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6. Wedding Contracts and Vendor Red Flags w/ Alexandra · Planning Out Loud: A Wedding Planning Podcast

• 0:05
  Kristy Silva: Hello everyone and welcome to the Planning Out Loud Podcast.
• 0:09
  Kristy Silva: I'm your wedding planner and host, Kristy Silva, owner of KinFet Weddings and Events.
• 0:13
  Kristy Silva: On today's episode, I chat with fellow wedding planner and KinFet team member Alexandra, all about wedding vendor contracts.
• 0:22
  Kristy Silva: We talk about why you need a contract for every vendor.
• 0:25
  Kristy Silva: We talk about what to look for in a contract before you sign on the dotted line.
• 0:29
  Kristy Silva: And we also talk about red flags to watch out for and questions that you should be asking before you book.
• 0:35
  Kristy Silva: So without further ado, let's jump right in.
• 0:38
  Kristy Silva: Alex, thanks for joining me in our conversation today.
• 0:44
  Kristy Silva: I'm excited to chat all things contracts, a very exciting topic in the wedding planning world, in that couples care about a lot less than we do, I would say.
• 0:54
  Kristy Silva: But it's something that I feel like us and our team talk about all the time.
• 0:59
  Kristy Silva: Like all the time.
• 1:00
  Kristy Silva: It's coming up in our team meetings, whether it's an issue that we had with a contract or just trying to get a contract from a vendor or whatever the case might be.
• 1:09
  Kristy Silva: So let's just start with the basics, which is Alex, why contracts?
• 1:13
  Kristy Silva: Why why are we dedicating a whole episode to this?
• 1:16
  Alexandra Hill: It struck me when I first started wedding planning.
• 1:18
  Alexandra Hill: I was with my then business partner in California.
• 1:21
  Alexandra Hill: And she would say, no, we have to write all this down.
• 1:23
  Alexandra Hill: This has to be written explicitly.
• 1:24
  Alexandra Hill: We have to be so careful with language.
• 1:26
  Alexandra Hill: And from that moment on, I was like, oh yeah, no, I guess you're right.
• 1:29
  Alexandra Hill: But the reason it stood out to me is because she was really doing her best to protect us as a vendor.
• 1:35
  Alexandra Hill: And from there it branches out to protecting the clients.
• 1:39
  Alexandra Hill: Plenty of vendors that we trust.
• 1:40
  Alexandra Hill: We know they're going to show up, they're going to do a good job.
• 1:42
  Alexandra Hill: But at the same time, there are vendors who seem great and I'm sure they're wonderful at their job, but they don't have a contract.
• 1:50
  Alexandra Hill: And if it's not written down, then there is no guarantee of that service.
• 1:54
  Alexandra Hill: So it's important to protect yourself and it protects the whole party.
• 1:57
  Alexandra Hill: So it's not, it's not selfish at all.
• 2:00
  Alexandra Hill: It's I'm protecting everyone in this circle by having this written down.
• 2:04
  Alexandra Hill: So sort of a passion piece, because like you said, we've been talking about it a lot recently.
• 2:08
  Alexandra Hill: And I just want to make sure that everybody understands why it's important, even if it's maybe not exciting.
• 2:13
  Kristy Silva: Yeah, for sure.
• 2:14
  Kristy Silva: Especially because, I mean, a lot of folks, especially the couples that we work with, are very trusting and they want to assume the best in folks.
• 2:22
  Kristy Silva: And they had, you know, such a wonderful conversation with this florist or with this photographer.
• 2:27
  Kristy Silva: And so they can't imagine a world where that person would go back on what they said verbally in the future.
• 2:35
  Kristy Silva: And even on that note, I would say it's rarely from a place of malice that someone would go back on something that they say.
• 2:43
  Kristy Silva: If anything, what's more common, especially with venues, is turnover.
• 2:47
  Kristy Silva: And so you might have a venue coordinator who gave you the tour being like, oh yeah, we can do that.
• 2:53
  Kristy Silva: That's not a problem.
• 2:54
  Kristy Silva: We usually we don't do that, but for you, we will do that.
• 2:57
  Kristy Silva: And then that person leaves and now you have a new venue manager, and that person's like, we don't do that.
• 3:02
  Kristy Silva: They're like, oh, but that person said, like, I don't, sorry, I don't know why they told you that because it's not true and we don't do that.
• 3:07
  Kristy Silva: And you don't have it in writing.
• 3:09
  Kristy Silva: And so on that note, let's dive into what you should expect to see in a contract from your wedding vendors, you know, talking to couples as they're reviewing these before they sign on that dotted line and pay their deposit.
• 3:24
  Kristy Silva: The key things that we, when we review contracts with couples that we expect to see.
• 3:30
  Kristy Silva: And one of those things is what are you delivering here?
• 3:34
  Kristy Silva: Like what literally what are the services?
• 3:36
  Kristy Silva: Which seems maybe like the most obvious thing that should be in a contract.
• 3:39
  Kristy Silva: But the amount of contracts that we see where the vendor does not include the services they are providing in the contract, and really the contract is just focused on more of like the legal language around cancellation and payment, which is important and like we'll talk about that.
• 3:53
  Kristy Silva: But when as wedding planners, when we review contracts, we literally just want to know what are you doing?
• 3:58
  Kristy Silva: What have you promised to deliver to the couple?
• 4:02
  Kristy Silva: So, Alex, what kinds of things come to mind and like that service expectation area when you're looking at contracts for couples?
• 4:09
  Alexandra Hill: The first thing I look at, DJs and photographers in particular, is hours of service.
• 4:13
  Alexandra Hill: What time are you starting?
• 4:15
  Alexandra Hill: What time are you ending?
• 4:16
  Alexandra Hill: What time are you physically going to be present?
• 4:18
  Alexandra Hill: And that will inform a couple who like, let's say, oh, they're so flexible.
• 4:24
  Alexandra Hill: They'll show up whenever we want.
• 4:26
  Alexandra Hill: Okay.
• 4:27
  Alexandra Hill: Where is this written?
• 4:29
  Alexandra Hill: How much does this cost?
• 4:30
  Alexandra Hill: And are they flexible or are they flexible and you're going to be charged for those extra hours?
• 4:37
  Alexandra Hill: And if it's not written, we don't know how much it costs for them to show up an hour early to get your flatlays.
• 4:42
  Alexandra Hill: So that's a big one for me.
• 4:44
  Alexandra Hill: And we always want, you know, the DJ to be there with enough time.
• 4:47
  Alexandra Hill: Like, are you including speakers?
• 4:48
  Alexandra Hill: Are you including microphones?
• 4:50
  Alexandra Hill: Um, do we need lapel mics or stand mics?
• 4:53
  Alexandra Hill: And it comes down to these tiny little details, but if you find a DJ who's just like, I literally just have a laptop and speakers, then you need to be able to find the rest of it eventually.
• 5:03
  Alexandra Hill: And you don't think of that when you're first looking.
• 5:05
  Alexandra Hill: So looking for exactly what's coming and exactly what hours you're paying for, those are the two things I look at first.
• 5:12
  Kristy Silva: Yeah, for sure.
• 5:12
  Kristy Silva: I think especially with the number of hours, because even if, you know, sometimes the timing is TBD when you sign a contract with Avenger.
• 5:19
  Kristy Silva: Like, we haven't really secured what our ceremony time is, or we haven't decided how late we're going to go.
• 5:25
  Kristy Silva: And that's all fine.
• 5:26
  Kristy Silva: Window shifting is pretty common.
• 5:27
  Kristy Silva: You know, maybe people sign like a contract from 12 to 10 p.m., you know, 10 hours, and then they decide later that they want to shift to 1 p.m.
• 5:35
  Kristy Silva: to 11 p.m.
• 5:36
  Kristy Silva: That's almost always fine to be able to do that as long as the number of hours don't change.
• 5:41
  Kristy Silva: But like you said, then the question is okay, if you do want to add extra hours to the service, is there an hourly rate for that, or is it a package thing where you'd have to upgrade to the next package in order to get more hours?
• 5:54
  Kristy Silva: They don't do like a la carte.
• 5:55
  Kristy Silva: Ideally, yes, that would be in the contract.
• 5:58
  Kristy Silva: Like this is the hourly rate to add on more time, which I'd say photographers in particular tend to be pretty good about that.
