You’ve probably seen award winning in vendor listings, but did you know that not all awards are created equal? In fact, some aren’t earned at all. I personally know of at least one local award-winning wedding planner who has purchased the title, and frankly, I think that behavior contributes to the bad image many wedding professionals face. So, I decided to do something about it.
Here’s how to separate real industry recognition from paid features (advertorials), and what actually matters when choosing your wedding vendor team.
Today, I received an email offering to feature my company as the exclusive recommended wedding planner for New England… and as one of the “Top 50 Wedding Planners in the World.”
That sounds like quite an honor.
There was just one problem: I had never applied for it. I didn’t have to show or prove my qualifications. There was no mention of a nomination process, judging panel, evaluation process, or any specific work the sender had reviewed. There was no explanation of why our company had supposedly been selected over other planners.
Instead, it outlined a promotional package I would have to purchase in order to obtain the “award” and cement my name on the list of Top 50 Wedding Planners in the World.
For that “production contribution,” the package would include a quarter-page magazine profile, an editorial write-up, social media promotion, a rosette, and a certificate for public and website use. If I paid in full at the time of booking, I would receive an additional discount.
What I had received was not a straightforward notification that we had won an independently judged award. It was an invitation to purchase publicity presented in the language of recognition and prestige.
Couples deserve to understand the difference, because if they believe they are hiring an award-winning wedding planner, chances are they do not know it’s possible the award was simply purchased.
Paid publicity is not inherently dishonest
Let’s begin with an important distinction: there is nothing wrong with advertising.
Wedding businesses pay for magazine placements, directories, sponsored social media content, trade shows, styled shoots, and other promotional opportunities. Marketing is a normal part of running a business. We do it: if you watch enough YouTube, you may have seen one of our video ads – and if you’ve searched for wedding planners on Google, you may have seen a text ad promoting our business. Advertising is part of running a business: we have to get our name out there, and when you work in an industry like weddings, where it’s nearly impossible to build a customer base of repeat clients, advertising becomes even more lucrative.
A publication may also charge vendors to create and distribute a profile. That can be a perfectly legitimate advertising product; provided it is clearly presented as one. For example, a lot of the big directory sites that have profiles of wedding vendors broken down by category and location may “feature” a vendor at the top of the list. These features are almost never free for the vendors they highlight.
My concern begins when paid exposure is packaged in a way that consumers could reasonably interpret as independently earned recognition, and when the vendors who paid for that exposure present it as a credential that was earned and promote themselves as an award-winning wedding planner. I don’t believe a paid award is an earned honor.
An advertisement tells you that a business invested in marketing.
An earned award should tell you that the business met defined standards through a selection process not determined by its willingness to buy publicity.
Those are not the same thing.
For example, when Contagious Events appears in your google listing as a “sponsored result,” it’s clear that we paid for that placement. When we were named One of the Top 5 Wedding Planners in Boston by PeerSpace, we had no idea we were even being considered. The post clearly listed the criteria used to curate the planners on the list, making it clear this was not a “pay to play” honor. We can say Contagious Events is an award-winning wedding planner, but we don’t tout that line much, because I don’t think awards are all that important.
Why this distinction matters
Planning a wedding requires couples to make a series of expensive and emotional decisions, often in industries they have never had to navigate before. An award-winning wedding planner badge can create immediate trust. It may suggest that an impartial organization evaluated the vendor’s work and determined that the company stood above its competitors.
But what if the vendor was offered the title without any kind of evaluation? What if the certificate and website badge were simply purchased, not earned? What if geographic exclusivity was available to whoever agreed to purchase the feature first? While it does not automatically mean the vendor is untalented or untrustworthy (let’s face it: a highly-qualified professional could still purchase these types of credentials),. it does mean the recognition may tell you very little about the quality of that vendor’s work.
Do legitimate awards ever charge fees?
Yes, and this is where the conversation requires nuance.
Some credible awards charge an application or entry fee to cover administration and judging. Winners may also choose to buy a plaque, attend an awards event, license additional artwork, or purchase advertising after they have been selected.
A fee alone does not make an award illegitimate. The critical issue is independence. Was the winner chosen according to meaningful standards regardless of whether the business purchased advertising, a trophy, or a promotional package afterward?
A credible program should be transparent about that relationship.
Questions couples can ask about a the awards wedding vendors win
You do not have to become an investigator every time you see an award-winning wedding planner badge. A few simple questions can reveal a great deal:
- What did the vendor have to do to qualify?
- Was the vendor nominated, invited to apply, or independently selected?
- What work was evaluated?
- Which criteria were used?
- Who selected the winners?
- Is the methodology publicly available?
- Was payment required to be selected?
- Was the vendor asked to purchase advertising or publicity?
- Could the vendor decline every paid option and still remain a recognized winner?
- Are previous winners and results publicly documented?
A trustworthy wedding professional should be comfortable answering these questions honestly.
