As a wedding planner, you’ll want to share with your brides that it is the unexpected expenses that can add up and throw their wedding budget off course.

The current, January 2012, issue of Brides Magazine has a wedding budget guide that includes a list of surprise expenses that you should  share with your brides.

Here are 7 “surprise” expenses from both the article and my experience, that you’ll want your brides to be prepared for:

1) Tips

The limo driver, hairstylist, manicurist, delivery people, waiters, bartender, band or DJ and anyone else who provides services should receive tips. Many times you will also get one from your brides.

2) Taxes

Most vendors will tell your brides the price of their products or services and say they are “plus tax.” Unfortunately, many brides don’t calculate how much that tax could actually be. Remind your brides that sales tax applies on almost everything, both products and services, and should be included in their budgets. (You may also need to be charging tax for your services, check the sales tax rules in your state.)

3) Additional postage fees

If your bride selects an invitation that is bulky or has a square or over-sized envelope, she will need to pay more than the normal cost of first class postage to mail it. Add to that the stamps for the RSVPs and postage could add up to be a hefty sum.

4) Alterations

Wedding dresses usually need alterations to fit perfectly. When a bride sets her dress budget she should include enough for alterations, which can be expensive if she wants or needs a lot of changes made to her dress.

5) Corkage and cake-cutting fees

Many brides don’t know that if they provide their own wine, the caterer will charge a corkage fee for pouring it. If they use a baker who isn’t affiliated with the caterer, they will be charged a cutting fee for the service.

6) Cosmetic dentistry

Brides want their smiles to look their best for their wedding photos so they invest in professional teeth whitening or veneers or they get their teeth straightened or fill in gaps and cracks. If this is something a bride is considering, she needs to add this to her wedding budget.

7) Change charges

If a bride has trouble making up her mind and makes changes to her contracts with vendors, they may charge her to do it. She should not make deposits or sign contracts until she is ready to make commitments.

If she asks you to spend unanticipated time on her wedding because she has made changes to your duties, be sure you let her know of additional charges right away, so your bill is not a surprise.

As a wedding planner there will be many times when you will make appointments with potential clients and new vendors whom you have only “met” via email, the Internet, or a phone call. You will also find yourself running errands at different times of the day and night in unfamiliar areas in order to do business. While most people you meet with are good and most places you will visit are perfectly fine, it doesn’t hurt to take the steps necessary to keep yourself safe at all times.

Here are 5 tips for staying safe:

1) When meeting a bride or any potential client for the first time, do it in a public place

Don’t invite strangers to your home office and don’t agree to meet in theirs. Arrange to meet at a potential wedding venue or other public place that allows you to be seen by other people but also has a quiet place for you to talk privately.

If you have an office, make sure you are not the only one in the building. If you must meet after hours, ask someone to join you and wait in a nearby room so you are not alone.

2) Tell someone your schedule

Before you head out the door, let your assistant or family member know where you are going and how long you might be gone. Check in with them if meetings or errands take longer than you thought they would.

3) Prepare your car for your busy schedule

Keep you car in good repair and always have plenty of gas in your tank so you don’t have to stop at a gas station in an unfamiliar area.

Use a GPS to guide you when you drive or check directions before you head out so you don’t get lost.

Keep an emergency kit in your car that includes a pair of walking shoes, in case you need them. 

4) Carry a fully charged cell phone

Almost everyone has a cell phone but not everyone keeps theirs charged and ready to use, be sure you do. You need it not only to keep in touch with brides and vendors while you are on the road (of course, don’t text or talk while driving), you also need it for emergencies. Invest in a charger that plugs into your car’s cigarette lighter if you spend a great deal of time on the road.

5) Resist the urge to broadcast your whereabouts

Don’t go on Twitter and tell everyone where you will be and when you will be there. You could be putting not only your personal safety at risk, but also the safety of your family and personal property, if the information is seen by the wrong person.

Be safe!

Celebrity wedding planner Diann Valentine believes in doing everything in a big way. On her current WEtv show, “I Do Over,” she gives couples, who have had disastrous weddings, second weddings that are beyond their wildest dreams.

The ideas that she and her team execute, although perhaps more extravagant that what you might do for your brides and grooms, will give you ideas that will help you make your couples’ weddings more memorable.

