Welcome back my beautiful brides! I hope you've all had a great week and all your wedding plans for 2024/2025 are coming together! I understand how stressful wedding planning can be, and trust me as a wedding photographer, I've seen all sorts of bridezilla's throughout my time in this industry. There are many things that make planning a wedding stressful and booking wedding suppliers is one of them. However, it's not just booking them you've got to worry about...It's making sure they're reliable and legit.
I've seen many bride's in Facebook Wedding Groups, warning others of certain suppliers to watch out for or to avoid. Some bride's will even tell the whole story on their scamming experience. And you know what? It is SUCH a shame to hear about. As a wedding supplier myself, It breaks my heart to know that there are people out there stealing from couples trying to planning one of the biggest days of their lives. It is heart breaking.
So, for these reasons I want to educate bride and grooms around the UK on how to spot the signs of scammers in the wedding industry. As well as telling you how to identify reliable wedding suppliers and knowing that you are in safe hands.
1 - You've Found Them WITH Ease On Google.
2 - They have a website, and it links up to their social media platforms.
3 - You've got in touch with them and they've responded within 24 hours.
4 - You've decided to book and they send you A CONTRACT.
5 - You have or may not experience this with all wedding suppliers, but generally speaking they may ask you to arrange an introductory chat with them before booking.
6 - Their reviews across all their online platforms are positive (especially making sure to check their google reviews).
7 - If they're only on Facebook, consider avoiding. Facebook accounts can be made by anyone, and they certainly are NOT all legit.
8 - If their prices seem to good to be true for the quality of work they are producing, make SURE to check if they're just starting out...(You can get this answer by simply asking them, "So, how long have you been running your business for?")
9 - Most wedding suppliers will have some form of insurance, especially if they're involved on the day of your wedding. Make sure to ask them if they do and get proof of their insurance certificate if you're unsure.
10 - Listen to your gut if any of your wedding suppliers are giving you a bad feeling. You know your wedding suppliers best after all.
I don't like that I even have to write this blog post at all. It would be nice knowing that ALL wedding suppliers were legit, but I guess the world just isn't that kind...However, if you feel you could be at risk of getting scammed please do get yourself some wedding insurance. This will give you a safety net to fall back on, just incase anything goes tits up.
PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT a professional at avoiding scams, however, with what I know about this industry, I hope I've managed to educate some of you in terms of what to look out for when you know you've hired some good wedding suppliers, as well as when alarm bells should be ringing.
Happy Planning!
Yours Kindly, Amy X