The other day I heard that a bride called her caterer a week before her wedding only to discover the number had been disconnected, the caterer had gone out of business. Unfortunately, this has been happening recently. With the recession, people are spending less and many small businesses have suffered because of it.
Here are somethings you can do to protect yourself from disappointment:
- Interview your vendors carefully, take the time to know how they do business. If you get a feeling that something might go wrong, trust your instinct and find someone else.
- Keep in touch with your vendors, don’t wait until the week before your wedding to confirm an order that you made six months ago.
- Make sure your contracts spell out what would happen to your deposits and orders if they do not fulfill their contract (see previous post).
- If you purchase wedding insurance, make sure it protects you in the event a vendor goes out of business.
- If you charge your deposits to a credit card, ask your card company if they would refund your money if you have a dispute that involves a company that goes out of business.
September 1st, 2009 at 1:47 AM
Wedding insurance is certainly a good idea, particularly in the current economic climate when unfortunately many vendors are going out of business. Definitely think about paying for deposits by credit card as that may offer some level of protection and look at your home insurance policy too as that may cover you for things like wedding gifts.
September 1st, 2009 at 4:24 PM
Thanks for your comment about also looking at home insurance polices. Good idea!
Sharon