• 6:04
  Kristy Silva: Yeah.
• 6:04
  Kristy Silva: So usually I'll see that in a good photographer contract where it has that explicitly.
• 6:08
  Kristy Silva: I feel like I don't see that as often with DJs for morally right for adding extra time.
• 6:13
  Kristy Silva: Um, but would be good to know in advance whether that's Italy in the contract, or you get it in writing via email or something, just some kind of paper trail.
• 6:23
  Kristy Silva: Yes.
• 6:24
  Kristy Silva: Or if you want to make changes to the contract, like what does that look like and what are the options and how much does that cost?
• 6:30
  Kristy Silva: And I like how you mentioned equipment also, which especially I think for like Jason Bands is important.
• 6:36
  Kristy Silva: I mean, I feel like as a team, we've had the conversation a few times recently around whether a DJ or band, whoever's doing the ceremony audio microphones, if they have wireless capability, whether they have a battery-powered speaker, or do they have to have things plugged in?
• 6:50
  Kristy Silva: Because we do a lot of ceremonies that are in a barn or in a field or in an orchard and there is not electricity.
• 6:57
  Kristy Silva: And we have DJs who they have battery-powered setups for ceremony.
• 7:01
  Kristy Silva: That's not a problem.
• 7:02
  Kristy Silva: That's what they do.
• 7:02
  Kristy Silva: And then occasionally we run into folks who they're like, no, I can't do that.
• 7:05
  Kristy Silva: I have to have a plug.
• 7:06
  Kristy Silva: So yeah, knowing that and having that, ideally on the vendor side, they would put in their contract, I require being this distance from an outlet, or I require, you know, we see things like they require being in the shade, protected from the elements, which I think is is good to know, you know, the couple's perspective of, okay, thinking about where my ceremony is, thinking about where my reception is, can I accommodate that requirement?
• 7:33
  Kristy Silva: Do we have somewhere shaded where they can be, especially like hype musicians, right?
• 7:36
  Kristy Silva: When we have instruments and stuff, they're very yes, yeah, the strings.
• 7:40
  Kristy Silva: They're very particular for good reason.
• 7:42
  Kristy Silva: You know, for good reason of wanting to be in the shade, no chance of drizzle or anything falling on them if it does unexpectedly rain.
• 7:50
  Kristy Silva: And so keeping an eye out for those things in contracts and making sure that for your wedding, you can accommodate the request.
• 7:56
  Kristy Silva: And if they don't have that outlined, then asking in advance, I think, is also important, rather than being like, it doesn't say, so it's probably fine.
• 8:06
  Kristy Silva: Yeah, and then it's a problem later.
• 8:08
  Alexandra Hill: Well, that's another thing.
• 8:09
  Alexandra Hill: Like when we review contracts, we're looking for those things, but we're also looking for what if we need to modify?
• 8:17
  Alexandra Hill: What if we have to cancel?
• 8:18
  Alexandra Hill: What if the scope changes?
• 8:20
  Alexandra Hill: We see here that you don't have a battery system and this is completely outside.
• 8:25
  Alexandra Hill: Like, when can we cancel or modify this order we have with you?
• 8:30
  Alexandra Hill: So I think it's a great service that we provide because there's lots of things that we found, like um deadlines and whatnots that customers just don't always see the first time through it.
• 8:40
  Alexandra Hill: And they'll be like, okay, no, this will be fine.
• 8:42
  Alexandra Hill: We don't have to yes, yes, you do, and it needs to be written down.
• 8:46
  Alexandra Hill: Please.
• 8:47
  Alexandra Hill: Yes.
• 8:48
  Kristy Silva: Yeah.
• 8:48
  Kristy Silva: Which you'll hear Alex and I say that probably 10 to 15 more times in this episode, which is in writing, written down.
• 8:56
  Kristy Silva: This is not a phone conversation.
• 8:58
  Kristy Silva: This is in in writing, ideally in the contract, but at minimum in an email, so that there's some kind of paper trail to refer back to and be like, here is the conversation we had about you saying that you would do this for this rate.
• 9:13
  Kristy Silva: Because just going on.
• 9:14
  Kristy Silva: Well, remember and they'll stick to it.
• 9:17
  Kristy Silva: That's that's not it when we're talking, you know, thousands, thousands and thousands of dollars.
• 9:21
  Kristy Silva: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:22
  Alexandra Hill: And when we have meetings with you and your chosen vendors, we're gonna be taking notes and then we're gonna send you all a follow-up.
• 9:29
  Alexandra Hill: This is what we talked about.
• 9:31
  Alexandra Hill: And that email puts it in writing for us.
• 9:33
  Alexandra Hill: And as long as there is no, oh wait, never mind, or they say, Yep, confirmed, then we're good.
• 9:39
  Alexandra Hill: We know for sure.
• 9:40
  Alexandra Hill: But it's in writing.
• 9:41
  Kristy Silva: Yeah, and that's a that's a great tip as well, is when we're also on the meeting, people send that follow-up email on behalf of everybody of like, hey, here's a recap of what we talked about.
• 9:51
  Kristy Silva: But if you don't have a planner or your planner isn't on your vendor calls and your vendor isn't doing this, like the DJ, for example, is not sending that follow-up recap, then I would take it upon yourself as the as the client, as the customer, to send that recap email.
• 10:06
  Kristy Silva: Again, just for everybody's reference, because you're gonna be having so many vendor conversations and calls, and they are having 10 times as many calls with people, but it's easy to forget or for that to get lost in the shuffle.
• 10:18
  Kristy Silva: So I love a recap email.
• 10:19
  Kristy Silva: I think that's key for sure.
• 10:21
  Alexandra Hill: Very important.
• 10:22
  Alexandra Hill: Also, I was just thinking how you'll have a conversation with a vendor and say, oh yeah, no, your your date's free.
• 10:27
  Alexandra Hill: I'm gonna go ahead and write you in the calendar, but then you didn't read carefully enough to see how much of a deposit was due in order to fully book that date, and you get really close, and then they've already booked someone else on your date because you didn't pay the deposit, like stuff like that.
• 10:43
  Alexandra Hill: It needs to be reviewed, it needs to be in writing.
• 10:45
  Kristy Silva: Yeah, and as far as the group operations there, I'd say generally we are of the opinion that it's a contract first, deposit after.
• 10:52
  Kristy Silva: We've occasionally had couples be like, hey, this vendor's asked me to pay the deposit before I've signed a contract.
• 10:58
  Kristy Silva: And that's a big no to me.
• 11:01
  Kristy Silva: So I'm like, that's just that's just money.
• 11:04
  Alexandra Hill: Yeah.
• 11:04
  Kristy Silva: That's you're just sending money with no written agreement of what that money's for, if you can get it back.
• 11:12
  Kristy Silva: You know, so again, it's it's that like, but I want to I wanna trust them.
• 11:17
  Kristy Silva: Maybe it's literally like your hairdresser, you're someone someone who you have a personal relationship with.
• 11:21
  Kristy Silva: It's more often when people say, I'm just gonna do it and I'm not worried about it.
• 11:25
  Kristy Silva: But we worry.
• 11:26
  Alexandra Hill: Yes.
• 11:27
  Kristy Silva: We worry about it.
• 11:28
  Alexandra Hill: I do worry.
• 11:29
  Alexandra Hill: And we have had to on the subject of trusting your vendor, I'm sure she's great, she's wonderful.
• 11:33
  Alexandra Hill: Oh, they don't usually do contracts.
• 11:35
  Alexandra Hill: Can we get one, please?
• 11:37
  Alexandra Hill: And we'll request one.
• 11:38
  Alexandra Hill: And I think for weddings, especially, because it's a huge, it's one day, and like every piece of this puzzle really matters.
• 11:44
  Alexandra Hill: And if you can't get a contract for a vendor, then you're putting everything else at risk.
• 11:50
  Alexandra Hill: So even if it's the baker, like you happen to be friends with someone who's bringing you your cake.
• 11:56
  Alexandra Hill: Okay, but what time are they getting there?
• 11:58
  Alexandra Hill: How much cake is it?
• 12:00
  Alexandra Hill: I know you trust them, but I've never met them, and I want to make sure that you actually receive a cake.
• 12:06
  Alexandra Hill: And I don't think it's asking too much.
• 12:08
  Alexandra Hill: I think you should be asking for a contract.
