Planning Problems

I hate to start off one of my first topics on a negative note, but it's the one thing about our wedding that is bothering me the most: our wedding planner. This is going to take a while...so prepare for a long read.

The moment we got engaged, I was sure that I needed a wedding planner to help me plan this wedding. With the different cultures and large amount of people (200 seems large to me), I just didn't see how I was going to be able to get it all done alone.

My mother and I met with two different wedding planners about a week after our engagement. As you will see in this post, and those in the future, I'm always a little ahead of the game. In this instance, I was not only ahead of the game but a little anxious to find a planner as well. This, I believe, has been my greatest mistake thus far in planning our wedding.

The first planner we met with worked out of her apartment, which, at first, threw me off a little. After speaking with her and getting to know her, I realized how amazing she was and thought she would do a pretty awesome job helping us. She did also hold a day job, which I'm sure is very manageable, but made me a little nervous about how dedicated she could be with our wedding. At my mother's discretion, we still went to meet with another planner to make sure how we felt about the first one.

The second planner(s) included two planners and one intern. Quite a difference from our first meeting. They had a computer filled with images of their weddings, very professional brochures and were young, hip and fun. As far as I was concerned, I was sold. Mom Hydrangea thought they seemed more like my personality, so she agreed that this would be a great choice for our wedding...even though she would have liked to wait a little longer before we made our final decision.

One thing is always true...your mother knows best. We are now six months into planning and the most that they have done for us is attend two floral appointments, scheduled about five appointments in total for us, and answered about 15 e-mails. We have limited personal meetings with them, but unlimited phone/e-mail communication. From our first meeting to after we booked our reception venue, my plan for our wedding completely changed (that'll be another post later on). Once I let them know of my changes, they didn't even bother to ask details, how I wanted things to feel, etc. NOT A SINGLE QUESTION.

All of the vendors they recommended I had previously found online myself, and are some of the more popular vendors around the Dallas area. When we attended the floral appointments, sometimes I felt as though they were answering for me instead of letting me speak my opinion. Part of me feels like they don't think that our wedding is "upscale" enough for them to really make an effort.

This is all just the tip of the iceberg. The appointments they scheduled for me were only because I requested them to do so. At that point I felt like they were getting our money and not doing a darn thing for us, so I figured I'd get some use out of them however I could. I could go on for a while with my rants (and no raves) about my wedding planner decision. I have chosen not to share the business name just incase things turn around and my feelings towards them become positive.

My question for you all is this...what should we do next? Should we confront them (even though we have voiced our frustrations before)? Fight to get our money back and just select a day-of coordinator? Is it worth the litigation costs? I am so frustrated that now, just after writing this, I feel like I could cry and/or hit something all at the same time. I need some good Weddingbee advice...have at it!!

So happy to meet you!

I'm so happy to be a part of the hive! I quickly became a loyal reader to this site and worked up the nerve to become a bee and I'm so glad I did. I have so much to share (and so much to ask) as we plan our multicultural wedding. Mr. H is hispanic and I am from your typical American family, so we've had some bumps along our wedding planning road, but I can't wait to see the outcome. Here's a little bit about us...I'll have many more posts to come!

Mr. Hydrangea (Mr. H) and I first met in our high school Spanish class. I was a sophomore and Mr. H was a junior. According to Mr. H, he always had a bit of a crush on me in class and, to his horror, I couldn't even remember that he was in my class. He also worked with my mom in the attendance office once a week, and, again, to his horror, she couldn't remember it either. It wasn't until after college, through mutual friends, we began hanging out. For nearly two years we were best friends and did everything together, including helping each other out with our dysfunctional relationships at the time. It wasn't until one night, when out with friends, we both could tell that we didn't like the attention either of us was giving to the opposite sex. That night, Mr. H went in for the kill and kissed me. We've been together every day since.

We were engaged on Mr. H's birthday, a little over a year and a half after we began dating. I was out to a girls' dinner with my friends and Mr. H was just hanging around the house. Although we had seriously been talking about marriage (actually, I knew he already had the ring), I completely didn't see it coming. I guessed earlier in the week that he would propose on his birthday but he did EVERYTHING to convince me that this was not the case. I completely believed him (mainly because I have an intimidating father who I was SURE Mr. H hadn't spoken to yet), so I had no qualms about having my girlfriend over for wine after dinner. Needless to say, midnight creeped upon us and it was almost his birthday, so after several hours and a bottle of wine later, Mr. H was antsy for my friend to go home. Long story short, about 5 minutes after she left Mr. H was on one knee and the rest is history!

The Hydrangeas!

Miss Hydrangea

Miss Hydrangea, Dallas
Age and Occupation: 26, Administrative Assistant
Fiance’s Age and Occupation: 27, Network Analyst
Engagement Date: June 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since:
Venue: Catholic Church Ceremony and Reception at The W Hotel
About Me: Mr. Hydrangea and I are both from a small town outside of Dallas. We graduated from the same high school and although we had the same Spanish class (and Mr. H thought I was pretty cute), we never really knew each other. It wasn’t until after college that we met through mutual acquaintances and quickly became good friends. During Thanksgiving of 2005, Mr. H went in for the kill, planted one on me, and we’ve been together ever since!

Mr. H and I come from very different cultures and backgrounds so I’m excited to plan our wedding with a balance of both traditions. My mom has always been a DIY queen, and I’m just now starting to get into it with a new house and a wedding to plan!