer for her wedding cake, she may be incurring heavy cake-cutting costs. Ask how much this is and how the fee is calculated. Some venues base their fee on the intricacy of the decoration, the more elaborate, the more expensive it is to cut the cake.

5) Get detailed quotes from musicians and DJs

Find out how much wedding packages are and what they include - number of hours, breaks, taxes and gratuities, etc. Also ask what the charges are if there is a need to extend their hours beyond the time listed in the packages.

As you work with more brides and get to know more vendors, you will become a pro at understanding fees and contracts. However, no matter how much experience you have, don’t forget to read contracts, they are different for every vendor and when you are planning a wedding for a bride, you don’t want any surprises.

One of my favorite bridal shows is the San Francisco Wedding Fair which was held today, January 16, 2011, at the Four Seasons Hotel. I thought you might enjoy seeing photographs of some of the displays and vendor booths from this year’s event.

Above is an ice sculpture centerpiece and four cakes, each represetning one of the four seasons, made by the pastry chef of the hotel.

Floramor Studios provided tablescapes representing each of the four seasons and displayed their bouquet designs.

 Spring

 Summer

 Fall

Winter

Wedding bouquets by Floramor.

More floral design, Micheal Daigian Designs ( good idea – large  LCD screen in booth showcasing their designs at events).

This was a striking all-white theme design by Hartmann Studios.

Wedding cupcakes by Sibby’s Cupcakes.

Wedding cupcakes by Kara’s Cupcakes, the top tier is a 6-inch cake. They rent their tiered platters to hold the cupcakes when a bride places on order.

Wedding cake by Montclair Bakery (this yellow cakes was a favorite among attendees visiting their booth).

Wedding invitation display by Lisa Takao Paper Couture.

There were a number of wedding photographers present at the event including Karl Ko Photography.

Wedding gowns were by Jin Wang Designs.

As a wedding planner, you do not work alone. You need the help of other vendors to create the weddings your brides dream of having. Your network of highly-skilled vendors is one of the biggest assests of your business and as such, you need to make sure you develop and nurture your relationships.

Here are 5 key points to remember when choosing and working with other wedding vendors:

1) Get to know them before you include them in your network

People will often tell you,”I know a good caterer.” “I have a cousin who is a florist.” Don’t recommend or use anyone who you have not spoken to and gotten to know their work. You will need to make sure you can work well with them and that they are a good fit for the brides in your niche.

2) Avoid  accepting kickbacks

Some vendors will offer you money or a percentage of a client’s bill when you give them a referral. You only want the best for your brides so only refer high-quality vendors and ask that they take the amount they are offering and deduct it from your bride’s bill.

3) Keep them up-to-date during the planning process

Always let vendors know immediately of any changes that are taking place during the wedding planning that might impact the services they are providing.

4) Be a good leader

You need to provide vendors with leadership and direction but you don’t need to do their jobs for them. Allow them to do what they do best.

5) Remember, the goal is a happy bride and a fabulous wedding

If you feel you aren’t getting the information you need from a vendor or if problems occur between other vendors, handle the situation promptly. Keep everyone focused on the goal of giving the bride and groom a wonderful day and never let the couple know of any behind-the-scenes drama.

After a wedding, phone the vendors and thank them for their hard work. If necessary, discuss how things might be done differently.

Recently become a wedding planner and not too savvy yet about helping your brides have the bridal bouquets they want without breaking the bank? The October 2010 issue of Brides magazine has a guide to bouquets that will give you budget tips that you can share when shopping with your brides. Here are a five of them:

1) Suggest the bride ask the florist to make the bouquet with flowers that are in season and locally available. Shipping flowers in from overseas can be very pricey.

2) Limit the variety of flowers. The florist needs to buy bunches of every type of flower the bride wants so she could be paying for blooms she may not need.

3) Limit or skip the glitz. Bouquet jewelry, crystals and feathers will add to the cost of her bouquet.

