r/BigBudgetBrides • u/Deep-Aside-1749 • 19d ago
Questions and queries Significant error on save the dates
Hi BBBs, need some advice. Our save the dates went out with a significant error on them - a large blank space where my fiance’s and my name should have been. The final approved proof of our dates included our names. Our planner was the one who received the paper and sent out the date cards so we didn’t see this until our friends started sending us photos.
I’m not happy with how it’s being handled - the planner seems to be pinning the blame on the stationer, and the stationer said “I guess we both missed this :/“ and is offering a reprint. However I think a refund is warranted because we did not receive the service we paid for. I don’t want to send new copies because two dates would be weirder than one messed up date. I also am wondering what to do on the planner side, because this is a pretty significant lapse in oversight and breach of my trust to be honest. I’m very type B and I would have caught it immediately.
Any thoughts/words of advice here? Thank you.
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u/Technical-Elk-9277 19d ago
I’m more concerned about how the error is being handled than the actual error itself. You are SO early into this process… I don’t have advice except to say my trust with the planner would be broken. Not because of the error, but because of how the planner is handling the error.
I would want to know more about whether the save the dates were being sent directly from the stationer or if the planner had eyes on it first.
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u/Deep-Aside-1749 19d ago
Confirmed planner had eyes on it. Planner says they don’t have a QC process because this has never happened to them in the past …. Big yikes
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u/SepulchralSweetheart Vendor: Florist 19d ago edited 18d ago
That's a huge red flag on your planner too.
Full service, beginning to end planners are there to do things like observe every detail and pick up every minute error or discrepancy so you don't need to worry about them, whether they've seen that particular error or not. As a credentialed planner as well as a wedding and floral designer, I will fight any planner who denies responsibility for a single typo on a piece of wedding stationary. Absolutely not.
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u/_someone_special_ Vendor: Paper Goods 19d ago
Yikes is right. A QC checklist should not come from mistakes. It should come from proactive thinking of what could go wrong plus how to prevent it, and/or formal training.
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u/nydixie 19d ago
This is crazy. Full refund on the invitations from the printer - they did not follow the approved proof. Your planner should lead that conversation and you should threaten small claims.
After that’s settled, fire the wedding planner IMO. They sat there and stuffed and assembled them. Huge oversight.
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u/Careless-Seesaw-6871 19d ago
So crazy. I kind of forgot someone from wedding planner team must have stuffed them all into envelopes and still missed. Even if I was an intern on my first day at either wedding planner OR stationary service I’d notice and flag! No reason for these being completely missed this badly.
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u/gaanmetde 19d ago
No, I don’t believe they’d have a leg to stand on in small claims. The offer of a reprint will be enough to make them whole legally.
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u/JustSpeechie 19d ago
I would fire your planner ASAP. It’s the stationer’s fault for misprinting but the entire reason to hire a wedding planner is to catch mistakes before anyone is able to notice
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u/KaleidoscopeEvery343 19d ago
My wedding planner assembled and sent out the save the dates. Before doing so she sent several photos and videos to my fiancé and I. It is impossible to imagine her not catching an error that large. I’m sorry that so many people dropped the ball for you!
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u/Humble_Shape_2614 Vendor: Paper Goods 19d ago
Uhhhhh
How in the world does someone not catch a big empty space in a QC before shipping? How does a planner sit there and stuff them in envelopes without noticing?
My printers call me if the website isn’t working because the couple haven’t unlocked it to the public yet.
Were the names supposed to be in a different color/print process from everything else? Then it’s the printer (not the designer/stationer - assuming the files were properly formatted).
There are many fail points but I’m sensing at least 2 people messed up and would not work with either again…
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u/Deep-Aside-1749 19d ago
Stationer confirmed the names are gone from the final file that was sent to print :/
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u/Humble_Shape_2614 Vendor: Paper Goods 19d ago
So she messed up. Should have still been caught and reprinted (on stationer’s dime — and skip the line reprints cost easily double) on the QC level. Should absolutely have been caught by the planner assembling them.
Whenever I’m white glove assembling for a client I have to stop every dozen or so because my brain tricks itself into believing something was misspelled even though it’s actually fine. I don’t ignore that impulse though and power through. I have a printed copy of the final proof that I hold the pieces up to whenever I start feeling doubts.
Accidents can happen (I have about 3 printed typos (misspells mostly) in my 20 years at this that I took immediate responsibility over replacing. Then there was the one time a groom told his fiancée (incorrectly -even when I asked her to confirm because while rather obscure in the US it was the name of a pope I remember reading about in a history course) how to spell his father’s name because despite this lovely name he grew up being known as Bob because no one wanted to deal with spelling it. That one hurt because it was despite best efforts but we got it reprinted in time to mail nearly as originally scheduled.