• 12:10
  Alexandra Hill: If they if they even if you trust them, please ask for it.
• 12:13
  Kristy Silva: Yeah, and I'd say, and if they give you pushback, like that's a red flag.
• 12:16
  Kristy Silva: Yeah.
• 12:17
  Kristy Silva: On the vendor side, it should be like, oh, I get why you would want this.
• 12:20
  Kristy Silva: That makes sense to me.
• 12:22
  Kristy Silva: And I will do that.
• 12:23
  Kristy Silva: That's because I want your business and I want us both to feel good about this agreement that we're making.
• 12:27
  Kristy Silva: But if they're like, no, I don't do that, I don't usually do that, I don't want to do that.
• 12:31
  Kristy Silva: Bye.
• 12:33
  Alexandra Hill: And this is good.
• 12:34
  Alexandra Hill: Like you walk away.
• 12:35
  Alexandra Hill: This is great non-wedding advice too.
• 12:37
  Alexandra Hill: Like if you're doing a renovation or something, which I've been working on, yes, true.
• 12:41
  Alexandra Hill: I expect to pay a deposit.
• 12:43
  Alexandra Hill: I expect there to be a contract, and if I pay you cash without a contract, I don't expect you to come back.
• 12:49
  Alexandra Hill: You got you got it.
• 12:50
  Kristy Silva: It's gone.
• 12:51
  Kristy Silva: It's good, it's good as gone without some kind of again confirmation of what it is that that cash or credit card payment or whatever it is represents.
• 13:00
  Kristy Silva: Even if that like again, this is definitely not ideal for us, but I feel like with some like really small vendor or friend situation, sometimes it's a oh, I'm gonna Venmo this, and then in the memo of the Venmo, I'm putting what it's for, you know, like is that ideal?
• 13:15
  Kristy Silva: No.
• 13:15
  Kristy Silva: Is that better than nothing?
• 13:17
  Kristy Silva: Yeah, you know, sometimes we'll take what we can get on our end as the planner when we can't convince people to do something more formal.
• 13:24
  Kristy Silva: Um, but we will always pressure you a bit to push for a contract.
• 13:28
  Kristy Silva: And depending on how you're working with us, we'll do that for you.
• 13:30
  Kristy Silva: We will push for a contract, especially with cycle planning.
• 13:33
  Kristy Silva: But at that point, I mean, we as a team are never recommending vendors who don't have a contract process.
• 13:40
  Kristy Silva: Like they will not be on the list of people who we are recommending if they don't have a formalized process.
• 13:47
  Alexandra Hill: And the exception would be if they don't come with a typical process in place, but they're willing to do it, then we can just make sure we ask each time.
• 13:57
  Kristy Silva: Hey, Kristy here with a freebie for you.
• 14:00
  Kristy Silva: If you're listening to our conversation and wondering how you'll remember all of this, don't worry.
• 14:05
  Kristy Silva: We have a free download for you.
• 14:06
  Kristy Silva: Just go to kinfet.com slash contracts for a free what to look for in a contract checklist.
• 14:14
  Kristy Silva: Again, that's kinfet.com slash contracts, k-in-f-e-t-e.com slash contracts for our free contract checklist download.
• 14:24
  Kristy Silva: What are other things that you would consider to be red flags in the vendor booking and or contract process?
• 14:32
  Alexandra Hill: I mean, being vague in general, which we've kind of touched on a little bit, but if it's just, I'm gonna be here on this date and I'm gonna play music for you, okay.
• 14:42
  Alexandra Hill: But who am I communicating with?
• 14:44
  Alexandra Hill: Is there a travel fee?
• 14:45
  Alexandra Hill: Do you have a requirement for being fed?
• 14:48
  Alexandra Hill: Hair and makeup sometimes has a requirement for being fed.
• 14:51
  Alexandra Hill: Okay, well, we're not finding that out till the week before the wedding because, you know, it wasn't reviewed.
• 14:55
  Alexandra Hill: And so, not a red flag necessarily if like we have DJs that we know and we've worked with before, and sometimes it's not clearly stated what hours they're gonna be there, but it's because there's like maybe a client-facing portal that has their contract details.
• 15:10
  Alexandra Hill: I know some of the bands that we use have a client-facing side that gives those details, then what we get to see on the planning side is just, hey, this is the invoice, you've paid the invoice, this guarantees your contract and your date.
• 15:23
  Alexandra Hill: Okay, but what's in it?
• 15:25
  Alexandra Hill: So that's not necessarily a red flag, but if you're a client who is seeing that, just know that we would like to be involved seeing what you're actually getting.
• 15:34
  Alexandra Hill: And then I tend to find, and this is not a written red flag, this is more person-to-person.
• 15:41
  Alexandra Hill: If you're slow to get back to me, I'm on edge.
• 15:45
  Alexandra Hill: If I send you a time-sensitive question, I expect a response quickly.
• 15:51
  Alexandra Hill: And I understand companies are busy, and right now it's still wedding season.
• 15:55
  Alexandra Hill: But if you're not responsive, I'm concerned.
• 15:58
  Alexandra Hill: Or if your contract says, once you make this payment, then we have a call in this number of days, and we don't hear from you, that's a red flag.
• 16:08
  Alexandra Hill: And it's it's just a warning, it's not bad, it's just a warning for me.
• 16:12
  Kristy Silva: It's a yellow, it's maybe a yellow flag.
• 16:15
  Kristy Silva: No, response time is a big one, especially during the booking process.
• 16:20
  Kristy Silva: Like I think about it from my perspective as a vendor when I'm talking to a couple and we have a call and I'm like, great, I'm gonna send you over a contract so you can move forward.
• 16:29
  Kristy Silva: I'm sending that contract in 24 hours max, both because I think it's good to get that over quickly, but also I'm trying to make a sale here.
• 16:38
  Kristy Silva: I want your business.
• 16:39
  Kristy Silva: So that's also part of to me why it's being slow to get a proposal over or slow to get a contract over is like this person should be like they want you to book.
• 16:50
  Kristy Silva: And so they should be getting things to you very quickly in order to secure the sale with you.
• 16:54
  Kristy Silva: And if they're not, that makes me nervous for how once you are booked, how quickly they're gonna get things to you.
• 17:01
  Kristy Silva: Because if they're already slow before you even like, you know, when you're trying to pay them, like let me give you my money, and they aren't letting you.
• 17:09
  Kristy Silva: Um, you know, that worries me for then once you are actually booked, how oh hello, Callie.
• 17:14
  Kristy Silva: Makes me worried for how responsive they'll be once you actually are yeah.
• 17:18
  Alexandra Hill: As a client, that would make me wonder how much you actually value my business.
• 17:21
  Alexandra Hill: Like, do you do you actually want me to book?
• 17:23
  Alexandra Hill: Because you didn't respond.
• 17:24
  Alexandra Hill: So back to your inquiries.
• 17:27
  Alexandra Hill: Yes.
• 17:27
  Alexandra Hill: If you want them.
• 17:29
  Alexandra Hill: If you want the if you don't want them, then you know, tell me that too.
• 17:33
  Alexandra Hill: But yeah, response time is definitely something I consider.
• 17:37
  Alexandra Hill: And that's even after we have a contract, you know, we're a month out.
• 17:40
  Alexandra Hill: If I'm not hearing from you, I am looking at backup plans.
• 17:44
  Alexandra Hill: Not gonna lie.
• 17:45
  Alexandra Hill: If you give me any indication that this is not gonna go the way my couples or clients want this to go, then I'm gonna try to find a way to make them happy otherwise.
• 17:57
  Kristy Silva: Also, just with speed of contact, the other thing that I like to see in a contract is contact information.
• 18:02
  Kristy Silva: Yes.
• 18:03
  Kristy Silva: Which again seems very basic, but oh my gosh, the amount of contracts that have no name, email, phone number for the vendor in the contract is wild.
• 18:12
  Kristy Silva: And then they don't put their phone number in their email signature, and so we just have no phone number for this person.
• 18:16
  Kristy Silva: And then a lot of time, we as a planner don't even have an email for this person because we weren't emailing with them, right?
• 18:22
  Kristy Silva: So you sent us the contract, and then we're looking through the contract, and from the contract, I should know how to get in touch with you.
