Wedding Planners Beware!

I recently received an email from a supposed-gentleman in the UK who was looking to plan a wedding "in this area". Unlike most fraudulent emails, this one was well-written and contained plenty of details. I responded with some suggestions for venues, and, of course, requested more detailed information. A week later, I received his response, which did have plenty of details. However, when I received the first email, a little bell went off in my head, and when I received the second email, while I wanted desperately to be excited, the bells were going crazy. So, I did some research, and sure enough, found that the same email with a different name had been sent to various other Wedding Planners (in the US) previously.

SO - moral of the story? Trust your instincts, and if it sounds too good to be true...

Here are both of the emails that I received.

I am Mike Ashly, from London England. I am writing to get information On wedding/reception venues and also so in need of the services of a Wedding planner.

Vivian and I are planning to have a wedding in November 2009 (any date in November will be fine) and will require more information on this as we Plan also to have the wedding in your region. We are looking for a Venue and planner to help us plan our wedding/reception.

40 to 50 guests are expected to attend. Please advice on weather Conditions and the possibilities of rain.

Please note that you (wedding planner) is to arrange for a food, Videography, Music Entertainment, Photography, Officiant, cake and Flowers, decoration etc.

Please do confirm this date and get back to me.

Thanks for your anticipated response

Best regards,
Dr. Mike Ashly.


and

Thanks. I'm really very glad to hear from you. It is the wish of my finance to get married in your area and I have to give in to her wish and due to the fact I do not have any one there, you will be responsible for all arrangements.

My Fiancé and I will be arriving 7 days before the wedding and I need you to also make arrangement for our accommodation. I will need you to book 2 double rooms for us for 7 nights and one honeymoon suite for the night of the wedding 28th November (DATE IS FLEXIBLE). We have a budget of about $45,000 USD which includes payment for your fees, all the other vendors you will be working with and that of our logistic agent who’s in charge of our travel arrangement. I am also expecting 40 to 50 other guest from UK, USA, Africa and Asia.

My fiancé decided that the colour for the wedding should be white and gold. For flowers, pink and red roses should be fine. She loves red roses and we'll want lots of them at the wedding. Please feel free to introduce any nice flower of your choice to make the venue more beautiful. For food, a buffet will be perfect. If there be any more information needed from me, do let me know. The wedding is a civil wedding.

Please see more requirements below.
Videography for 4 hours,
Music Entertainment (DJ or solo singer) for the entire ceremony and reception,
Photography for 4 hours,
Officiant,
Cake (4 tier fruit cake)
Accommodation for out of town guest (10 double rooms for the wedding night only)
Flowers for the bridal party (4 people)
Assorted wine and beer
Wedding time: 4pm. reception should follow immediately till 8 or 9pm.

I need you to get back to me with a total estimate that will cover this arrangement so that I can make a deposit payment to enable you start arrangements as time is not on our side.
I'm presently in Iran for a world health organization program which will last for another month or two and the only means of payment that will be possible for me from here will be via my Credit card. I hope this will not pose any problem to you.

Get back to me as soon as you have the estimate so that we can start of all preparation for my wedding.

I await your response.

Dr. Mike Ashly


I can't believe the lengths that some people will go!