Everyone has heard horror stories about wedding businesses that suddenly shut their doors and are no longer available to provide the services they're contracted to provide. For example, brides are left holding a receipt for a dress that they ordered, but they're told that the dress won't be coming.

If you specialize in weddings your cash flow can vary a lot depending on what time of year it is. Busineses that don't handle their money well, or who just fall prey to the whims of the market, can easily go under.

I specialize in wedding cakes, and I have a good number of calls from brides whose cakes fell through at the last minute. They're left to pick up the pieces and try to arrange for a substitute baker the week before their wedding. This is NOT how you want to be spending your time.

When I speak to these brides, many of them don't even have a contract with the vendor who cancelled. They put down a deposit but there was no paperwork to go with it. That makes no sense to me, and it should be a sign that you're not dealing with a reliable professional.

One of the reasons that I like working with professionals who are RBA members is that I know that when I refer clients to them, they won't have to worry about whether they'll get the services or not. All of the members in RBA are established and have shown that they're reliable.

I also like that if they don't provide excellent service, the client can let the RBA know about it. It gives the bride some peace of mind to know that RBA members have agreed to follow the code of ethics.

So if you hired someone who has cancelled on you, give an RBA member a call. We're there to help and to make your event worry-free.

By Kara Buntin, RBA President 2011-2012