4) Stick to a simple design to keep labor costs low. Any arrangement that requires extensive hand-wiring, usually for delicate flowers like lily-of-the-valley, will be expensive.

5) Use more foliage that blossoms. Greenery will help keep costs down.

It’s helpful for a bride to bring photos from magazines so florists know what she is looking for, but make sure she understands that magazines often feature very expensive arrangements. Ask her to be flexible if she needs to stick to her budget. 

If they lieve in a good climate, brides like to get married outdoors in the early Fall. Southern California Meetings and Events magazine interviewed some top wedding vendors and gathered tips that will help you make outdoor weddings go smoothly.

Tips From Caterers

• Know the budget and the location before meeting with them (this is true of any wedding).
• Have a designated area for the catering staff to work.
• Think about proper shade for the food when designing the floorplan.
• Tell them in advance about the logistics of the site, such as where to park when they arrive at the location and where to get running water.
• Designate a member of your staff to be their contact person during the day. They often have questions and find wedding planners are too busy with other details to assist them.

From Tent Rental Companies

• Do research before you and the bride meet with them and basically know what type of tent the bride needs and wants.
• Make sure you have the proper permits, if necessary.
• Know if the tent area is asphalt, concrete or dirt and find out in advance if stakes can be driven into the ground.
• Make sure you plan a reasonable timeline for setup and tear-down. Other vendors cannot set up until and tent is finished and the tent cannot be taken down until all guests and vendors have left the area.

From Parking Valets

• Hire a responsible company with good insurance.
• Let them know of any parking concerns you have about the area.
• Ask them to arrive at least 45 minutes before the wedding to accommodate guests who arrive early.
• Let them know if there are big changes in guest numbers.

From Audio/Visual Technicians

• Get them involved early in the planning process.
• Plan to meet them on site for a walk-thru before the wedding.
• Explain any concerns you have about weather, getting electricity to the right places, neighbors complaining about noise, etc.

Outdoor weddings can be a challenge, do your research, pay close attentions to every detail and work closely with your wedding vendors.

As a wedding planner you may be asked to help a bride select a caterer and a wedding day menu. Here are tips from top caterers from the September/October issue of Bridal Guide magazine.

1) Your bride should find a caterer who specializes in the type of food that she and her fiance enjoy

2) The couple should chose food that they love that would also appeal to their guests

3) A good rule is to stay away from basic things people don’t like and may be allergic to like garlic, onions, heavy sauces, spinach or another greens that easily stick to teeth. (I would also add that it is best to avoid things that can get stuck between teeth like sesame seeds and poppy seeds.)

4) Select a menu that has fresh ingredients that are in season and locally grown for the best taste and the best value

5) The desserts should not undermine the wedding cake and should add a level of surprise to the wedding reception. Caterers and planners have set up candy bars, macaroon bars, ice cream sundae bars and even a fire pits for camp-style s’mores. One planner brought in an ice cream truck. 

6) The bride and groom should set a budget before meeting with caterers then tell them what it is so caterers can recommend the best menu for their money.

7) Find out what is included in an estimate. It might be only the food or it can also include wait staff, linens, china, flatware, glasses, taxes and gratuities. When the bride gets the contract, all of this information should be listed on it.

You might want to pick up a copy of Bridal Guide for more information from top caterers.

I received a question through my LinkedIn account from a vendor who offers services for a variety of events. They want to to pick up additional business and increase their visibility in the area of weddings. These are some of the tips I gave to them.

Here are 8 ways to increase visibility to brides:

1) Dedicate someone on your staff to handle the wedding side of your business

Working with weddings is very specialized, you need someone educated in the wedding business to be on your staff who can speak the language of weddings. They need to be able to talk to brides and others in the wedding industry.

2) Put the name and photo of your wedding specialist in your online and offline marketing

Brides like a personal touch and want to be able to connect with you on a personal level, not as a company.

3) Have a separate website just to showcase you wedding services and products

It is best to keep your wedding services information totally separate from your other types of business. However, if this is not possible, I mention some alternatives.

