{"id":2354,"date":"2014-02-26T09:05:02","date_gmt":"2014-02-26T15:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/younameitchicago.com\/?p=2354"},"modified":"2020-03-02T20:07:57","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T20:07:57","slug":"dont-need-wedding-planner-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/younameitchicago.com\/dont-need-wedding-planner-10\/","title":{"rendered":"So You Think You Don’t Need a Wedding Planner #10"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are into the double digits (!) now on our blog series \u201cSo You Think You Don\u2019t Need A Wedding Planner?\u201d I know, I know – it is mind boggling why anyone would NOT want a wedding planner, right?? Well, awhile back we asked folks why they wouldn\u2019t and got some great information. We combined the feedback into a dozen main reasons why couples might not want to work with a wedding planner and have been sharing about all of those reasons. We are now onto our #10 reason! \u00a0Read on to learn more. Then feel free to share with your friends planning weddings!<\/p>\n

Reason #10:<\/span> The Paranoid Bride says, \u201cI think everyone is intentionally trying to trick me out of my money.\u00a0 Wedding planners and vendors are in cahoots so the planner gets kickbacks for suggesting other services and isn’t really looking out for my best interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who she is:<\/span>\u00a0This bride has likely been burned before. Maybe she had a personal relationship or friendship end in betrayal. Perhaps she works in a highly competitive work environment where collaboration is a four-letter word.\u00a0 Maybe she has had a slew of bad experiences from companies whose customer service left something to be desired (for me, this is Comcast. If I ever move somewhere with no other option for cable, I won’t be having any cable services, thankyouverymuch). \u00a0Like most of us, somewhere along the way, she\u2019s been taken advantage of by someone she thought was on her side. Either way, there\u2019s not a whole lot of trust left for her to share, so she protects it valiantly and doesn\u2019t share it with very many people. Even if she\u2019s not the one who\u2019s been burned personally, she may have a close friend or family member who has – and she\u2019s trying to be smart enough to learn from their bad experience.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s what I have to say to her:<\/span>\u00a0 Yep – it\u2019s true. Lots of vendors work collaboratively in the wedding industry.\u00a0 As big as the wedding industry may seem when you are researching\u00a0(aka wading through) wedding vendors, in some ways it is also quite small and close knit. Some vendors do get referral bonuses, which are known by a slew of other uglier names as well \u00a0(think: commission, referral fee, kickback, etc.).<\/p>\n

As tawdry as this all may seem, there\u2019s really a very simple solution:\u00a0 if you are at all concerned about your vendors, then you need to take a few steps back and make sure you are selecting vendors you can trust<\/span>. True life lesson here: you should only ever give your money to people you trust.<\/p>\n

All of our favorite conspiracy theories aside, the reality is that some vendors feel like sharing a small portion of income generated by a direct referral is the right thing to do. Others decide to pass that amount along to the client in the form of a discount – and I have met a total of ZERO brides ever who don’t want that to happen. Other vendors simply don\u2019t do any type of referral bonus or incentive at all, instead relying on a combination of the accuracy and competitiveness of their pricing and quality of their service to win business. Regardless of your vendors\u2019 approach to referrals, plain & simple you need to be able to feel like you can trust them with the most important day of your life.<\/p>\n

About our services for her:<\/span>\u00a0 We always approach our clients with our three chief values in mind: custom service, personal relationships & excellence. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that it is tough to have a positive personal relationship with someone you don\u2019t trust. Start there – and don\u2019t be afraid to ask any of your vendors questions like: \u201cWill you receive anything in return for me booking my services with this particular vendor?\u201d If you ask us, we\u2019ll tell you the truth. Every. Single. Time. \u00a0Transparency is a key component of the trust we build with our clients, and we have nothing to hide when it comes to our relationships with the vendors to whom we refer our clients. \u00a0We only refer clients to vendors we know and like and trust.<\/p>\n

Our list of vendors is fairly extensive and always evolving, so we can have the best resources available to our clients.\u00a0 Our referral process is clear and specific. We refer clients to other vendors based on who we believe will be their best fit, based on a combination of the following:<\/p>\n