• 18:28
  Alexandra Hill: And I can't even tell you the number of times that I have had to go online, search them up, find their social media, find their website, and then get their contact information.
• 18:39
  Alexandra Hill: Just write it down.
• 18:40
  Alexandra Hill: It shouldn't be that hard.
• 18:41
  Alexandra Hill: Yeah, yeah, like basic information.
• 18:44
  Alexandra Hill: Right.
• 18:45
  Alexandra Hill: Back to bands.
• 18:46
  Alexandra Hill: There's a couple of talent agencies by a variety of names, but they'll have a production manager or someone who is in communication with planning team and the clients all the way up until maybe two weeks out when we finally get your day of contact, your band leader, your sound person, whoever is in charge of the band that day.
• 19:06
  Alexandra Hill: And that's fine.
• 19:08
  Alexandra Hill: Um, but I expect to know how to contact the production manager at the very least.
• 19:14
  Alexandra Hill: And I have clients who really want to get specific.
• 19:17
  Alexandra Hill: Like we want to know the names of the band members who are gonna be there so that we can look at their portfolios and know that we like how they jam.
• 19:26
  Alexandra Hill: So for us, I just need to be able to communicate with the production person, but I also hope that if a client wants more information, that we can get it easily.
• 19:37
  Kristy Silva: Yeah.
• 19:37
  Kristy Silva: And I like that you mentioned working with a specific person because that's another thing that I like to see in a contract if it is agreed upon in advance.
• 19:47
  Kristy Silva: For us, like in our contracts, there isn't a name of a specific planner or a coordinator that you're working with in your contract, because you know, I tell you with my initial conversation, we'll figure that out later, unless sometimes we do in advance.
• 19:59
  Kristy Silva: We're like, I can tell you right now this person is who you'll be working with.
• 20:01
  Kristy Silva: And then, you know, I can include that in the contract.
• 20:04
  Kristy Silva: But sometimes, especially with agencies, I think is a big one.
• 20:06
  Kristy Silva: We had a wedding where they had a magician, and so that was a hired talent through an agency.
• 20:11
  Kristy Silva: And they the couple had talked to someone in particular and wanted to make sure they got that person in particular, but their contract with the entertainment agency didn't list that magician, it just said they were getting a magician.
• 20:24
  Kristy Silva: And so we did request before they signed, hey, can you put in there that this is the person who they'll be working with?
• 20:30
  Kristy Silva: And then if that person isn't available, they have the right to substitute someone of equal quality, and that's totally fine.
• 20:38
  Kristy Silva: And that's in there about right, what happens if that person's not available?
• 20:40
  Kristy Silva: But I do think whether it's a band, a magician, a musician, an artist, if it's an agency and you are of the understanding that you're working with a specific person, a specific DJ, I think that should be in the contract.
• 20:53
  Kristy Silva: So that again, when it's closer to the wedding, and they're like, all right, you're working with this person, and you're like, that's not who I thought I was signing this with.
• 21:02
  Kristy Silva: And interestingly for that to be stated.
• 21:05
  Alexandra Hill: That brings to mind an expectation.
• 21:06
  Alexandra Hill: So let's say Marty the magician is not available, but Steve is.
• 21:12
  Alexandra Hill: And we know that they reserve the right to substitute.
• 21:15
  Alexandra Hill: When they're with us, we're gonna tell them like they may substitute it.
• 21:19
  Alexandra Hill: This might happen.
• 21:21
  Alexandra Hill: But if they're not with someone, or if they're not with a planner, if they're doing it themselves, or they're with maybe a planner who didn't look at this particular piece of information, that expectation of a switch isn't there.
• 21:34
  Alexandra Hill: So it's like it's one of those things that's in the contract, but it's easy to miss.
• 21:37
  Alexandra Hill: And I don't like to say things with absolute certainty because there is no telling, you know, actually on top of like what's actually gonna happen.
• 21:46
  Alexandra Hill: So I'll never say, Yes, you're absolutely getting Marty the musician.
• 21:49
  Alexandra Hill: Um, because it says here in your contract that you will.
• 21:51
  Alexandra Hill: It's always most likely you're going to get them.
• 21:55
  Alexandra Hill: Because I never want the client to be confused as to why there was any variation on my request whatsoever.
• 22:02
  Alexandra Hill: I want you to know that things can change.
• 22:04
  Kristy Silva: Yeah.
• 22:04
  Kristy Silva: And that's why like on the client side, when you're reviewing contracts, you should be looking for that cancellation policy.
• 22:10
  Kristy Silva: And that's not just can you cancel and what happens if you cancel, but the vendor, if the vendor needs to cancel, what does that look like?
• 22:19
  Kristy Silva: Especially if you're working with a a one person business, like a lot of photographers, where it is them, their their name is the business, they are the business, and a life happens and suddenly they can't photograph your wedding, what is the backup plan?
• 22:32
  Alexandra Hill: And I love seeing in a contract that we will find you someone that we trust to substitute.
• 22:38
  Kristy Silva: Yeah, I agree.
• 22:39
  Kristy Silva: That should be the expectation is that if they can't fulfill their commitment, they are finding you a suitable replacement.
• 22:46
  Kristy Silva: And then usually it also says like I would say, you know, in good contracts that we read it, that's what is stated.
• 22:51
  Kristy Silva: Then it also has a in a worst case scenario and I cannot find you a replacement, then you are refunded, you know, your your fee.
• 22:58
  Kristy Silva: And it's like ideally that doesn't happen because you'd rather you want someone to photograph your wedding and you don't want to have to find that person yourself.
• 23:06
  Kristy Silva: Yes.
• 23:06
  Kristy Silva: Uh you know and I've had I think just yeah one.
• 23:10
  Kristy Silva: I've had one wedding in my in in my year so far where a photographer had to drop like last minute because they had COVID.
• 23:18
  Kristy Silva: But they did it exactly like what I would like to see, which is they emailed one that emailed me first before they emailed the couple, which I appreciate as a planner to hear it first.
• 23:28
  Kristy Silva: And they came with a solution.
• 23:31
  Kristy Silva: So it was a hey I'm so sorry I'm not going to be able to be there.
• 23:35
  Kristy Silva: I just I tested positive for COVID and also I feel like I've tested positive like I am I'm down and out.
• 23:40
  Kristy Silva: I have already confirmed my photographer friend is available and will do it for the same rate that they were paying me and they will be there.
• 23:48
  Kristy Silva: So it's not only am I coming to you with the problem but I'm coming to you with and I've already found a replacement who is going to step in.
• 23:54
  Kristy Silva: And then we let the couple know hey I'm so sorry to share that this is the case.
• 23:58
  Kristy Silva: But again for the peace of mind of the couple don't worry we already have someone else lined up you know so I would say that's the other for any vendors listening don't bring a problem.
• 24:08
  Kristy Silva: I was gonna say that until you also have the solution.
• 24:12
  Alexandra Hill: Please come prepared.
• 24:14
  Alexandra Hill: Yes.
• 24:14
  Alexandra Hill: I was just thinking about um from the venue side too how when you're reviewing a contract some venues will require a planner but some don't and if you're expecting a venue coordinator to do anything I like for venues to have it written in exactly what they will and won't do.
• 24:32
  Alexandra Hill: I think people going into some weddings will see venue coordinator and they'll expect that coordinator to handle the wedding but that's really not their job.
• 24:41
  Alexandra Hill: People walk in and expect the manager to run the wedding and the manager's like this is really not my job.
• 24:48
  Kristy Silva: I'm here to make sure that you sleep comfortably and to make sure that you're but the the lights turn on the lights turn on and the toilets flush.
• 24:56
  Alexandra Hill: That I tell you where your trucks can drive that sort of thing.
• 24:59
  Alexandra Hill: But that's not their job.
• 25:01
  Alexandra Hill: And if it's not explicitly written there's a risk that as a client you'll expect them to do more than what they really can do.
• 25:11
  Alexandra Hill: So it's important to review the contract yes and then like if you have a question something that seems tangentially related to the things that they have laid out like we will make sure that you always have toilet paper.
• 25:24
  Alexandra Hill: If it's related to toilet paper, then they'll probably take care of it.
• 25:28
  Alexandra Hill: But if you're not sure you just ask nicely.
• 25:30
  Alexandra Hill: But if you show up on a wedding day to a venue that maybe has a coordinator but they have it written down we're there to turn the lights on and you ask them to help the florist that's not realistic.
