Wedding planner red flags!
First off, I’d like to give a shout out to the many, many amazing wedding planners out there. These are the people who work so hard to bring weddings together. They communicate with engaged couples, coordinate with vendors, and make amazing experiences happen. We appreciate you, and we see you.
However, there are a few wedding planners out there who should not be in their role. Whether it’s due to incompetence, ignorance, or downright scams, it’s important for every couple to know wedding planner red flags. These are the signals that you should not work with this person. In some cases, the red flags maybe glaring, obvious, and immediate signs to run. In others, they may just be something to be aware of, maybe something to work around. For either case, you need to know what they are so you can make an informed decision for your wedding.
10 Wedding Planner Red Flags (What You Need To Avoid)
This post is going to give you ten wedding planner red flags. As mentioned above, these red flags should help you see potential issues with your wedding planner. Hopefully they help you avoid any wedding planners who will impact your wedding in a negative way. This would range from not planning it correctly, to downright not showing up. Hopefully these wedding planner red flags can also help you find and recognize an amazing wedding planner to work with.
Let’s get into it!
1. THE WEDDING PLANNER CAN’T ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT WEDDINGS
First and foremost, a wedding planner should be able to talk about weddings.
Now, of course, not every wedding planner is going to know everything about every culture’s weddings. This is not what we’re asking here. We do expect wedding planners to understand how your culture’s weddings are going to go, though. If you start asking questions about logistics and the wedding planner can’t answer, this is a red flag.
After talking about weddings, in general, with a wedding planner, you should feel confident that they are knowledgeable and competent. If you don’t walk away feeling that, this isn’t the person you should be working with.
2. THE WEDDING PLANNER’S PRICE IS OUT OF YOUR BUDGET
Oh, okay, we’re going to go there. Yes, I’m going to talk about budget here.
If a wedding planner is out of your budget, I consider it a red flag. Not because they are scamming, or not worth the money they want to charge. But because this isn’t the wedding planner for you. No vendor should cause a couple to blow their budget. And, with wedding planners, this is doubly true. If they are expensive, chances are that they plan expensive weddings. And will recommend other expensive vendors. Yes, of course, they may help you save in areas and get deals, but still, just hire someone you can afford.
3. YOU’RE NOT VIBING WITH THE WEDDING PLANNER
Major wedding planner red flags if you are not vibing with a certain option.
What does this mean, exactly? Well, a wedding planner, or really most vendors at your wedding, should put you at ease. You should like being around them. That they are listening to your vision, and want to make your dream wedding come true. If you feel uneasy, have a gut feeling that something isn’t right, or generally want to not be around this person, don’t work with them. It’s that simple.
4. THE WEDDING PLANNER HAS NO CONTRACT FOR YOU TO SIGN
Oh, okay. Let’s talk about contracts.
Legit wedding vendors have contracts. Plain and simple. Yes, of course, you may ask a friend to help out and they don’t have a contract. This is okay. However, if someone is making a business out of their service, they need a contract. It doesn’t have to be perfect. But it should lay out what is in their scope, the dates, what’s expected of you, and the cost. This is at the very least.
If you meet a vendor and they have no paper trail, this leaves you both open to confusion, at best. At worst, they may not be a legit business. No contract, no deal. Simple as that.
5. THE WEDDING PLANNER ISN’T RESPONDING SOON ENOUGH
I don’t know about you, but I like a prompt response.
If you are vetting, or are working with, a wedding planner who does not respond back to you in a reasonable amount of time, wedding planner red flags are happening. Now, what is reasonable? Within a couple business days, at least. Maybe they don’t have the exact answer you’re looking for. However, they should still be able to respond and let you know they got the question.
If you feel like you’re getting ignored, or even ghosted, it’s not a good thing. It adds more stress to wedding planning. Ideally, you’d feel like you are the wedding planner’s only client, even if that’s not true. If you haven’t hired this person yet, you may want to talk to them about responsiveness and expectations before you hire them. If they are already your wedding planner, have the chat about timely responses. Hopefully this remedies the issue.
