Weddingbee Blog

I don’t like to spend money. There I said it! Whew! It makes me cringe. I tend to over-think things and over-analyze my decisions after I’ve made a purchase. I always seem to try to justify it somehow. Now that I am in the throws of the planning process, I find myself over-analyzing things that I shouldn’t.

Frantic Chic

Want to know what I did the other day? I fired my wedding planner (I know, I know). You’re probably asking why…so hear me out. When we first got engaged, we immediately started planning a destination wedding. We knew exactly where we wanted to go. I e-mailed the resort, and Yolanda (not her real name) e-mailed me back about my wedding inquiry. After a few e-mails throughout the year, we booked the resort and hoped to meet our planner, taste the food, and see the location. It was PERFECT. We met our planner, signed the contract, and wired over moolah.

Once we got home and the wire transfer was complete, I e-mailed Yolanda for confirmation. A week went by, no reply. Three weeks went by, no reply. So I sent a follow up e-mail, no reply. After a little over a month, I began to panic. I sent a frantic e-mail demanding a response. She finally responded and was very short and rude withe me. I was shocked, but I let it go because I was too excited about our upcoming nuptials. Since we booked a wedding package, there were a couple things I needed to take out, add, and customize to our personalities. I sent her over an e-mail explaining what I wanted and didn’t want and again, got no reply. I waited two weeks and sent it again; she e-mailed me back with nothing but a question that had nothing to do with what I had e-mailed her about. At this point I was pretty annoyed. But again, I let it go. I figured she was busy with the summer brides and didn’t have time for my wedding right now. No problem.

We were working with a photographer that she had recommended, and when we were last in Jamaica, we had him do our engagement session. They turned out beautifully, and we began inquiring about our wedding and what he could offer us. Turns out, his pricing for a wedding is R.I.D.I.C.U.L.O.U.S! So I emailed him back and explained what my budget was, but he didn’t want to hear it. At this point, I was in tears over the whole destination planning process and was ready to give up. I had a planner who wouldn’t respond to me and a photographer who thinks Americans are millionaires.

What was a frugal bride to do? Call Big Brother Handy! He always has some good insight and is a bit rougher around the edges than I. What did Big Brother say? FIRE THE PLANNER! After a bit of convincing on his part, I agreed…

I called the resort the next morning, spoke with my planner’s manager, and explained what was going on, choking on my own tears. She calmed me down, assured me that I wasn’t being a bridezilla, and answered any questions that I had been waiting on responses to from Yolanda. I asked if she would be able to do my wedding, and she willingly obliged. She gave me some very clear directions and insight on some amazing deals that will save me moolah and even offered to help with my issue with the photographer. She said she would call him and work something out…

About an hour later, I received an e-mail from the photographer—he again asked me my budget, I replied, and he agreed! SCORE!

So I fired a planner, gained her manager, and got the price that I wanted (needed) on an amazing photographer. Life was good again.

You’re Fired!

Tip: If someone isn’t giving you the attention you need or isn’t willing to communicate, FIRE them and get someone who will. This is YOUR day and one of the biggest events in your life—don’t settle.