ALWAYS read the fine print. Great general advice, but wedding-wise, it’s extra important. So what’s the story on fine print anyway? And how does a couple make sure they don’t miss something that comes back to bite them in the budget? Read on.

Fine print refers to the teeny tiny writing at the ends of contracts. Parts of an arrangement that might not be so favorable to a consumer hide out there, not in 12 point helvetica.  Or perhaps they slip in an extra page of  “terms and conditions.”

You agree to those by signing the main agreement, so it’s your responsibility to make sure you’ve read through the whole contract.  And, our advice is to have someone outside the happy pair read it too.  Sometimes the gauzy visions of a perfect wedding at a special spot can make that tiny priny VERY blurry, and before you know it, you’ve agreed to fill the venue’s koi pond, and shop for the chef’s special spices in Madagascar.

Another thing to look for in fine print is that you’re booking the professional you are meeting, not one of their representatives. Make sure the contract doesn’t say that the individual (photographer, baker, etc.) can have someone else step in.  If you’re paying for that professional’s services at your wedding you need to make sure you sign a document that says so, as opposed to one that says he can send his assistant and go to Lake Tahoe on your dime.

You may find other surprises in your contracts, read them with eagle eyes, and before your evening glass of chardonnay.  But if you’re careful, you can avoid any nasty surprises from the fine print.

Be well, and love well.

Dinah