From the moment your fiance proposes, life sweeps up into a whirlwind of wedding preparations and exciting milestones. From choosing the perfect wedding cake flavor to saying yes to the dress, wedding planning should be filled with smiles and happy tears — not stress and anxiety. 

Unfortunately, there are scammers out there in the wedding industry — just like every industry — that are on the hunt for people to take advantage of. Wedding vendor fraud is a fairly common occurrence that involves someone manipulating payment systems for personal gain. 

In the wedding world, this could come in the form of a scammer posing as a DJ, florist or wedding planner that promises services that they never follow through with. Vendor fraud generally falls into three types of schemes: billing schemes, check tampering schemes and bribery or extortion schemes. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of what each type of scheme may look like in the wedding world:

• Billing scheme: Your centerpieces are missing half of their flowers, but you were charged for the full amount. 
• Check tampering: Your wedding planner asks for a blank check for a vendor but cashes it for herself. 
• Bribery scheme: A photographer takes photos but refuses to release them unless you pay more. 

One way that you can avoid some serious heartache is by carefully choosing each and every wedding vendor. You can do this by asking your venue or trusted wedding vendor for recommendations of other reputable vendors. 

Here are a few more tips as you’re vetting vendors:

• Look for vendors whose mailing addresses are P.O. boxes.
• Look for invoices with even dollar amounts or no taxes added.
• Flag invoices for vague services or services that don’t seem necessary.
• Look for drastic changes in prices, services, or products provided by a particular vendor.

Your wedding day should be one of the happiest days of your life, and spending a few extra hours vetting your vendors is one way that you can ensure that. To help you plan a worry-free wedding day, Norton has created this guide to help you plan a cyber-safe wedding free of wedding vendor fraud.