• 25:43
  Alexandra Hill: So just a warning for anyone who might expect that from their venue.
• 25:47
  Alexandra Hill: That's not really their job.
• 25:49
  Kristy Silva: We could do a whole episode just on venue coordinator versus wedding coordinator.
• 25:54
  Kristy Silva: That's something that I'd love to dive into more specifically but yes especially with venues I think having a really clear understanding of what your venue does and doesn't do.
• 26:04
  Kristy Silva: I'm seeing it more and more these days that venues are requiring an outside coordinator to reduce the confusion there for that reason.
• 26:11
  Kristy Silva: So that way it is really clear that they don't do that.
• 26:13
  Kristy Silva: That's why they're requiring that you bring someone in to do it.
• 26:16
  Kristy Silva: But when venues don't it can be very much this gray area of what they do and what they don't.
• 26:21
  Kristy Silva: And sometimes they'll again going back to what I said earlier about like the person who you toured with are like oh yeah I'll help with that we can do that.
• 26:29
  Kristy Silva: And then that is an employee and life happens and they quit and they go on to a new job and now you know new person steps in and they're like no not my job.
• 26:38
  Kristy Silva: I don't do that.
• 26:39
  Alexandra Hill: So yeah I think and I think actually this might have happened this year there was a museum that promised I don't remember what it was specifically but they made a promise of use of a certain space and we got a little bit confused in the mix.
• 26:52
  Alexandra Hill: They're like they said that they said why why did they say that in the end it was fine.
• 26:57
  Alexandra Hill: I think the reason I don't remember is because it was fine but it's not always fine.
• 27:00
  Alexandra Hill: It's not always fine.
• 27:01
  Alexandra Hill: Right.
• 27:01
  Kristy Silva: Yeah yeah yeah what spaces you get to use is also a good one to again talk about like venue specifically what parts of the venue do you have access to versus parts that you don't sometimes that's obvious depending on the venue and other times when especially if the venue is a public space like a museum like it's open to the public sometimes.
• 27:17
  Kristy Silva: It's really good to understand when your private time starts that's also true of country clubs, golf clubs, things were during the day the public will be there.
• 27:26
  Kristy Silva: I remember a few years ago we did a country club wedding and to be fair the contract did clearly state when it became private.
• 27:33
  Kristy Silva: The couple did not read the contract before they signed it and so then they were like what do you mean that there's going to be people at the bar in the other room and it's like well it said right there in your contract that that remains open to the public throughout the evening and so keeping an eye out for that and again going back to and if it doesn't say then ask.
• 27:51
  Kristy Silva: Yes you know don't take a lack of information as confirmation one way or the other because you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.
• 28:00
  Alexandra Hill: And those contract reviews are really important too for things like if it happens to be an art gallery or if it happens to be historic, there may be some really hard red lines about having red wine on the premises.
• 28:12
  Alexandra Hill: And if you're red wine drinkers that might not be your venue of choice.
• 28:15
  Kristy Silva: Yeah and it's usually not even just red wine it's red period.
• 28:18
  Kristy Silva: No cherry cheese no cranberry no tomatoes no anything like no you're not having spaghetti um right like no red food or liquid is a common restriction in DC historical venues.
• 28:29
  Kristy Silva: And that will be in the contract.
• 28:31
  Kristy Silva: Yeah.
• 28:31
  Kristy Silva: So again just make sure you're reading it that's usually the kinds of things that when we review contracts for couples that we're pointing out those kinds of things is like hey just noting this restriction you can't have candles.
• 28:43
  Kristy Silva: There's no real flame at all.
• 28:45
  Kristy Silva: And then sometimes that's a deal breaker for people.
• 28:47
  Kristy Silva: They're like oh real candles was a big part of my vision for decor.
• 28:51
  Kristy Silva: And so it's good to know that we aren't allowed to have flame at all.
• 28:55
  Kristy Silva: And then usually if you are allowed to have flame it has to be in glass I'd say that's pretty standard for most venues but most places don't allow glitter and confetti which is valid.
• 29:04
  Kristy Silva: But if that's important to you for some reason then make sure you're aware of what's allowed sparklers if you're like I really want to spark your linen's allowed your linen company is probably going to tell you that if there's any damage you're gonna have to pay for that linen.
• 29:17
  Alexandra Hill: Okay well that includes wax and that's why a lot of candles are just not allowed anymore.
• 29:22
  Kristy Silva: It's happening that wax on the linens the big old fee fee for that which is why they need to be in glass with a bottom not just a hurricane sleeve but an actual bottom glass to protect the linen.
• 29:35
  Kristy Silva: Yeah.
• 29:35
  Kristy Silva: And that's another again a contract to be reading very carefully is rentals, linens or otherwise on are these allowed to be kept outside if there is any damage, are you paying a damage waiver that will protect you from having to pay anything or will you be responsible for the replacement cost of that item or whatever the case might be and making sure that's all very very clear in the contract and that you understand it because you are a control of yourself but your guests are a whole different conversation on what kind of things they will do to your rentals.
• 30:07
  Kristy Silva: So keep that in mind.
• 30:08
  Kristy Silva: You're like well yeah I'm not gonna draw with crayon on the linen but the five but if you're having kids they might bring their own crayons to scribble all over the venue with what happens then what's your responsibility unpredictability of guests is definitely a factor.
• 30:28
  Alexandra Hill: I love it when a client comes to me and says our group our partiers 100% through and through these are the names of a couple of people that the bartenders are gonna have to cut off like please yes absolutely give me all of that information so that I know and I can prepare and damage that happens when a crowd gets a little bit too big or too rowdy.
• 30:51
  Alexandra Hill: Which I guess is another thing that would be a red flag is if a a vendor doesn't have insurance.
• 30:57
  Alexandra Hill: Yeah let's talk about insurance.
• 30:58
  Alexandra Hill: Yeah let's do that we have had a wedding fairly recently where everybody had their insurance except for one specific vendor and this vendor is handling hot things and people they're a people handler.
• 31:12
  Alexandra Hill: And I'm just sitting there like but you don't have insurance which means like let's say you drop something that happens to be hot and you burn the floor like suddenly we're not protected.
• 31:22
  Alexandra Hill: If this is a historic place then who's paying for that damage it's gonna come out of the client.
• 31:28
  Alexandra Hill: So um we get asked not every time but most times for at least an insurance policy to be provided by a venue specifically they'll either ask for the clients to be insured and most likely the caterer and sometimes they'll ask it from everyone.
• 31:46
  Alexandra Hill: So it's a red flag for me if any vendors can't slash won't provide insurance information when it's asked.
• 31:54
  Alexandra Hill: That protects everybody too.
• 31:55
  Alexandra Hill: That's another thing that's just you you really need it because nobody wants to get sued for any reason.
• 32:00
  Alexandra Hill: Yes.
• 32:00
  Alexandra Hill: Right.
• 32:01
  Kristy Silva: Yeah when a vendor tells me they don't have insurance that is a huge red flag to me because that tells me that they don't take their business seriously which the whole rippling effect of what else are they not taking seriously in their business and how they are going to serve you as a client because their insurance protects them.
• 32:19
  Kristy Silva: So they should want to have insurance.
• 32:21
  Kristy Silva: So if they don't and then you know and maybe they don't because they're because they're new and so it's just not something that they've thought to do yet.
• 32:29
  Kristy Silva: But then you asking them to provide insurance should not cause a bunch of hubbub.
• 32:34
  Kristy Silva: And there are vendors who I won't name who we've worked with who don't have insurance and we've worked with them more than once and it's just something where like I make really clear to the couple that this is the case and if they choose to if the venue's okay with it and the couple understands what that could mean for them then so be it as long as everyone's making an informed decision.
• 32:58
  Kristy Silva: But that still is a that's very much a red flag to me if a vendor is not insured or we reach out to like I think Alex you had this recently again not naming any names but it was like oh yeah can you deliver your COI or certificate of insurance and they were like what is that?
• 33:12
  Alexandra Hill: Yeah and that um especially if it's a business that has been around a while like they should have heard this term before and I don't on a personal note I don't want to be played with.
• 33:21
  Alexandra Hill: Don't play with me like I know you've heard of insurance.
• 33:25
  Alexandra Hill: Okay.
