The Biggest Wedding Scams To Watch For

The scam: You find your dream dress online at what looks like a reputable store—and it's described as being designer. The bonus? The price tag for your must-have item is cheaper than you expected. It appears to be a win-win situation, but it could be too good to be true. Why? Because hundreds of women have fallen prey to the online wedding dress shopping scam.

The lesson: Buy your dress from a reputable outlet and ask them to notify you of any sales they may hold. Also, if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

The scam: A wedding photographer sells you on the idea that they can take the best snaps of you and your beloved on your big day; the price tag seems good and the pictures exceptional—perfect almost. But like several couples in New Jersey found out, the photographer could be faux. 

The lesson: When hiring a photographer, check his/her references and ensure their website isn't full of stock photos. You can also ask to see what images they took throughout an entire wedding day—from start to finish. Google the photographer and search for vendors through reputable bridal listing sites. To protect yourself, you should also read through any contract you sign—look at what happened to one couple who didn't!

The scam: Wedding crashers (or people you don't know well) show up at your event and the next day, you realize all of your gifts are missing. (Such crimes have also been perpetrated by people brides/grooms actually know.)

The result: As you're out on the dance floor, no one is paying attention to your money box or present table. You could lose thousands of dollars in cash and gift certificates as well as cards filled with loving messages. 

The lesson: Don't trust everyone at your event, that goes for people working at your venue as well. Keep your gift table and money box close to a location that will be watched by everyone in your bridal party (heck, you can even have it as the centrepiece of your head table). Also, if you're making a money box, create one out of a big and boldly coloured tote (for example, a picnic basket); it'll be harder to steal. The other thing to do? Clear your gifting table regularly and store all of your presents in your bridal suite.

The scam: Complaint boards across the Internet are full of stories about brides struggling to plan their wedding even though they hired a "wedding planner" to help them do the heavy lifting. The story is always the same: the planner was found online, had a professional website and there were tons of positive reviews of the services they had to offer. 

The result: Brides left planning the wedding on their own, when they've forked out money for services before the big day; fraudulent cheques and credit cards used to pay for vendors. One sham wedding planner was even convicted of stealing her client's gifts.