Paying for your wedding

It is a New Year and new beginnings. It is also the season when couples and their families start to get serious about their wedding planning.

They will contact vendors, sign contracts and get ready for one of the biggest days of their lives. Here are a few hints when signing contracts with your vendors:

1. Read the fine print!!!!!!!
2. Question every item you don't understand and ask for clarifications.
3. Get all services and products and any changes down in writing---even the color of a particular flower. You will thank me later.
4. Don't assume anything! Refer to item #3.
5. Follow up with your vendors. Br friendly but firm. This is business, not a social call.
6. If your vendors are your friends, buyer beware! More friendships and events have been ruined because "a friend" said that they could do "that" for you and then didn't follow through as you thought they would.
7. If you are trying to save money by using a secondary service or a family member or friend for some of a professional vendor's responsibilities, refer to item # 6. Your wedding only happens once and this is NOT a dress rehearsal. There are no do-overs!!!!
8. Be kind to your vendors. This is not the time to show how "important" you are. They a re professionals and deserve to be treated as such. Remember that honey catches more flies than vinegar!
9. Don't be afraid to ask for a discount or for an extra service to be thrown in for no cost. The worst that they can say is no, but you won't know until you ask; then refer to item # 3.
10. Most importantly---if you make a bill, then you pay the bill! Don't try to cheat your vendors. They are in business. They have performed their part of the contract; you need to do the same.