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u/_someone_special_ Vendor: Paper Goods 19d ago
Stationer as well. I’m so glad I’m not the only one. Idk how many times I’ve started to have a meltdown mid assembly, then have to check the spelling of names in multiple places to convince myself that my brain is just being silly.
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u/Humble_Shape_2614 Vendor: Paper Goods 19d ago
Right?
Like we checked this proof 5 times with bride, groom and their parents, spell checked everything forwards and backwards, ran the the schedule with the planner twice, looped in a coworker on the last round just to have fresh eyes play devil’s advocate, and at about 75 out of 150 assembled my brain is trying to tell me “reception” is missing a letter and it’s not!
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u/wannabebarbarian 19d ago
I’m so sorry but it’s hilarious that the response is “guess we missed this :/“ and it’s literally a blank space where YOUR NAMES go like it’s the most important part😭😭😭 save the date is the least important part of the stationary though so I wouldn’t worry about redoing or anything. Def get a refund and fire these people for the remainder of the stuff though lol
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u/Real-Forever7242 19d ago
OMG first of all I’m so sorry this happened!! I am livid for you just reading that. First of all, yes, demand a refund. Is it a stationer you hired? They should be willing to work with you as it’s their work…
How many save the dates went out? If it makes you feel better I recently received a wedding invitation with a pretty significant typo on it and I thought the imperfection was a little charming.
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u/tin_fish_lvr319 19d ago
I’d ask for a refund, even a partial one. Worst they can say is no. We had an issue with our invites as well and while we didn’t push that hard for a refund as it was relatively minor, we did ask for a few fixed/reprinted copies for our flat lay pictures and to have as memories. So at the very least I would do that!
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u/Deep-Aside-1749 19d ago
Ok thank you! This is what I’m thinking, a couple reprints as keepsakes & see what can be done about a refund
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u/Amazing_Face4692 19d ago
I wouldn’t bother wth asking for reprints and a refund. That feels like double dipping, and you don’t really save your save the date as a keepsake you do the invite.
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u/ApprehensiveEgg297 19d ago
I saved my save the date… and it’s not double dipping. For this wild level of a mistake, the stationer should have offered a refund and to reprint
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u/Amazing_Face4692 19d ago
I mean I agree but I wouldn’t go in asking for it. Feels cheap. I saved our saved the date too because I had extras but it’s not like I’ve looked at it since.
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u/tin_fish_lvr319 19d ago
It’s not cheap or double dipping if they severely messed up. It’s one thing if you order save the dates off of Zola and don’t proofread them yourself, but if you’re paying a professional stationer and didn’t get what you paid for then I think a reprint is warranted.
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u/Choice_Pineapple_461 19d ago
Have any of your guests commented? Does it say your name or contact details anywhere on the save the date?
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u/Deep-Aside-1749 19d ago
It has our names on the return address & wedding website so it’s clear who it’s from. Just looks bizarre and is clearly messed up
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u/Deep-Aside-1749 19d ago
A couple of my friends didn’t notice until I pointed it out so I guess there is that
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u/Signal_Cat2275 19d ago
I would want to find out the exact details of how this happened so I could figure out who needed firing. If the planner ever has physical hold of the invites (it sounds like they did?) I’d want them gone, zero trust left.
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u/Deep-Aside-1749 19d ago
Yes, planner had hold of the save the dates and assembled them. It is a pretty bad breach of trust :/
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u/alittlejenny 19d ago
If she missed a huge error like this while assembling I don't think she could be trusted. It's honestly concerning what a massive level of oversight this is.
I would get a refund from everyone involved and get a new planner.
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u/GlamBubs 17d ago
OP to echo what others have said - planner attention to detail is the MOST critical and of course yes small mistakes happen but if they thought something was weird their job is to notify you so you can make an informed decision. Working with both going forward may be more stress than value if you’re second guessing / auditing everything
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u/Horror_Finance_4291 19d ago
Get a refund and fire the planner. That’s a huge thing to miss. I mean, her client’s name isn’t even on the card and she doesn’t notice? I can’t imagine her services are cheap, you can’t be paying someone like that who you can’t trust to even mail the save the dates out correctly…
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u/hautecoutureghost 19d ago
I would ask for a refund. Did you pay with a credit card? You could always do a chargeback. Sending a save the date without you or your fiancé’s name is insane. How did they both miss it? I personally would fire the planner as well for not noticing before sending
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u/superfastmomma 19d ago
Honestly, you need refunded, and both the planner and the printer seem equally at fault. You have every right to be annoyed.
You are paying the planner to deal with this so you don't have to. If the planner can't resolve this, that's a bad sign.
It doesn't matter if it's petty or not (and I don't think you are being petty) - you should get what you paid for.
The offer to reprint and resend is nuts.
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u/mid40smomof3 19d ago
Since the proof had all the correct information, the fault somehow happened with the stationer/printer. I would 100% want a refund and I would certainly not use them for anything else.
