Event Planner Recounts Coordinating the ‘Absolute Wedding from Hell’

An event planner is recounting her experience coordinating “the absolute wedding from hell.”

In a lengthy post on Reddit, the 28-year-old woman detailed the frustrating series of events that now has her “considering a career change.” She began by explaining that she recently moved to the West Coast and decided to strike out on her own after previously working for an event company on the East Coast.

The planner wrote that her relationship with her new client, the bride, was rocky from the start, as every time the two spoke about the bride’s wedding vision and specific details, “there would be NO response.” Despite the communication challenges, the planner was determined to persevere because she is just starting her own business and “needs good reviews and recommendations.”

When the day of the wedding rehearsal arrived, the bride and her partner arrived an hour and a half late to the ceremony space, and the officiant had to leave because she had other appointments scheduled.

An issue with payments also arose. “The officiant literally had not been paid on time, and at that point I did not get paid either, even though final payment was due a day before,” the planner claimed.

When the planner started setting up the venue space on the day of the wedding, the bride immediately complained about the arrangements. “She says she doesn’t like it. But…you don’t even tell me how you want your welcome table set up? And you don’t tell me what goes where?” she wrote.

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The planner also said that the couple arrived an hour late to get ready for their ceremony, despite knowing that another wedding ceremony was scheduled to take place after theirs. “They also did not pay for a mic so there cannot be a mic as nothing’s set up. Then the groomsmen start yelling at me to find a mic somehow,” the planner continued.

Things only got worse after the ceremony. As the reception was about to kick off, “vendors are starting to arrive and they are telling me that they have not gotten paid and they will not set up until they get paid.”

In addition, a room at the venue had been designated for guests’ children and staffed with a babysitter. However, the planner — who was busy doing the job she was hired for — was informed that “the babysitter will call if I need to escort them to the washroom or take them back to their parents — which I literally did not sign up for.”

The venue coordinator was equally overwhelmed and dismayed by the clients’ demands. “They made [her] cry. And she told me that in her 19 years of service she had never experienced something so messy as this wedding,” the planner wrote.

Eventually, the planner reached her breaking point and left the wedding 30 minutes early. “I just couldn’t do it anymore,” she explained. “I’m really considering a career change because I cannot do this again.”

In the comments section of the post, people were sympathetic to the planner’s plight. Most agreed that she faced a lose-lose situation with such unreasonable clients, and urged her to take this as a learning experience as she builds her fledgling wedding planning business.

“I get you are just starting out, but from what I understand, not paying you on time was breach of contract, and you should have noped out right then and there. You don’t really expect good reviews from them anyway, do you?” one person wrote, adding, “Don’t let clients screw you over — just take this horrible experience as a lesson on when to step back next time.”

Others encouraged the planner to not allow this one bad experience derail her chosen career.

“This was a strong initiation moment to clarify what you will and will not tolerate as a business owner. You will be fine going forward,” a Redditor wrote. “Please don’t give up yet. You have so many amazing future potential clients, and this was a test and now you know what to do.”

Another person chimed in: “Take this as a MASSIVE learning experience and you’ll now know red flags 🚩 on any further contracts you win. They knew you were green and took advantage. It’s actually a positive you gained this experience so early on instead of from multiple different weddings you’ll do.”

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Someone else suggested that the planner use the nightmare wedding to draw up firm policies for her business.

“Write all of this down before you forget even a single detail. Take that and create your business plan and your policy manual from this,” they advised. “I would even go so far as to create a standard contract that included all of the insanity to ensure that it does not occur again.”

Another person agreed, adding, “You now have an idea of the sort of things to include and list in your contract and the essential part of that contract is the right to terminate if payment is not received before the event.”