• 33:25
  Alexandra Hill: Yeah and we were fortunate that venue in particular was willing to overlook this one vendor that seemed to not understand what it was or what it was for.
• 33:35
  Alexandra Hill: Nothing went wrong.
• 33:37
  Alexandra Hill: We're grateful for that thankfully nothing harmful went wrong.
• 33:40
  Alexandra Hill: There were other things but um yeah I was grateful that nothing got damaged but okay makes me nervous.
• 33:51
  Alexandra Hill: Yeah I don't I don't want to wear I don't want to work the day nervous it's not as bad when it's like a quick like it's a cake delivery.
• 33:58
  Alexandra Hill: Okay well there's something it's being dropped off it's being dropped off like that's fine.
• 34:02
  Alexandra Hill: But um if you're performing a service or if you have a team or if you're handling anything that could cause harm or damage or allergic reactions, you know, anything like that, please contact an insurance company and protect yourself and everyone else.
• 34:18
  Kristy Silva: Yep absolutely so to know whether your venue requires all of your vendors to have insurance that's important to know when you book the venue and then as you're booking your vendors because if your venue does require that every single vendor has insurance then that's a question that you should be asking when you're reaching out to vendors and before you book because that is something that has happened multiple times where the venue requires insurance from everyone and then the couple's already booked these they're coming to us for coordination right so by the time they get to us they've booked all their vendors and then I'm reaching out to each vendor being like hey venue needs your insurance and they're like we don't have that and it's like well ideally the couple would have known that when they booked and then they might have not booked if they had known because then it's required.
• 35:01
  Kristy Silva: And usually again we're able to figure it out and that they go get a one event policy so that they're good and covered for this event or I've had it where the venue has a waiver that the couple has to sign being like I understand I'm permitting this uninsured vendor to work my event and the venue is not liable for anything that might have been you got it happening this.
• 35:20
  Kristy Silva: Yes and the venue exactly usually venues of all of the vendors are usually pretty good with their contracts because owning a property is a big liability.
• 35:29
  Kristy Silva: Yes.
• 35:30
  Alexandra Hill: And it's a lot there I think venue is probably the only one where I have yet to see one that did not explicitly state you need insurance.
• 35:39
  Alexandra Hill: I might I have just seen one yet but so far they pretty much all have it.
• 35:43
  Alexandra Hill: And it's usually buried in the legalese the couple needs insurance yeah that or what they will require so either everyone or the couple or just the carer.
• 35:52
  Alexandra Hill: But it's usually written on a venues contract.
• 35:56
  Kristy Silva: And we are seeing most venues these days require at least basic liability insurance and I'm gonna do a whole episode just on insurance so we'll go in more into that but yeah it is often in contracts for venues that the couple has to have an event liability insurance policy.
• 36:12
  Kristy Silva: It's usually going to cost you like a hundred dollars you know it's just it's not a big deal.
• 36:17
  Kristy Silva: It's giving you like two million dollars in coverage against property damage and against physical injury that might result from guests.
• 36:23
  Kristy Silva: So even if your venue does not require that in their contract we make all of our couples get it regardless because I just think it's silly not to like please like pay the hundred dollars.
• 36:35
  Alexandra Hill: I mean especially if the worst scenario happens and you just have to cancel I mean that insurance is protecting you from yeah all of that fallout.
• 36:43
  Kristy Silva: Yeah.
• 36:43
  Kristy Silva: If you do full cancellation yeah insurance yeah basic liability will not protect you from from cancellation but the next tier up which again we'll talk about the differences there will give you more coverage around if you have to cancel due to all kinds of things whether it's weather or injury to yourself or a family member or something that makes you have to postpone or whatever the case might be.
• 37:04
  Kristy Silva: So yeah but keep an eye out for that in your venue contracts on whether it's required that you personally have event insurance.
• 37:10
  Kristy Silva: And again even if they don't I say get it anyway but it's good to know what you're agreeing to when you sign that venue contract.
• 37:18
  Alexandra Hill: Mm-hmm the only other thing I can think of with regard to in writing and this is not a contract but we have a really thorough timeline process for a wedding day and that's really great because we review it constantly leading up to your wedding day and that is everything in writing in its placeholder and assuming we got all the information we need from your your vendors, we know when they're arriving, we know how long it'll take them to set up and all of that's written in.
• 37:46
  Alexandra Hill: So that's just an added bonus of having a planner is we have it all for you in one place.
• 37:52
  Alexandra Hill: You don't have to keep jumping around to find out when they're going to show up.
• 37:55
  Kristy Silva: And that is usually when we notice contract issues is when we're making the timeline because we're reviewing all of your contracts to see what hours you've signed with and what your vendor has agreed to.
• 38:07
  Kristy Silva: And then that's usually when we're looking at a contract we're like it doesn't say in here how many hours are being provided.
• 38:12
  Kristy Silva: So then we email the vendor we find out but I had a wedding recently where the photographer did not include in their contract the services provided.
• 38:20
  Kristy Silva: It didn't say anywhere in the contract how many hours a photography or anything are being covered and the couple didn't really remember how many they paid for they were like pretty sure that they knew but again but wasn't in the contract so it wasn't for sure.
• 38:32
  Kristy Silva: So I emailed the photographer and was like hey we're thinking this many hours for coverage in order to cover what they want.
• 38:38
  Kristy Silva: Does that work for you?
• 38:39
  Kristy Silva: Because I don't know if they've agreed to and then they said yes and then the day before the wedding they were like I just realized that you have me for nine hours but the couple only paid for eight and I was like well that's why I emailed you.
• 38:49
  Kristy Silva: Yeah.
• 38:50
  Kristy Silva: And I asked how if this many hours is okay because your contract does not say how many hours you are providing.
• 38:57
  Kristy Silva: And thankfully she just did the extra hour for free and admitted that it was her oversight but again that's why it should be in the contract for your own reference as the vendor and your own reference as the couple especially if you're booking vendors like a year out you're not gonna remember all the details of what you booked.
• 39:13
  Kristy Silva: That's also when we notice issues around not booking enough hours where it's like hey by the way your DJ is currently scheduled to arrive 30 minutes after your ceremony and then they're leaving 30 minutes before your wedding ends.
• 39:24
  Kristy Silva: So would you like to add more time to your contract?
• 39:27
  Kristy Silva: Because again when you book your vendors you don't always know yet what your timeline's going to be.
• 39:31
  Kristy Silva: So it's good for that to be in writing so that you can correct it later and you can make the amendments as needed.
• 39:38
  Alexandra Hill: Likewise um add-on services to like you requested it but was it confirmed?
• 39:44
  Alexandra Hill: Is it written down have you paid for it?
• 39:46
  Alexandra Hill: I've had that issue with bands in the past like do you want lights or not?
• 39:50
  Alexandra Hill: Well yes but then we never heard so we don't actually know if they're booked.
• 39:53
  Alexandra Hill: Turns out they weren't booked so that kind of stuff is why we need to review everything.
• 40:00
  Kristy Silva: Yeah I've seen that as well oh I thought we thought we did this add-on because we talked about it on our call but then realized that it never officially was added to there.
• 40:09
  Alexandra Hill: Or like if I asked this is the same same or similar vendor where I said okay well what time is everyone showing up okay well these people are going to be here this time and these people usually come in um during this thing and I'm like okay but based on the timeline that you have if they walk in at that time they're walking in during the ceremony can we maybe get a specific time written down where they show up and it doesn't interfere with anything and it it took a little bit of pulling but we finally got a time they're gonna be there at I don't know 5 30 something like that.
• 40:41
  Alexandra Hill: But yeah please explicitly say time who's doing what and in this case it was also one of those where I don't get to see the client side of the contract.
• 40:49
  Alexandra Hill: So they requested certain services and assumed they were booked but they hadn't actually heard from the person who was like confirmed how it still happened.
• 40:57
  Alexandra Hill: Yeah it wasn't confirmed and so when I emailed the vendor they were like oh yeah no they're not they're not booked for this we only have this number of hours for this set of people and I was like okay um they thought they had it booked so let me check with them and it turned out you know it adds to the fee.
• 41:14
  Alexandra Hill: It wasn't officially booked they weren't officially scheduled and the clients understandably were pretty upset like we thought this was done.
• 41:23
  Alexandra Hill: We thought we thought this was done yeah and I think that was just it can be a communication failure.