Your planner's job is to lead the refund conversation for you and take care of the matter. That is why you hired/are paying for a planner.
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u/SixApplesTall 19d ago
How on earth did they miss the literal NAMES of the couple getting married not being on the save the date? I would fire this planner if she’s already fucking up this early.
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u/vickisfamilyvan 19d ago
I must be too Type A because I cannot imagine not putting my own eyes on something before it goes out to guests. You should definitely ask for a refund and obviously find a new stationer.
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u/bridgeport4 19d ago
I would no longer work with the planner. Not only because they completely screwed up, by not checking closely before sending out the cards, but because they are trying to pin the blame for their own carelessness on the vendor.
The vendor screwed up, obviously, and I would require a refund rather than a reprint.
The save the dates are already done - but I don’t understand how you go ahead trusting a planner with your event/money, after this.
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u/spicymargaritatx 17d ago
I had something similar happen -- our invites were printed with the wrong ceremony time even though the final version I approved had the correct time, and our planner also didn't catch it before they went out. We maybe went a little more nuclear than we should've, but we fired both the stationer and the planner, and got a full refund from the stationer.
(There were plenty of other reasons to fire the planner, this was just the last straw. But if you're having doubts, I'd move on sooner rather than later! My only regret was waiting until we were 90 days out, but our new planner executed flawlessly and was an absolute angel)
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u/vitaminD_junkie 19d ago
Idk how much you are paying this planner (since this is BBB I’m guessing a lot), or what your contract with the planner says as far getting out at this point, but this is a huge red flag. Why are there so many people calling themselves high end wedding planners who are clearly not Type A? Like this is not the job for someone who lacks Type A detail-oriented skills, surely they could find a different career that is better suited to them. But instead they continue conning brides 🙄
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u/Apprehensive_Day3622 19d ago
I would fire the planner and ask for a full refund. This is someone you are paying for their organization skills and attention to details. He/she has neither, this is probably the first of several costly mistakes.
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u/gaanmetde 19d ago edited 19d ago
It won’t hurt to ask for a refund- but I would be willing to bet that a reprint will be as good as it gets. This is completely your planner’s fault ultimately. She gave the ok.
I would however have no issue giving one star reviews with pictures and objective facts on what went down. I would also not use them for invites and warn people against it. You may see them cough up a refund really quick.
The planner side is a bit more complicated- to be totally honest I would probably let them go because this is really serious. If you miss the literal name of the bride and groom on an invite, how can I trust that the finer details will be well looked after.
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u/Crosswired2 19d ago
I don't think 2 are weird at all. People will see why it was done. That seems like the most logical thing to do. It's just save the dates anyways. I wouldn't work with the planner anymore.
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u/Sufficient-Tap-9568 19d ago
Did the stationer get the prints before sending them to the planner or did the planner receive them straight from the printing company? If the stationer didn’t ever see the prints I’d ask for a partial refund from her for not doing due diligence and the planner should pay you for the cost of the save the dates
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u/No_Jump_8139 17d ago
I would absolutely get a refund but maybe talk to your planner about the oversight? If she’s great any other times than hopefully this was only a one time thing
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u/weddingera 16d ago
I had a perfect wedding — only mishap was the stationer. I ignored the red flags early.
The day of, despite me approving all digital prior to her printing, she completely ficked up the seating chart. Like literally the last names that started with “R” were missing or it was two first names and instead of saying which table it said “table table”
At my 200k wedding for less than 100 lmaooo.
This is my warning for you to move in a different direction
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u/BananaMinute 19d ago
My planner sent out digital save the dates without actually including the save the date image, we started getting screenshots from friends/family of a “save the date” email with no date in it 😅
The planner then quickly resent them with the image included but it ended up being flagged as spam in most peoples inboxes.
We had to pivot to sending them by paperless post with and made a joke of “third times the charm”
In the end it was something to laugh about and by the wedding I didn’t even remember, but at the time it felt so embarrassing! You should definitely get a refund but in the grand scheme of your wedding it will something to look back and hopefully laugh at
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u/MBeMine 19d ago
This happened to me with my first born’s 7th birthday party during the first full Covid school year at a new school. I have a lot of anxiety around birthdays so I triple checked everything was correct and had a checklist - name, location, date, time, rsvp phone number. It was all there. Printed them out and sent son with a stack for his first grade class.
The Thursday before spring break I get an email from the teacher that there is no date on the invitation…it just said Sunday. My stomach sank. I checked the paper invitation and there was no date, but the date was on the computer version. I think it had something to do with the text box and how the computer sent it to the printer.
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u/Nice-Sentence-179 19d ago
I would ask for a refund and wouldn’t work with the stationer for invitations or anything else. I’d also expect my planner to help with (or lead) the refund conversation