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So here’s the thing. Not so very long ago, I was super excited at the prospect of helping someone start a business as well as getting a less expensive service on my wedding day. And the truth is, I’d kind of decided to go for it before I hit publish on that post. So I did (go for it, that is).
And I’m not saying that it necessarily was a bad idea. It just turns out that this particular vendor and I didn’t work out. And so I’d like to point out something important to all of you.
Please please please (I cannot possibly say please enough here) do not hire a vendor without a contract. Lucky for me, I learned my lesson a long time ago. (Remember my venue? Right.) But this girl was just starting her business and didn’t understand yet the importance a contract truly has. And that’s fine. But I’m still not hiring a vendor without a contract. Period.
Here is my PSA to the hive. A contract not only protects you, but it protects the vendor as well. It clearly lays out prices so both parties are always on the same page. And it outlines what happens if the customer’s needs change and/or the vendor’s needs change. That way there is never a question of “You said this would cost less!” or “I thought your wedding started at 5:00 not 2:00!” Or worse yet, a vendor never showing up, or showing up only to find another vendor doing their job. Seriously, you all, this is important stuff.
A basic contract is easy for a vendor to draft up and should be a baseline requirement for any service you wish to have on your wedding day. You won’t get another chance at this day, so don’t take a gamble and let the chips fall where they may.
As for the original makeup artist? I truly wish her nothing but the best in life and for her business. And I honestly hope no one ever has to learn a lesson about the importance of contracts the hard way.
Do you have contracts with all of your vendors?
YAY! Is this the contract post we talked about on the boards?
YES! People PLEASE get a contract.
Very good advice. My good friend didn’t have her reception venue contract in writing. When the vendor changed ownership 4 months before her wedding, they did not want to honor the oral contract. It was a headache that could have been avoided with a written contract. Always get a copy signed by both parties in writing!
Sorry it didn’t work out for you. And yes we had contract. Mr. M. made sure we crossed all our T’s and dotted all our I’s. I was to excited after I found a vendor to think of the important stuff like contracts. 
Contracts are important. We ran into an issue with our first potential DJ where he double booked our date while we were waiting for changes to the contract. Apparently he double booked us because he had received our deposit. But, why on earth would we send him money while we were waiting for him to make changes to our contract? Anyway after that mishap I was very determined to have everything in writing. The only thing we didn’t have a contract for was our officiant and it’s because he laughed at me when I asked. Apparently it’s silly to ask a Judge to prove that he is an honest man. LOL
All of my big vendors are booked (with contracts) which is a wonderful feeling. But for the other smaller ones (hair, makeup, etc) I will definitely make sure to have a contract. I work for an attorney so if all else fails, maybe I can ask him to draft something up for me.
great advice! my hairdresser didn’t have a contract and said she never used them so I wrote one up and had her sign it. You wouldn’t want someone not to know the details of when they need to show up and how many people they are working with…plus you don’t want to have nothing to show for making a deposit for their services!
I totally agree! We had contracts even for friendors and my husband does for his photography even when it’s for friends. It is the very smart thing to do.
we have contracts with everyone except our “friendors” - my hair and makeup gals. i second your PSA, loxy…contracts protect you from nightmare situations. great post!
Totally agree! I’ve made this point many times - a good contract protects both parties, not just the vendor!
I also wrote up a contract for my hair and makeup person to sign (which was a bit odd IMO since she’s very popular and books up quickly) but this way we were both on the same page!
I wish we would’ve had a contract for our officiant, but we didn’t (stupid me). Even though she was 45 minutes late, it’s hard for us to do anything against her. We had one with our venue though. Too bad we didn’t have the venue put in the part about getting the band like they told us though. Yes, there was a comedy of errors with our wedding.
My law-student fiance says that non-written contacts are often enforceable… IF you want to go to court over it.
Shockingly, most people don’t.
But the option is there, if you want to sue in small-claims court or something like that. I would probably do that out of sheer spite if somebody screwed me over on a wedding contract, although at that point in time I will have the advantage of a lawyer husband.
Too bad for your vendor! Guess it’s always better to stick with what you know / is recommended! The contract is very important, I also found that out at my own expenses with my venue!
I’m a lawyer, my dad is a judge, and my FMIL is a lawyer, so yeah - contracts all around with our wedding, haha!
@kristophine: it’s true that verbal contracts can be enforceable but they are very hard to prove (since it’s basically one party’s word against the other), making most people (and lawyers!) shy away from spending all the money of going to court due to such a small likelihood of any sort of recovery. there are def some circumstances where it could be worth it, but more often than not, probably unlikely you’d get back much more than you spent on legal fees!
Yes! Definitely get everything in writing, and also save your e-mail correspondences! Something else our florist did when we paid our hold-the-date deposit was to give us a photocopy of the check with her signature on it as a confirmation. I hope you’re able to find another makeup artist, Lox!
I am curious, exactly what fell through with the makeup artist?
But on the issue of contracts, we had a couple “friendors” who we did not write out contracts with and now reading this I must have been lucky that nothing went wrong! Our flowers and hair were done by friends and everyone came through on their word beautifully! My makeup artist also did not have a contract either but it never occurred to me that we needed one, and in the end it didn’t matter. She was very honest and professional. I guess I was lucky!
I’m so glad the Hive is already so smart! 
@Kemi82JP: She would not provide a contract and got a bit offended when I insisted. In the end, it was better for both of us to part ways because we couldn’t find a civil way to resolve the issue.
We definitely had contracts with all the big vendors: Venue, Photography, Food etc…
And we had friends do our hair/make-up/set up and a million other small things! And they were wonderful!
I think the friend/friendor is a super grey area though, b/c while you may have a contract with a casual friend turned vendor, it’s unlikely that you’re gonna make your bestie sign a contract to show up and do your make-up. I guess your friendship is the contract in those cases though right?!
I’m not sure if we technically have contracts with both of our vendors. We do have a contract with our venue which includes everything for our ceremony and reception. The only other vendor we have is a photographer. I’ve been busy with grad school so we haven’t been able to meet yet (although I know her personally from before). Instead she sent me an email that included all the information. I confirmed that we agreed to everything and then she confirmed she got my confirmation, would be at the wedding and we set the date for our face to face meeting after my semester is over. I’m not too worried about it because I hate pictures of me and so personally I’d rather there be no photography (I know thats not an option). I have photographer friends though so if something happens I’m sure I could find a friendor to step up for me. When we meet in person I am making sure to get an actual contract though.
We just got written confirmation from our venue, which has set my heart at ease!
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Mrs. Lox, Baltimore Age and Occupation: 33, Government Worker Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT Consultant Engagement Date: May 8, 2010 Wedding Date: May 2011 Venue: Vandiver Inn About Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
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