6. THE WEDDING PLANNER HAS HARDLY ANY EXPERIENCE WITH EVENTS
I know. I know. We all need to start somewhere.
Inexperienced wedding planners are out there. And this is okay, as long as they have had some experience with event planning in general. Maybe not weddings, but parties, celebrations, festivals, whatever. Wedding planner red flags if they have very little experience with event planning. Seriously. Yes, the price may be good, but you get what you pay for.
If your wedding planner is brand new to events, or even weddings, expect to be heavily involved making sure everything runs smoothly. Look at the logistics, the plan, and the schedule. Be critical and ask questions. Of course, they may be a rockstar and not need all the additional assistance. But, you know, that’s a risk that you’re taking.
7. THE WEDDING PLANNER HAS AN OUTDATED OR NON-EXISITENT WEBSITE OR SOCIAL MEDIA
Look, business owners get busy. They may not post on social media or update their websites all the time. However, there should be some activity going on there.
Why are there wedding planner red flags if there is an outdated or non-existent website or social media? Because it’s a sign of scamming. Having a web presence is a sort of proof that this person is who they say they are, and they work with others. No proof of that, and they could be fronting a business that doesn’t really exist. I hate to point that out, but it’s true. It’s not a lot of work to set up a social media account and if there is nothing there, it says something. The same is true for websites. Tread carefully.
8. THE WEDDING PLANNER HAS TOO MANY CLIENTS
As mentioned above, you want to feel like you are the only client your wedding planner has. Of course, you know there are likely others, but you never want to feel like someone is more important than you.
If your wedding planner has too many clients, it’s a red flag that you’ll be able to spot a mile away.
What does this look like? The wedding planner has trouble getting back to you. Remembering things you talked about. Staying organized with changes and requests. Maybe they seem stressed, or burnt out. None of these things are ideal. Are they deal breakers? Not necessarily. But they are red flags that your experience will not be the best it could be.
9. THE WEDDING PLANNER CAN’T PROBLEM SOLVE
When it comes to event planning, especially weddings, problem solving is a crucial skill. One that your wedding planner, if they are good at their job, should have.
Your wedding planner is part of your team. And, when problems come up, you need to be able to lean on your team for help. Whether it’s big problems like weather issues, typos on your invitations, or budget constraints, to small problems like table layouts and picking cohesive colors, your wedding planner should be able to jump in and advice.
Big wedding planner red flags if your planner cannot help you. This may be due to availability, or limited discernment or listening skills. Either way, that valued part of your team isn’t going to be able to help you, leaving you and your partner to deal with the issues yourselves.
10. YOU FEEL LIKE THE WEDDING PLANNER ISN’T LISTENING TO YOU
Okay, last wedding planner red flag.
This one has been sprinkled in with the other tips, but it’s important. If you feel like your wedding planner isn’t listening to you, this partnership isn’t going to work. Your vision, your goals, and your wedding’s issues and nuances are important. You should feel heard and seen. Ideally, you should be able to bounce ideas off your planner and they can give you insightful feedback. Remember, this is your wedding, and their job is to help you plan it. Without listening skills, frustration and communication issues will arise.
If you have already hired a wedding planner and feel unheard, there are a few thing you can do. One is to start putting things in writing. That way, they can refer to the emails and texts later on. You can also practice three-way communication, where you say something, they say it back, and then you confirm again what you said. It doesn’t have to be obvious, but it does help make sure everyone is on the same page.
THOUGHTS ON WEDDING PLANNER RED FLAGS
Friends, there are lots of wedding planner red flags out there. Some are big, and some aren’t that big. When looking for a wedding planner, there are a few crucial elements. One is that they are available, organized, and have a contract. They should be able to make you feel like you are their priority, and they should be able to listen to you and your concerns. Your wedding planner is part of your team, and it should feel that way. If it doesn’t seem right, it’s time to re-evaluate. You’ve got this! Happy wedding planning!
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