4) Put a button on your home page that links to your page on weddings

If weddings are just one of a number of different services you offer, it will be lost on your navigation menu. In order to emphasize it, add a button on your home page that readers can click on to go straight to your wedding information.

5) Do some keyword research for your website

Make sure you have the correct title tag and meta tags for your wedding pages for good search engine optimization.

6) Information about the services you offer for weddings should include benefits

Don’t just have a list of the features of your services in your marketing materials, tell brides why using your services would be of benefit to them.

7) Make videos about your wedding services

Post them on your site and on YouTube, the second most popular search site. (Google is number one.)

8 ) Attend and/or exhibit at bridal fairs

You will meet some brides and other wedding vendors with whom you might be able to exchange referrals.

I received an email from a wedding planner who just got hired by a bride who is in the state next to hers. Great! However, she was stressed because although she planned to handle weddings in that area in the near future, she had not yet built a large network of vendors in any other area but her own.

Here are 7 ideas for expanding your vendor network into another geographic area:

1. Find out if any of the vendors in your network will work outside of the area and, if so, how much they charge
2. If the vendors do not work outside the area, ask if they have vendors in their network who are in the distant area whom they would recommend
3. If you are a member of any bridal consultant, wedding planner or event planner organizations, check the list of vendor members and talk with them
4. If the bride has already chosen her venue, check to see if the venue has a preferred vendor list
5. Check the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and Chamber of Commerce for members who might be good vendor partners
6. Ask family members or friends if they can refer names of vendors they know in the distant city
7. Check local wedding magazines and websites for vendors you can meet and visit

Always interview and check references of vendors before you refer them to brides. If you find it impossible to do an excellent job planning a wedding in another state, find a wedding planner whom you know does excellent work and pass the client onto her or him. If you don’t know anyone, a wedding planner or bridal consultant association can refer you to top wedding planner members in other areas.

The Spring 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine has an excellent article on selecting rental items for wedding receptions that will not only be a help to you but also your bride. The article, “Luxe On Loan”, was written by Matthew Robbins of Matthew Robbins Design and if you don’t have a copy of the magazine,  it also posted on the Martha Stewart Weddings website.

As a wedding planner, what you need to do before taking your bride to a party rental company is to visit there first. In fact, get to know a few party rental companies in your area and learn the quality of their items and their customer service before you recommend any of them. You will find that the some rental companies keep their items in immaculate condition, always have or have access to the latest in china, linen and chair covers that your brides could possible want, give excellent suggestions and always deliver on time. But there are also others whose items look well-used or only offer the most basic items or whose customer service could use improvement. So take the time to meet and network with the vendors.

If you don’t have access locally to a variety of vendors, there are many companies who are willing to ship items, especially linens, to you. BBJ Linen and Creative Coverings, vendors who often exhibit at conferences for wedding and event planners, are two that are up on the latest trends, have excellent websites with ideas for you and your brides and offer good customer service. Of course, do your research before doing any online rental.

Last month I mentioned I met a vendor, Unveiled, who sells wedding favors, gifts and accessories. Today I had the pleasure of having coffee with the owner, Sally Otsuka, and Cheryl Bethe and I got the opportunity to look closely at many of the items in their store and learn what is popular with brides.

I know you, like many wedding planners, may sell your own line of wedding accessories but you still might want to refer their site to your clients for items that you don’t carry. Sally and Cheryl visit gift shows around the country to bring back unusual and delightful things to fill their shop and online store. They also create some products of their own.

Brides love their table name cards, table number cards, place cards, menu cards, favor tags and programs, all of which they customize for each wedding.

Also popular are gifts they created that are almost exclusive to their store, “Her Floral Highness” gift box for the flower girl and the “Ring Protection Agent” gift box for the for the ring bearer.

Check out their online store, or visit their shop in Walnut Creek, California, when you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, to see their entire line of products.