In this blog, I will share some excellent advice and top tips that I have found to help you spot and avoid wedding scammers when planning your wedding. There have been some horror stories in the press recently about couples who have booked a wedding supplier, only to find they have been cheated out of several hundred pounds and the supplier has disappeared.
The Daily Mail reported on a wedding planner who apparently took advantage of the vulnerabilities of her clients, without scruple, conning them out of hundreds of pounds. The full article can be found here.
Couples are faced with soaring costs in their wedding plans. The average wedding can cost as much as £21000 in the UK (according to hitched.co.uk, January 2024) – . So a supplier who offers a package that sounds amazingly inexpensive in comparison with others may be either not up to scratch no matter how pretty the portfolio is, or, worse, is a scammer.
This is a comment from a member of a Facebook forum of wedding suppliers on this issue: ‘Is it any wonder when the packages they were offering : room dressing, dance floor, DJ, photo booth and more were for the same price that reputable suppliers charge for just one of those items? We all love a bargain but if the price is unbelievably cheap and seems too good to be true, there is going to be a catch somewhere down the line.’
The reality is that couples are embarking on the most important project of their lives, with little or no experience of the industry. They expect, quite rightly, that they will pay for and receive professional, quality service from companies and individuals they employ. When a scammer strikes, it devastates the couple, ruins their plans and causes major headaches for everyone involved. And it tarnishes the hundreds of wedding industry professionals who really do provide amazing service and products.
So what is the advice to couples?
There’s no fool proof way to avoid a con artist, but doing a good bit of vetting in advance can help. Here are some top tips from other wedding professionals and consumer advice pages.
Hair and beauty artists
Justine of Justine’s Hair and Make-up has this advice for brides who are looking for a makeup artist:
- Always ask for recommendations from family and friends. Facebook groups are also great.
- Do your research. Find the hairstylist/makeup artist on Facebook and Instagram. Look at their website! Are they on any directories like yell.com? BrideBook? Or Hitched?
- Stalk them a little – You want to see photos of their work.
- Have you read their reviews? Reviews are supposed to be the honest opinions from the professional’s previous customers. Remember, some businesses can pay for reviews so make sure that the reviews match the brides in the professional’s photos.
- Do they specialise in wedding hair & makeup? Not only will a specialist know how to make you look great in person & on your wedding photos, they will also know how important your big day is. They will know how to work their timings out so you don’t run late! There is a lot that goes into the wedding morning prep.
- Make sure you have a contract This is so important as it covers both you and the professional. Make sure the contract has their terms and conditions; you need to know whether they have another professional to cover them if they are poorly etc!
- Always have a trial. It is a great way for you to make sure you will like your hair and makeup but it’s also a great way to meet the artist. (If you don’t like her, or something feels a bit ‘off’ – even if you can’t quite put your finger on why, move on and find someone else. Your instincts are probably right.)
- Stay in contact. Many of my brides will have booked me a year or two in advance. I always ask them to follow me on social media so that they can see what I am up to. Many of my brides will see the work and gain inspiration for their own hair and makeup too!
Buying your dress
OneFabDay.com have a great price guide blog https://www.onefabday.com/uk/uk-wedding-dress-price-guide/ Generally, this is what you are looking at:
Bridal Designers: £900 – £3000, Couture Bridal Designer: £1500 + , Vintage: £300 , High Street Stores: £80 to £800 , Charity Shops: £50+ , On-Line: £50 +
Top Tips to avoid being scammed
Consumernotice.org advises: ‘To avoid scams in the first place, only shop at reputable stores and never send money to sellers you haven’t met. If you do decide to make a purchase online, use a credit card or a reputable pay app like PayPal. That way, you’ll have some recourse if things go wrong. PayPal specifically offers purchase protection if an item is described as authentic but turns out to be a knockoff.
Always vet the seller. Visit the bridal shop and, before making an appointment to try dresses, use the opportunity to ask questions. Will you be given written confirmation that your dress will be ready by a certain date? If it needs altering, what guarantee do you have that this will be done properly? If things go wrong, how will the store make amends? Provide a full refund? Provide an equivalent dress properly fitted?
For online stores, ConsumerNotice.com suggests you check out the site on SiteJabber.com and read all available reviews of the business. If other customers have had issues, that’s a major red flag, and you should go somewhere else.
- Red flag: A wedding dress website based in China with no UK-based address or telephone number in the “Contact Us” section of the website. If the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- As with any wedding professional, check the website and published reviews. The majority should be glowing.
- Set up a meeting and treat it like an interview. Ask questions about how many weddings they’ve planned, how their payments work and whether they can give you an example of their contract.
- Consumernotice.org recommends that you pay the vendors direct, rather than giving all your money to the planner – this is how scammers can disappear with your payment and leave you without a wedding!
- Make sure you go through your contract thoroughly and are completely clear about what you are signing up for.
General Top Tips
- Double-check prices and avoid vendors with high-pressure sales tactics
- Go and listen to musicians and DJs at another event before hiring them
- Read your contracts carefully and make sure that they cover everything you expect from the supplier
- Get everything in writing — products, dates, prices and cancellation polices.
- Keep in touch regularly to make sure everything is on track – don’t leave it to the last minute
- If you are paying by PayPal, remember that if you wish to make a claim against a supplier, you must initiate a claim through the PayPal Resolution Center within 180 days of making the payment. TOP TIP – don’t agree to paying the full price of your order more than 180 days (6 months) before delivery.
- Ask for a business PayPal invoice or pay via goods and services, not friends and family.
- Consider wedding insurance and, of course, talk to the insurers so you are clear what the policy does or does not cover.
- Check if your chosen supplier has signed up to the new Trading Standards Consumer Code for Weddings & Events CCWE
Useful websites:
www.consumernotice.org – click here to read their full advice on wedding scammers In the UK anyone who has been affected by a scammer should contact 101 as well as Action Fraud
4countiesweddingdirectory.co.uk – How to avoid a wedding day disaster
There is also a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/WeddingFraudAlerts/
In conclusion, I want to reassure all couples that the horror stories are not by any means an indication of how dodgy the wedding industry is as a whole. There are hundreds of wedding professionals who love weddings and who are dedicated to making their clients’ big day magical. I’m one of them! and I am happy to recommend suppliers I have met and trust to act with the integrity and professionalism you have every right to expect. If you have any concerns about where to turn, please get in touch!
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