Before you became a wedding planner you probably imagined yourself working with perfect clients, brides who had the budgets they needed and who knew what they wanted but were open to your expert advice. Unfortunately, like the wedding planner who asked the question for today, you may have found that you don’t always get your perfect client.
Question
I have a bride who started out with less than 20 guests when she signed her contract with me. Since then we have had three venue changes and now the guest list has grown to over 200 people. The wedding is in three weeks.
The bride has really gotten on my nerves because in six months she has not been able to make a decision and keep it. She asks for my professional opinion and, if it doesn’t agree with hers, she gets mad at me. Also, she asks my opinion about something then she asks other people too. She never takes my advice when I offer it.
How do you deal with a bride that acts like this?
Answer
Not every bride will be a dream client. This is an emotional time for your bride and she may be very demanding. You need to remember that it’s not personal, and she hired you to help her get through a stressful time, so she does value what you have to offer.
It sounds like this bride lacks confidence in her decisions and needs a lot of reassurance. She wants her wedding to be absolutely perfect and is afraid to make a wrong decision. She needs support, patience and guidance.
You’re less than a month away from the wedding, all decisions should have been made (and paid). If they haven’t, sit down with your bride and let her know what can no longer be changed, what can be changed, and how much those changes will cost her. Then she needs to give you her final decisions on the changes that can be made. Her choices may be different from yours, and you can offer your advice, but as long as they are within her budget, you’ll need to support her decisions and help her move forward.
I hope you added changes to your contract every time the bride changed her mind. Going from less than 20 guests to over 200 is a leap that must have required much more time, energy, and staff than you had originally anticipated. A bride should be clear about the services you’re providing and how much she is paying for them, every step of the way.
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