I know you watch them; those shows like “Who’s Wedding Is It Anyway”. You do know that those are only real in the loosest sense of the word don’t you? I mean they are real brides and real vendors but that pretty much is the end of it.

Let me tell you about what goes on behind the camera. In the real world that planner is on the phone with her favorite wedding pros the minute she/he got the call from the TV show. So everybody knows just how important this wedding is to their reputation and marketing. No one wants to be on National TV putting anything but their best foot forward.

Take for instance the florist. If you ask for a mock up of your centerpiece or bouquet you might very well either meet with resistance or be told the specific date they can do it. Here’s why: it will only take a few of each flower you are using to make the arrangement but the florist still has to order the entire box or bunch multiplied by the number of flower types used; very few can be ordered as a single stem. The florist now either has a huge investment or they will try to set it up on a date when they already have the same types of flowers ordered for another event. The smaller the florist the harder this is. If on the other hand that same florist knows that a camera crew is going to be showing up for the trial what do you thing they are going to do? I’ll tell you what they do, they beg, borrow and steal what ever is needed to make sure that those arrangements are gorgeous at whatever time or date the planner wants to see them. They will call in every favor from ever supplier they have to make it perfect. Heck I have even know a couple to paint the workroom.

The same goes for caterers, they hate tastings. It isn’t because they don’t think there food is great; it is because it costs them a fortune. In order to get the kind of prices and quality they need they have to order in bulk. Now what are they going to do with the other 2.5 pounds of extra large shrimp they had to thaw out to get the 6 they put on your plate? If the camera crew is there they are going to feed them and most definitely the producer. Why do you think the caterer always gets so much air time??

It is not that the wedding professionals you are interviewing are treating you badly, they are treating you normally. It is just that you don’t have a camera crew in tow. Those are the ones that are getting spoiled.

They may call them reality TV but you need to take them with a real big grain of salt.