In a recent episode, Diann redid the wedding of a couple whose February 2010 outdoor tented wedding in Southern California had been ripped apart by the rain and winds of a tsunami. At their first wedding they had planned a sweet dreams candy bar but because of the weather, it never got set up.

Staying true to her belief  “go big or go home,” Diann, with the help of her sponsor, celebrations.com, created an entire candy environment. The candyland lounge (see photo above with Cheryl Dent, the designer) had jars filled with 200 pounds of assorted candies, platters of cupcakes and other baked sweets, and bowls of candied popcorn. Guests could fill bags with candy to take home with them.

While your bride may not need to fill a room with 200 pounds of sweets, think beyond just a table of candy. Design, or work with an event designer to design, a fun, visual experience for guests. You can select candy that follows the color palette of the wedding. Or, do a retro candy table and fill it with candy from the 50’s or 60’s, you can find companies on the Internet that sell candy from different eras. A visual tip from the show, Diann’s staff unwrapped the individual pieces of candy so they were easy to see in the displays.

Can a wedding design go wrong  after selecting a theme? Yes, definitely, as celebrity wedding planner, David Tutera, saw when he met his “My Fair Wedding”  bride who had plans for a Tuscany, Italy and wine themed wedding.

The bride and her mother had been to Tuscany and loved the land, wine and the rustic feeling of the area. They attempted to recreate it in their wedding design and had purchased items in ivory, gold, fuchsia and mandarin orange and put the bridesmaids in mango/orange ruffled dresses.  David saw that they were headed in the wrong direction – the fuchsia and orange colors were not Tuscan. He was further convinced they were veering too far from their theme when he saw the venue, it was a beautiful country club, but it didn’t at all look like Tuscany.

(Tip- do your homework. David had been to Tuscany and was familiar with the colors and ambiance of the area. If the bride has selected a theme which you are not familiar with, take the time to learn all you can so you can help make the theme authentic.)

David changed the bridesmaids out of their mandarin orange dresses and into merlot/pinot noir-colored fitted strapless dresses from Anna Elyse Bridesmaids.

To give the wedding the real Tuscan feeling the bride had wanted, David changed the venue to the Church Estates Vineyards, which has been the scene of many celebrity weddings, including Black Eyed Peas singer, Fergie and singer Natasha Bedingfield, and he had also used it last year for his Butterfly Bride.

(Tip – help the bride keep the theme in mind when selecting the venue. Hotels and country clubs, in particular, usually have a distinctive style that may not work with the theme or the color scheme the bride wants.)

Although the venue was beautiful, like many outdoor venues, everything had to be brought in, the tables, chairs, linens, centerpieces, flowers, place settings, electricity, lighting, restrooms, and a  full kitchen for the catering. In addition, David brought in 15 foot tall cypress tress that he had decorated with sunflowers and lavender to add color.

(Tip – Remember to ask what is included when selecting an outdoor venue. When everything has to be brought in, the costs could skyrocket, making the venue too expensive for the bride’s budget.)

Th cake, designed by Jamaica’s Cakes, was decorated with grapes and sunflowers, like the table centerpieces, and sat on a wine barrel.

(Tip – it’s the little details, like placing the cake on a wine barrel, that really stand out to a bride and her guests.)

The happy couple were overjoyed by the work David did for their wedding.

Most brides learn about wedding trends from bridal magazines, and as a wedding planner, you want’ll to know what they are learning. The current issue of Bridal Guide magazine offers 2012 trends for decor, flowers, food and beverage, and more.

Here are a some trends you’ll want to know:

Decor

1) The event designers the magazine interviewed see a return to formal black-tie ceremonies as the top trend for the new year.

2) Colors will be be classic, soft colors like pale pink, cream, and champagne.

3) Lighting will be from elaborate chandeliers, hanging from trees, if outdoors, or candelabras with long tapered candles.

Flowers

1) The peony will continue to be popular.

2) Centerpieces won’t be one arrangement, but a collection of vases of flowers and candles.

3) Groupings of succulents and herbs will also be popular centerpieces.

Food

1) Seasonal food will be very popular. Couples will select their menu shortly before the wedding so they order the freshest food.

