Tuesday, June 22, 2010
I’ve been hesitant about writing this post but felt that it was necessary. I visit other wedding planners’ websites as I meet new people at various networking events, conferences, etc. While the majority seem professional, a small few make me question their skills and ethics. I cannot count the times that I’ve gone to a website page titled “Portfolio” and seen stock photos or photos from other planners. Recently I visited a local Baltimore wedding planner’s portfolio page and found photos used in a rental linen company’s catalog. So I flipped through my catalog (which gives photo credit to the photographers and event designer) to see if they were indeed the owner. Sure enough, they were not!
Dictionary.com defines portfolio as pieces of creative work collected to be shown to potential customers or employers…as in “the artist had put together a portfolio of his work”, “every actor has a portfolio of photographs”. Webster.com defines portfolio as a selection of a student’s work compiled over a period of time and used for assessing performance or progress. Both definitions suggest that the “work” is your own not someone else’s.
In my opinion, this practice is misleading to a prospective client and totally unethical. So here are my suggestions to both brides/grooms and wedding planners:
To brides/grooms: If you schedule a meeting with a wedding planner based on things you saw in his or her website portfolio, print out those photos and take them with you to the consultation. Make sure you ask to see their portfolio. A creditable planner will present it without you asking. If you don’t see ANY of the photos included in their website portfolio, there’s a good chance they weren’t theirs to begin with. If you do see some of the photos, ask questions such as which venue did the event take place, how many guests, how large was the bridal party, etc. They will know the answers if they actually worked on that wedding or event.
To wedding planners: Using stock photos as decorative pictures on your website is somewhat acceptable however, including them or photos of someone else’s work in your website portfolio is not. The potential client will assume it is your work. I understand that when you’re first starting out you may not have your own photos to include on your website gallery. So instead, do not include a page on your website for a gallery until you do or include the page but say “coming soon”.
This is just my two cents. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
 
As wedding professionals it is imperative that we continually educate ourselves on the wedding and event industry…as it relates to assisting our clients as well as running our business. We are firm believers that you can always learn something new no matter how long you’ve been in business.
Today, I will be attending the 2nd annual I Do Brunch which is a networking event (that includes round table discussion) for wedding planners. Click here to see posts from last year’s brunch. Tomorrow I leave for the Eventology Conference held in Indianapolis. This is also its 2nd year. I really enjoyed last year’s conference and I’m excited to see what this year’s speakers have in store for us. Both events will bring together planners from all over the United States (California, Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, etc). It is always great to hear what the trends are in other parts of the country.
We will be out of the office Saturday, April 17th – Wednesday, April 21st. We return to the office Thursday, April 22nd so check back for a recap of these 2 events.
Monday, January 18, 2010
We often receive inquiries from brides asking for pricing on our wedding packages. Once we provided the requested information, some schedule an initial consultation while others we never hear from again.
I discourage brides from shopping based on price alone. Our prices are higher than some and lower than others. I tell prospective clients to make sure they compare the services offered in each wedding planner’s package, their years or level of experience and their personalities. That way you are comparing apples to apples instead of apples to oranges. One wedding planner may charge a higher fee because they’ve been in the business for 25 years, planned thousands of weddings or includes everything but the kitchen sink in their package. Another wedding planner may charge a much lower fee because they’ve only been in the business for 6 months, only planned 3 weddings or only includes the bare minimum in their package.
So after viewing their website I encourage you to meet with the wedding planners that pique your interest. Ask how long they’ve been in business, how many weddings they’ve planned (not including their own), are they members of any associations/organizations (if that is important to you), will they provide references, etc. The initial consultation is also a chance for both you and the planner to assess each other’s personality. You will work with this person on one of life’s biggest milestone celebrations therefore you need to know if your personalities mesh and if you will work well together.
Once you’ve taken all of these things into consideration, you should be able to narrow down your choices and make an informed decision.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Would you like to know a little more about me and why I became a wedding planner? Check out today’s blog post on Sage Wedding Pros. I’m this week’s featured planner. Feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you think.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Weekend before last I attended the I Do Brunch hosted by Premiere Event Management. The brunch was a networking event specifically for wedding planners. There were about 80 attendees some of which came from as far as Indianapolis. The event was held at Historic Savage Mill Manor in Laurel, MD. I have never visited this venue so this was a perfect opportunity to do so. Below are a few photos I took at the brunch.
Registration table as you walked in:
We had a chose of beverages…the i-do mimosa, raspberry ice tea, etc.
Table decor (each table had a unique design):
 
Stationery (each table had table numbers and menu cards to coordinate with the table design):
 
The breakfast station:
The ballroom full of wedding planners (sorry this photo was taken with my camera phone):
Click HERE and HERE to see more photos of the brunch.
Monday, November 10, 2008
I spent all of last weekend with wedding planners. Saturday my friend and colleague Isis of Posh Events, LLC came down from NJ to visit me. I met Isis at The Special Event show in January and we’ve been friends ever since.
Sunday, Isis and I had the pleasure of having brunch at America in Union Station with 9 planners who service DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. While technically we are competition, we don’t see ourselves as such. Sunday was all about networking with others who share our same passion for this industry…and drinking mimosas. Brunch lasted over 3 hours but I guess that’s to be expected when 11 wedding planners get together to discuss the business. See below for a few photos.
Thanks ladies for such a wonderful weekend. Isis, I look forward to visiting you in NJ later this month.
Here’s what I had for brunch along with a mimosa:
Isis and me:
All 11 wedding planners:
1st row: Sara – Bella Notte, Liene – Blue Orchid Designs/The Smart Planner, Andrea – A&H Events and Isis.
2nd row: Vicky – Event Accomplished, Kawania – Howerton & Wooten Events, Maria – Ritzy Bee and me.
3rd row: Leticia – Simply Beautiful Concepts, Laura – Wish Special Events and Stephanie – Ayr Hill Events
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