• 41:28
  Alexandra Hill: Like there's nothing wrong with the company itself that just maybe it just got missed.
• 41:32
  Alexandra Hill: It was just assumed and it's so easy to assume when you've got so many other things going on.
• 41:37
  Alexandra Hill: If you've got a full time job and you're only able to do planning for two hours a Saturday like it's so easy to miss these things.
• 41:46
  Kristy Silva: Yeah.
• 41:46
  Kristy Silva: And that is our plug for a planner.
• 41:49
  Kristy Silva: Yeah you yeah you you are busy and you have other things that you're you're focused on and paying attention to and life keeps happening as you wedding planning happens it does not pause so that you can give all of your attention to your wedding which is the benefit of hiring someone who that is their job to look through all of these things and to be thinking about these things that might just not cross your mind.
• 42:12
  Kristy Silva: Wedding planning I say this all the time but wedding planning is a lot of you don't know what you don't know.
• 42:16
  Kristy Silva: So having someone who knows what you don't know is helpful in that process.
• 42:21
  Alexandra Hill: I promise you don't you don't want to find out on your wedding day that something's missing.
• 42:24
  Kristy Silva: No no no don't do even the week of is a crappy time to find out something.
• 42:29
  Kristy Silva: Ideally that week you're chilling that's our goal some people they're gonna stress you know anxiety is gonna anxiety that we can only control so much.
• 42:36
  Kristy Silva: But the week of we hope that there's no more decisions being made there's no new information being found out that week everything's more or less confirmed and then things come up last minute and stuff happens and then we can pivot but as much as we can plan ahead for all of the things and I think that's the last thing that I'd like to touch on before we wrap up here on our contract conversation is what happens when you have late changes and understanding in your contract if there is any penalties or fees that come from changing things late.
• 43:08
  Kristy Silva: I feel like this is most common in catering contracts and something that as planners one of the things that we do with every wedding about like three months out or so once again by then usually all of the vendors are booked then we take the time to go through every contract and make a note of every deadline both payment and logistics and I think catering probably has the most the most high stakes.
• 43:30
  Kristy Silva: Yeah yeah high stakes and a high quantity of fees deadlines and things to track because typically it's like 14 days out a minimum guaranteed guess count is due.
• 43:42
  Kristy Silva: So you know you have to lock in a minimum number you can go up but not down.
• 43:46
  Kristy Silva: And then five days out is the last time you can add people without a fee.
• 43:51
  Kristy Silva: And then it's like okay then if you do up the number after that you can but it's at a 10% surcharge in order to add those.
• 43:59
  Kristy Silva: And so That's the other thing with contracts that it's good to review, would put in your calendar.
• 44:03
  Kristy Silva: Again, like with us, we do this for you.
• 44:05
  Kristy Silva: But if you don't have a planner and you're doing this yourself, then put all of these deadlines in your calendar or in some kind of spreadsheet that you can reference everything in one place of when does this information need to be to this vendor by and even making a note of, and if I miss this deadline, what's the consequence of that?
• 44:23
  Alexandra Hill: And every single caterer specifically is a really good example, is different because some of them will require a minimum count a month out and your final seating chart two weeks out and then your final payments the day of.
• 44:37
  Alexandra Hill: Well, we don't want to do that.
• 44:38
  Alexandra Hill: We want to be prepared for it and get it over with, maybe.
• 44:40
  Alexandra Hill: But also for anything that, like, if we go back to maybe even the band thing, it can be catering, it could be photography.
• 44:46
  Alexandra Hill: If there's anything that the vendor misses that maybe is in their contract that we can reference, we are happy to go kick butt for you.
• 44:54
  Alexandra Hill: We want to be there to fight that battle for you and make sure that it's squared away so that you don't have to worry about it.
• 44:58
  Alexandra Hill: And we'll do it in the nicest way possible.
• 45:00
  Alexandra Hill: But that's what we're here for.
• 45:01
  Kristy Silva: Yeah, it's much easier for us to advocate for you if we have the contract.
• 45:06
  Kristy Silva: The contract.
• 45:07
  Kristy Silva: And so we can be like, this is what was agreed to.
• 45:10
  Kristy Silva: Or it wasn't in the contract, but here's that paper trail, right?
• 45:13
  Kristy Silva: Here's this email thread that the couple forwarded us where you said that you would do this.
• 45:17
  Kristy Silva: That's happened multiple times where I've forwarded an email chain and it was like, please see below where your colleague or whoever it was if you know sometimes it was you, sometimes it wasn't, who agreed to this, and then it's hard for them to say anything about that when yeah we we have it in writing.
• 45:34
  Alexandra Hill: It's the corporate equivalent to per my last email.
• 45:37
  Kristy Silva: Yes.
• 45:38
  Kristy Silva: Per this email thread that you said.
• 45:41
  Kristy Silva: But definitely tracking those deadlines is really important because some vendors are gracious, and if you get something to them a couple of days late, they'll be like, that's fine, we'll still honor it, but they do not have to, and sometimes they won't.
• 45:52
  Kristy Silva: And I'd say again, but catering tends to be a bit more strict about that, because they're ordering food, they're confirming staff, so they're looking for these numbers, and also on the note of like catering contracts and confirming numbers is looking at whether the guest count or like the meal count that you're putting in your contract when you sign, if that is a guaranteed minimum, because that is very common.
• 46:13
  Kristy Silva: Like you tell them that you're gonna have a hundred people, you're telling them that I'm paying for 100 people, even if only 80 show up.
• 46:22
  Kristy Silva: And so looking in the contract saying, can I lower this number later or no?
• 46:26
  Kristy Silva: Because if the answer is no, then I would do a lower number than you think, right?
• 46:30
  Kristy Silva: Estimate low.
• 46:31
  Kristy Silva: And then you can always go up later again, read the contract to confirm what the rules are around that.
• 46:35
  Kristy Silva: But that is usually the case, is that you are locking in with guaranteed minimum when you sign, and then if your guess count ends up higher, then you can increase it and there's no penalty for that.
• 46:45
  Kristy Silva: You'll just pay the per person charge.
• 46:47
  Kristy Silva: But especially when, again, we have couples come to us after they've booked their vendors and we're reviewing their contracts.
• 46:53
  Kristy Silva: We're like, hey, you told catering that you would pay for 150 people, your guess count is now 120.
• 46:58
  Kristy Silva: That's a 30% difference, that's a lot of money.
• 47:01
  Kristy Silva: And usually it's like, no, they're not going to make you pay for 30 meals that no one eats.
• 47:04
  Kristy Silva: They'll usually let you reallocate that money to something else, but you're still liable for that money.
• 47:10
  Kristy Silva: You have to pay that cost regardless.
• 47:11
  Kristy Silva: And so then maybe you're upgrading your appetizers or doing a premium bar, but one way or the other, you'll be paying that money that you guaranteed again, maybe like a year or two earlier when you thought your guest count would be higher.
• 47:23
  Kristy Silva: So just keep an eye out for that.
• 47:25
  Alexandra Hill: And also on the subject of feeding people, it's another good reason to really review your contracts and find out if your vendors are going to need to be fed, because that goes into your overall catering total.
• 47:34
  Alexandra Hill: And if your contract for, let's say, your DJ doesn't explicitly state that he will be bringing a second person to help with setup, then suddenly you have a second person who doesn't have a meal.
• 47:44
  Alexandra Hill: And if you get lucky, catering brings an extra, but they don't always yeah, vendor meals is a good one.
• 47:48
  Kristy Silva: I think that's again one of those things where it's like we do that for couples.
• 47:51
  Kristy Silva: And so I don't always think to like tell couples to worry about that.
• 47:54
  Kristy Silva: Because if you're working with us, you don't need to worry about it.
• 47:56
  Alexandra Hill: Right.
• 47:56
  Kristy Silva: We are gonna ask how many meals are needed, are there dietary restrictions?
• 48:00
  Kristy Silva: But that is a good point for anyone listening who is not working with a coordinator who's doing this for them, is to ask all of your vendors do they require a vendor meal?
• 48:08
  Kristy Silva: If yes, how many?
• 48:09
  Kristy Silva: And are there dietary restrictions?
• 48:11
  Kristy Silva: Because that's all information that you'll need to give to your cater.
