On Monday I wrote about some of the tough floral requests I’ve gotten from clients; today I want to tackle some of the tricky design ideas clients have requested. I never forget that my clients are, ultimately, my boss, and I love making their wedding and event dreams come true. But I think we can all agree that sometimes our dear clients can be challenging…
Here are the five trickiest design requests I’ve ever faced and, unfortunately, continue to face (These requests come up again and again!):
1. On occasion, clients tell me that they want their event to be outside, but they don’t want a tent. They think they don’t need one, because their event is taking place during a typically dry season. That’s gambling, and I don’t ever gamble with my clients’ events. The bottom line is, if your client wants an outdoor event, you MUST have a rain plan. No matter what.
2. Some of my clients tell me that they want to use extremely tall and dramatic candles, which is great. What’s not so great is when they insist that those candles be real. Every single time I have given in on this issue, we end up with a huge mess of wax on every table; the worst is when it drips all over the glasses and table linens. Even the so-called “dripless” candles can cause a mess; if there’s a draft of any kind, wax will still get all over the place. I do everything I can to convince my clients to use the fantastic LED candles instead. All the dramatic flair without the waxy disaster!
3. Sometimes clients will tell me that they want their table linens and flowers to be pure white, because they don’t like the look of off-white. While it’s true that pure white is stunning in the bright of day, once night falls, it doesn’t matter. With intimate evening light, white and off-white look pretty much the same.
4. Then there are the clients who tell me that they love my work and are thrilled to be working with me, but they need me to design their entire event on a very tight budget. Now, sometimes, if the client has a reasonable budget, this is doable. However, most of the time, these clients expect me to create one of my signature events on a dime. When this happens, I explain very simply that I am not a magician.
5. And lastly, I have some clients who ask me to be and do everything: they want to me help them pick the food and the invitations and then they want me to stay at their event all night and make sure everything goes off without a hitch. What these clients don’t understand is that if they want me to do more than just design their event, they need to pay me a planner’s fee. A designer and a planner are not the same thing.
Speaking of wedding and event planning, tomorrow I’ll share the five most difficult planning requests I’ve gotten.
Dear Readers, have your clients made similarly tricky requests? Are you one of those designers who can design on any budget? Have you ever turned down a client whose budget was simply too small? Please share your experiences in the comments. I’d love to know!
Check Out My Facebook Fan Page
PREVIOUS
George Bernard Shaw once said: “You see things and say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’” That quote embodies how Preston Bailey approaches every event.
thestyleco
August 24, 2011
We have had requests where they wanted completely white flowers – they didnt want any colour for flower centrepeices – including the STEMS! They wanted to paint the leaves and stems of every flower in the reception.
Sonny Mukhopadhyay
August 24, 2011
I’m taking notes, I certainly don’t want to be the difficult client, lol
Also, I can’t imagine doing something as large as wedding outdoors, and not being prepared for rain, or the elements, you always need a plan B.
Nikolay A. Perepelkin
August 24, 2011
Thank you for the post
We gave up client with the Provence-style wedding at the chinese restaurant with the smallest budget ever! Even though we were trying so hard to help them, but yes, you’re so right – we are not magician! 
www.illuminationsds.com
August 24, 2011
Mr. Bailey
I know it is a challenge to deal with the hot mess some candles leave behind. I have read your blog for a while now and it seems like a constant challenge for many event designers. It is with that great challenge that I started my own business selling and renting wax luminaries. They are the perfect solution, since they are hollow wax candles and burn with real fuel cells (aka. liquid votives.) You get the real glow of candles, and a much bigger impact because the entire luminary glows. They can be customized in a huge variety of sizes, shapes and colors, and even be personalized. For many venues they also pass fire code because they are considered “enclosed flame.” Wax luminaries also don’t blow-out as easy when they are used outdoors or in drafty rooms. So NO waxy disasters! Rather than sounding like a commercial on Your blog on how fabulous they are I would love to personally share some additional information with you, if you are interested. Thanks you so much for always sharing your knowledge & experience. You are always such a great resource of inspiration and information to me!
Naomi
August 25, 2011
Oh my you spoke the truth with this statement….
“What these clients don’t understand is that if they want me to do more than just design their event, they need to pay me a planner’s fee. A designer and a planner are not the same thing.”
Frame worthy! I cannot tell you, because you already know, how many times this has to be explained to clients. Thank you!
Aakanksha
August 25, 2011
Hi Guys..
was reading on one of the very old blogs about using candles and get wax mess all over i noe i myt b very late but i thot i cn still share my feedback on the same..
Here is how u can get a drip free real candle
When you get a new candle soak it in a strong sea salt solution for a few hours and then dry ‘em well.. dey wont drip !!!!
Do let me know if anyone benefited from the advise
happy candling to all…
Angela
August 25, 2011
Oh yes. Planning and designing are two different things and fees for that must be paid separately. Nice post…
cachet events manager
August 28, 2011
we are definitely not magicians ! thank so much for the post. i thought i was the only one.
wedding photographer
September 1, 2011
Adorable! So excited to be designing with you on FIVE MOST CHALLENGING CLIENT DESIGN REQUESTS…Great post
SCARLET
September 2, 2011
Great post! We get this all the time!!