Question from a Planner’s Lounge reader: One of my clients has chosen most of her wedding vendors on her own. The professionals that I referred her to (prices all within industry standards) were too expensive. This client does not pay her invoices on time, she nickels and dimes every vendor for a lower rate (or asks me do it), she has been late to every vendor appointment and doesn’t read or respond to emails or texts in a timely manner. She also makes huge event altering decisions last minute with out discussing it with me first. During the initial consultation, I thought we were on the same page but it hasn’t turned out that way. This is not the type of client that I want to work with nor refer vendors to.

As a newer planner, I am turned off by her and this process. I’ve got to get better clients than this. I want to enjoy event planning and she makes me loathe it right now. Help!

Answer:

In a perfect world, the clients who hire us to plan their wedding day and the events surrounding it would realize that they hired a professional wedding planner for a reason – we are the experts. As we know though, we do not live in a perfect world.

We all know that things come up unexpectedly in people’s lives that are out of their control which interferes with available funds or being able to get back to us on time. I have personally worked with brides who want the most extravagant weddings, but expect to pay the least amount of money which is just unrealistic.

How do we deal with these kinds of clients? Hopefully you have your brides and grooms sign a contract when they agree to use your services. Take a look at the guidelines you have outlined in your contract and consider adding these amendments:

• BRIDE’S NAME and GROOM’s NAME agree to respond to all communication sent or left by me, YOUR NAME/BUSINESS NAME, with 72 hours in order to ensure all needed information is collected in a timely manner and the client receives the best rate for services. If after three attempts to reach BRIDE’S NAME and GROOM’S NAME,  YOUR BUSINESS NAME reserves the right to terminate the contract and discontinue services to BRIDE’S NAME and GROOM’S NAME without a refund of prior payments.

• Any payments to be made to YOUR BUSINESS NAME are to be paid by the due date set in the contract for those goods or services. If payment is not received on time, YOUR BUSINESS NAME reserves the right to terminate the contract and discontinue services to BRIDE’S NAME and GROOM’S NAME without a refund of prior payments.

Keep in mind these are only two suggestions and there may be other ways to address the situations. However, it’s important to get everything in writing and cover yourself in case the clients come back and blame you for not getting the best rate or the vendor they wanted, when in reality it was due to their lack of commitment and communication. Do not feel bad for protecting your business. While it is their event on the line, in the end it is also your reputation to uphold with other vendors and clients. Most importantly, you need to maintain your sanity and love for planning events.

This answer is from Christine Pirkle. Christine Pirkle resides in Galena, IL.  She works as an Author Account Manager for Kendall Hunt Publishing in Dubuque, IA and also works as a wedding coordinator part-time for her own business Rise Events Planning.