Weddingbee boards

Soooo... 

a little background: I live in Italy but I'm going to get married in Ireland because FH and I just love it there sooo much.

Needless to say we NEED a wedding planner/coordinator AT LEAST for the day. I have already booked the venue and the photographer. I also have selected the caterer, the florist, the music, the make up and hair stylist. So as you can see I've done a lot by myself already (it helps to have a background in both strategic mgmt and HR).

The main problem I have right now is that in Ireland (and in mainland Euroep as well) tablescapes are too bare for my taste, ie it's all white, all over, and all the same plain textures and chinas. I need a place that rents nice China, cutlery, nice linens (damask, lace, etc), nice chairs (I am NOT going to use chair covers, period).

Because I couldn't locate such place in Ireland I thought to try and contact a WP for a wedding day coordinator plus wedding venue decor, and I specifically asked for this.

The WP I contacted starts asking questions... some I understand (number of guests), some sound definitely iffy (where do the guests come from? --- how is it going to change things and prices????). I decide to ignore my gut feelings and I keep on discussing stuff with this WP because she sounded more forward thinking than the ones I've interviewed before (and because a friend of mine recommended her).

At each and every step, she tries to talk me into buying more of her services. I mean, SO MUCH SO that I don't know which ones (if any) of her "yes but" make sense. I do understand that my requirements as far as decor goes are precise and even meticulous but... why is she asking about who is the florist??? I have some health requirements as far as the cake goes but... why is she asking about who is the caterer???

I ask her why she needs them and she says she needs to vet them because "anything can go wrong" (scare tactic isn't it???). I say - nicely - no you don't. I'm choosing my vendors and will give you all details one month in advance. So she tells me that one month in advance might not be enough and I need her to "help me choose".

I ask her to please explain how helping me choose those providers change her price.. so she changes tune and tells me that she wants to be able to guarantee that they are reputable. I say "you don't need to, as I'm not holding you accountable for what they deliver but just for how you get them organized". So she hits back telling me that by law I couldn't hold her accountable for that (and I think "WTF did you ever say before????") and that she was just trying to give me an idea of "all my options" (ie: she was trying to sell up, basically!).

I have never encountered somebody THAT ruthless!!! I am not a fool, but she assumed me to be. I am not easily intimidated, but she tried to intimidate me. She treated me like a wreck of a bride who was going to break down when facing something difficult and who was so naive to pay for a bunch of services she didn't need ONLY because she did have the money to pay for them.

I just hate when vendors treat brides like mental cases. We aren't mental cases... we are PIXIES and should be treated as such!!!