2) Traditional, upscale food, like beef Wellington, will be the choice at many receptions.

3) Couples will want perfectly paired food and wine.

Beverages

1) Tasting stations that feature the couple’s favorite cocktails will be a big hit.

2) Signature cocktails will be made with unexpected liquors (such as elderberry) or garnishes (such as ginger).

3) Instead of regular ice cubes, servers will shave or cut ice as they serve beverages.

Favors

1) Edible is in, brides will choose small boxes of gourmet chocolates or mini cupcakes for their guests.

2) A candy station with bags guests can fill and take home will continue to be popular.

3) The breakfast snack will be a new favor. Guests leave for the night with a chic box full of bagels or donuts to enjoy in the next morning.

What do you think will be the top wedding trends for 2012?

As a wedding planner, the best time of year to meet potential clients is now through Valentine’s Day. Many engagements take place during this time (“engagement season”) and you have the ability to meet these newly engaged couples and their friends and relatives at holiday parties and networking events in December. Also, if you can keep your blog or website up-to-date during this time, the new brides in your area will easily find you when they search the Internet to get wedding planning help.

Unfortunately the holidays can also be filled with personal responsibilities and commitments.You might be considering putting aside working on your business “ for now” because the tasks you want to accomplish, such as building up your website or blog or putting together a marketing piece, seem too daunting.

But don’t put your business aside!

Each day that you delay working on your business leads to you delaying another day and another. Eventually you might not even be motivated to do the work you need to do to have a successful wedding planning business in 2012.

Take your tasks and break them up into small, manageable steps that can be done in 15 minutes a day. In 15 minutes you can do things such as brainstorm new ideas for your website, find and select a photograph or testimonial to use in your marketing, Tweet wedding planning tips that will help brides find and recognize your expertise, or write a list of the benefits of your services that you want to speak about when you meet a potential client.

Completing at least one short task every day will  help you stay connected to your target market and give you the sense of accomplishment you might need to help you stay motivated.

If you’re like most wedding planners, your brides will want weddings that probably don’t veer too much tradition. But you might come across a bride who wants something totally unique, like celebrity wedding planner David Tutera did with his Goth bride on his television show, “My Fair Wedding.

This non-traditional bride had been planning a small, 20-guest, Goth wedding in her home. The decor was mainly black and included skulls and spiders. She told David she didn’t want it to look like Halloween, but that is exactly how her decor came across.

David took her Goth theme and turned it from a very black and sad-feeling wedding to a unique, edgy, romantic event that included all of her family. 

He first changed her dress and the dresses of her bridesmaids and flower girl - they were all in black!

The bride ended up getting a unique dress that she loved. It was an asymetrical white and black plaid dress with black lace (seen in a photo below from the Cymbeline website) which she wore with a black veil.

The wedding ceremony took place outdoors, under a tent of sheer white and black fabric on the rooftop of Palihouse. Guests were seated in white chairs that were draped with black sashes.

(David’s Tip – For an outdoor Goth wedding, choose a space that is dramatic, historic, or has a stone archway for a grand entrance.)

The reception venue, La Boheme, was decorated in reds and blacks. Tableclothes were shades of dark reds with black lace overlays (below), centerpieces were black iron chandeliers with deep red flowers and candles(see photo at the top of this post).

(David’s Tip – For a Goth wedding, look for stained glass, velvet chairs and fireplaces at an indoor venue. For decor, choose dark colors that don’t clash with the venue, black, midnight blue and dark greens, maroons, and reds. Flowers should be exotic; orchids, dahlias, black magic roses, and eggplant colored calla lilies.)

The cake, by Cake Divas of Los Angeles, was black fondant decorated with red, purple and black flowers that looked like the paper flowers of the Victorian era.

(David’s Tip – Red velvet and chocolate are good flavors for cakes for this theme.)

Goth might not be your style but if, like David, you open your mind and can understand the bride’s vision, you can make a Goth themed wedding a romantic and fun event.

Brides expect wedding planners to know how to help them manage their wedding budgets and trim costs. If you are a new wedding planner and not yet aware of all of the ways to do this, you might want to pick up the January/February 2012 issue of Bridal Guide magazine. They offer 50 tips on cutting costs that might help your brides.