• 48:13
  Alexandra Hill: And ask, if it doesn't say in your contract, ask them how many staff they will have with them.
• 48:19
  Alexandra Hill: Because I've had like the DJ forgot his extra hands, a band didn't count their sound engineer, and it happens.
• 48:26
  Kristy Silva: So be explicit.
• 48:27
  Kristy Silva: How many people, how many meals, and is there is there dietary restrictions?
• 48:30
  Kristy Silva: So you can make sure your vendors get fed.
• 48:32
  Kristy Silva: You want them on their best.
• 48:32
  Kristy Silva: Yes, please.
• 48:33
  Kristy Silva: And no one is on their best when they are hungry.
• 48:35
  Kristy Silva: And you will see a lot of vendor contracts specifically require a hot meal.
• 48:38
  Kristy Silva: Yes.
• 48:39
  Kristy Silva: That is similar or equivalent to what guests are eating.
• 48:42
  Kristy Silva: So it's not like it's a salad, it's a pants sandwich.
• 48:47
  Kristy Silva: It's a long day for us too.
• 48:50
  Kristy Silva: And I see all kinds of conversations online about vendor meals and how people feel about that.
• 48:54
  Kristy Silva: So like any other job, you're responsible for buying your own lunch or things like that.
• 48:59
  Kristy Silva: And so, usually most contracts, I think ours has this, I think is the wording.
• 49:03
  Kristy Silva: I see this for photographers a lot, which is that you don't have to provide me a vendor meal, but then you are saying that I'm allowed to leave for a lunch break then.
• 49:11
  Kristy Silva: And so you probably don't want us to leave.
• 49:14
  Kristy Silva: And you don't want us to leave.
• 49:15
  Kristy Silva: No, I don't want to leave, but I do want to eat.
• 49:18
  Kristy Silva: Um, so it's like, okay, do you want to give me a lunch break or do you want to just pay for my meal?
• 49:23
  Kristy Silva: And thankfully, for our couples, the folks that we work with, we've never gotten pushback on vendor meals.
• 49:27
  Kristy Silva: People are like, yes, of course, of course I want to feed my vendor team and you know, thing with my own wedding.
• 49:32
  Kristy Silva: That was also my like, of course I want to feed people.
• 49:34
  Kristy Silva: Like, you know, of course I want everyone to be fed.
• 49:36
  Kristy Silva: And our couples are very sweet on the wedding day.
• 49:38
  Kristy Silva: I'm always like, during dinner, I'm like, hey, how's everything going?
• 49:40
  Kristy Silva: You're good.
• 49:41
  Kristy Silva: And they're like, have you eaten?
• 49:42
  Kristy Silva: And I'm like, yeah, don't yeah, thank you.
• 49:44
  Kristy Silva: Don't worry about me.
• 49:45
  Kristy Silva: I will go eat.
• 49:46
  Kristy Silva: The team is eating.
• 49:47
  Kristy Silva: So thankfully, most folks are very sweet about it and they want to make sure we are fed.
• 49:51
  Kristy Silva: But know what your vendors require.
• 49:53
  Kristy Silva: And then again, if you don't have a coordinator who's figuring that out for you, make sure that you're communicating that information to your cater.
• 49:59
  Alexandra Hill: Yeah.
• 49:59
  Alexandra Hill: And we have some clients who will ask, Do I need to feel feed my hair and makeup team?
• 50:02
  Alexandra Hill: But if they're there, my personal rule is if someone's working for five hours or more, please feed them.
• 50:07
  Alexandra Hill: It's just polite.
• 50:09
  Kristy Silva: We see in some hair makeup contracts they require a lunch or a breakfast or something if they over a certain number of hours, like you said.
• 50:15
  Kristy Silva: And then sometimes they don't, and it's not required, but it's like, well, if you're already going to be buying a bunch of sandwiches for your wedding party for during hair and makeup, it's nice to ask your hair makeup team if they would like to be included in that order.
• 50:29
  Kristy Silva: And they might say yes, they might say no.
• 50:31
  Kristy Silva: But again, they're also there very early with you, getting up early when you did.
• 50:34
  Kristy Silva: And like we were saying, they don't get to go take a lunch break because they are sticking to a hair and makeup schedule.
• 50:40
  Kristy Silva: So it's nice if they have something where between hair they can take a quick bite of something.
• 50:44
  Kristy Silva: They're standing because they're standing, also, they're standing for like six hours doing hair and makeup.
• 50:50
  Kristy Silva: So letting them have something to munch on while while they do that is is kind.
• 50:55
  Kristy Silva: Yes.
• 50:56
  Kristy Silva: Please be kind.
• 50:57
  Kristy Silva: All right.
• 50:57
  Kristy Silva: Well, as we wrap up here, Alex, I would love to just hear what you want those listening to take away from this conversation as they are booking their vendors and preparing for their wedding when it comes to contracts.
• 51:09
  Alexandra Hill: I mean, main takeaways would be if you can't read it thoroughly yourself, if you just don't have the attention span or the time, have someone you trust look through it, you or with you.
• 51:19
  Alexandra Hill: And then the things that we uh stipulate as good ideas for clients, uh, it applies equally to uh like if you're a vendor and you're listening, uh write this stuff down in your contract.
• 51:32
  Alexandra Hill: If you don't want to be performing as a coordinator on the day of, then please write down that we will not be coordinating on the day of.
• 51:40
  Alexandra Hill: And it prevents a lot of misuse and abuse.
• 51:44
  Alexandra Hill: If everything is written exactly as is expected, uh if you can clearly state things you won't do if you have hard lines, put them in there.
• 51:53
  Alexandra Hill: And as clients, look, read.
• 51:55
  Alexandra Hill: If it's related, maybe they'll say yes, it never hurts to ask.
• 51:59
  Alexandra Hill: But if it's clearly stated that they won't, don't assume that they'll wave it for you.
• 52:03
  Alexandra Hill: I just, you know, just get along, just be nice.
• 52:06
  Alexandra Hill: I go in on presumption of goodwill.
• 52:08
  Alexandra Hill: I assume that if something's late, perhaps you've got something personal happening, I still expect you to respond in a timely way.
• 52:16
  Alexandra Hill: But I don't assume that you're trying to mess everything up because it's taken you two extra days to get back to me.
• 52:23
  Alexandra Hill: But presumption of goodwill helps a lot, especially in the wedding industry.
• 52:26
  Alexandra Hill: Weddings are supposed to be joyful and happy and easy, and the only way to make anything, if you come to me and you say, I want this to feel casual and easy, we are going to be obsessed with your details before the day of, because that's the only way to make this feel casual and easy.
• 52:43
  Alexandra Hill: So if we're asking and we're digging and we're finding these questions, bear with us.
• 52:47
  Alexandra Hill: There's a reason.
• 52:48
  Alexandra Hill: And it makes everything feel so much more relaxed the day of, and that's ultimately what we want for you.
• 52:54
  Alexandra Hill: We want you to be able to sit and enjoy and not worry about what's happening behind the scenes.
• 53:01
  Alexandra Hill: So bear with us as we go through your contracts.
• 53:04
  Kristy Silva: And get it in writing.
• 53:05
  Kristy Silva: Get it in writing.
• 53:06
  Kristy Silva: Get it in writing every time.
• 53:10
  Kristy Silva: Thank you so much, Alex, for recording this episode with me.
• 53:14
  Kristy Silva: This is such an important topic, and I hope that all of you listening were taking notes or plan to come back and listen again as you review your vendor contracts.
• 53:22
  Kristy Silva: You can also download our free wedding contract checklist at kinfet.com slash contracts.
• 53:30
  Kristy Silva: Again, that's k-in-f-e-te.com slash contracts.
• 53:35
  Kristy Silva: And you can also search for blog posts for any of our podcast episodes at kinfete.com slash podcast.
• 53:42
  Kristy Silva: If you're not already subscribed to the podcast, what are you doing?
• 53:45
  Kristy Silva: Hit that subscribe or follow button wherever you get your podcast so that you never miss an episode.
• 53:49
  Kristy Silva: New episodes drop every Thursday and alternate between an advice episode like the one you heard today and an interview with a couple.
• 53:57
  Kristy Silva: Thank you for listening to the Planning Out Loud Podcast.
• 53:59
  Kristy Silva: I'll catch you next time.
• 54:00
  Kristy Silva: Bye!