Here are 5 cost-cutting tips you might want suggest:

1) Hold the ceremony and reception at the same venue

This eliminates the cost of shuttling guests from one place to another and you might be able to negotiate a better deal with the venue.

2) Find a venue that doesn’t need a lot of decor

A garden, museum, or a location with a spectacular view doesn’t need a lot of additional decoration and may help the bride’s floral budget.

3) Compare the cost of a sit-down meal versus a buffet

Contrary to popular belief, buffets are not always less expensive. Caterers are unable to predict how much food guests might serve themselves so they prepare more food than they would for a seated meal.

4) Choose wedding favors or centerpieces that can do double duty

Small frames that can hold table cards can be favors. Small plants that are grouped to be the centerpiece then can be taken home. Cupcakes on tiered platters can be centerpieces that guests can eat as dessert.

5) Keep you bride and groom on schedule

Your couple could incurr overtime costs if they keep a limousine driver, band, DJ or other wedding professional waiting. Overtime time can be as much as time and a half or double time. This can add up quickly if a lot of vendors are involved.

Learn more great wedding tips in the magazine.

When you’re a wedding planner, some wedding websites, print advertisers, and wedding professionals will add you to their wedding vendor lists for free. It gives you an opportunity to have some extra exposure but be aware that it doesn’t mean it will bring you lots of  business. In fact, there may be a chance that you will end up spending more money than it might bring you.

Here are 5 things to watch for when you are given a opportunity to be on a list for free:

1) Advertisers often list your name then offer you the “opportunity” to add a description and a website link at a “small” additional monthly cost. If you want to consider this, first add up the cost per year and make sure it is what you want to spend on advertising with this particular company. They should be a company that has a lot of success reaching the brides in your niche.

2) Review the names of the other vendors on the list. Are they people you would want to work with and recommend? You don’t want to be on a list with vendors who do not offer the same high-quality services that you do.

3) Is the list really of wedding and event planners and/or wedding professionals? Years ago, without my knowledge, I was listed as a party rental business. I still get calls requesting chairs! If asked, make sure the people who will see and use this list are clear about what you do and have a need for your services.

4) If a staffing agency tells you they will add you to their list, ask if they will charge you or the client any fees when you are hired. You need to know up front if you will have to pay them a percentage of your fees and if they are charging your bride for finding you, you may want to take that into consideration when you set your fees with her.

5) Venues and wedding vendors also have lists and may offer to add you to their lists. If you have worked with them before, they may be a source of good referrals for you and you may want to include them in your vendor network. Just check if they have any expectations of you when you get a referral from them.

On the season 5 premiere of “My Fair Wedding,” celebrity wedding planner, David Tutera, fulfilled a Make-A-Wish Foundation wish by a teen-aged boy, Ryan, who wanted David to go to Kansas to plan his mother’s wedding.

Within six days of arriving, David, with the help of his staff and many Make-a-Wish Foundation volunteers, was able to give the bride the wedding of her dreams.

The bride had originally had a theme which included 1000 origami cranes (symbols of happiness, peace and prosperity). She wanted a spiritual, peaceful feeling to her wedding and a decor that included weeping cherry blossoms and a long aisle with trees along the way.

David made her indoor venue look like a serene, organic outdoor space with pergolas,  trees and the cherry blossoms the she wanted.

Here are 5 of David’s tips for bringing the outdoors in that you might want to use for your brides:

1) Rent plants and trees rather than invest in additional flowers to transform a space and make it look more nature-inspired, they are also more affordable than flowers

2) David banded together both real and silk cherry blossoms when decorating the pergola to make the arrangements more lush (make sure you are using good quality silk flowers that look real)

3) For an evening wedding, add twinkle lights to the trees, accent foliage with uplights, and hang glass-enclosed candles from the tree branches (check to make sure the venue allows open flames)

4) Use trees along the aisle to define it and act as markers along the bridal path

5) Define sections in your venue with tress – separate the ceremony, cocktail and reception areas

Bringing the outdoors is in very popular today, especially since trees were brought into Westminster Abbey for the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

In the video below are scenes from the show where you get to meet Ryan and his mother and see some of David’s designs.