What matters more than an award
When you’re choosing a wedding vendor or planner, the real indicators of quality aren’t about whether or not they are an award-winning wedding planner. Here’s what actually matters:
Look at their recent, detailed work. Can you see photos from events in the past year or two? Do you understand their thinking behind the choices—not just the final result? A vendor worth hiring will have accessible work showing how they handle real challenges: How do they solve logistics problems? How do they customize for different couples? Do things look thoughtfully executed, or templated? Their portfolio tells a story about their actual skill level.
Read verified reviews on independent platforms. Skip the testimonials on their website (of course those are positive). Go to The Knot, WeddingWire, Google Reviews, or similar platforms where couples leave honest feedback—both good and bad. Look for patterns. Do people mention reliability? Communication? Problem-solving when things went wrong? A consistent pattern of clients saying “they handled X flawlessly” tells you someone has real experience and expertise.
Ask about their actual process. How do they plan? What does your working relationship look like? How often do you communicate? What happens when something doesn’t go according to plan? (Listen closely to their answer—a vendor with real experience will have concrete examples, not generic templates.) Someone who knows their industry well will have thought-out answers showing they’ve handled curveballs successfully.
Check their specific experience. Have they worked with your venue before? Do they know your location? The more relevant and specific their background, the more value they bring. A planner who’s coordinated dozens of events at your venue knows the layout, the timeline, the staff—and will save you from common pitfalls without you even realizing it.
Notice what they emphasize in conversations. Do they lead by listing awards, or do they ask about your vision? Do they want to understand your priorities, your values, what makes this day meaningful? A vendor focused on selling you on their credentials is thinking about their reputation. A vendor focused on understanding your goals is actually thinking about making your experience exceptional. That’s a meaningful difference.
Why This Matters: The Real Value of Professional Planning Expertise
Here’s the thing: your wedding planning decisions are expensive and consequential. You’re investing significant time, money, and emotional energy. The person you trust with those decisions should be chosen for what they’ve actually done, not for what they’ve paid to advertise.
And here’s something else couples should know: if you’re on the fence about hiring a professional planner, understanding how to spot credibility in this industry is actually an argument for working with someone experienced. Here’s why:
The more you dive into vendor research, the more you realize how many marketing claims sound impressive but don’t mean much. Awards are purchased. Testimonials are curated. Descriptions are generic. It’s hard to separate real expertise from good marketing, discerning the difference between a real wedding where the vendor teams manage the stress and pressure of a wedding day and limited timeline vs an editorial shoot where they have all day to style a single tablescape can be a nearly impossible task.
This is exactly why couples hire planners. It’s not just about logistics coordination (though that matters). It’s about having someone on your team who knows the industry intimately. Someone who knows which vendors actually deliver, which publication claims are bogus, where couples typically get blindsided. Someone whose reputation depends on the events they actually create, not the awards they can afford to buy so that they can market themselves as an award-winning wedding planner.
At Contagious Events, we’ve been honored by real recognition from publications and couples who’ve experienced our work firsthand. We also donate post-wedding floral arrangement to hospice patients… not for an award, but because it matters to us. That’s the kind of values-driven work that tends to build authentic reputation over time.
The wedding industry has a credibility problem, but that’s actually good news for you. It means when you find a vendor or planner whose work speaks for itself, whose clients rave about how they solved problems, whose values align with yours… you’ve found someone special. Someone whose expertise will genuinely make your wedding better, not just prettier or more heavily marketed.
Questions to revisit as you’re planning:
- If you’ve seen an award claimed by a vendor you’re considering, have you asked whether it involved a cost?
- Are you basing your vendor selection primarily on marketing credentials, or on actual couples’ experiences and the vendor’s specific expertise for your needs?
- Are you doing this planning entirely on your own, or have you considered whether a professional planner might save you time and help you avoid costly mistakes?
The more you understand how credibility actually works in the wedding industry, the clearer it becomes why having someone knowledgeable in your corner makes such a difference.
Frequently Asked Questions about Wedding Awards
Are all wedding vendor awards fake?
No. Some awards are genuinely earned through rigorous vetting processes. But many are purchased features disguised as recognition. The clearest way to tell the difference: Did the vendor have to pay? If yes, it’s advertising, not an award. Real recognition organizations cover their own costs.
How can I tell if a wedding award is legitimate?
Look for:
- No cost mentioned to the vendor;
- Specific, verifiable criteria you can find online;
- A selective list (not everyone gets in);
- Verifiable history of past winners;
- The awarding organization has established credibility and something to lose if their awards become meaningless.
What should I look for instead of awards when hiring a wedding planner?
Focus on: their recent portfolio and how they solve real challenges; independent verified reviews from actual couples; their specific experience with your venue or location; how they approach your goals and values; and what they prioritize in conversations (your vision or their credentials).
Why do couples hire wedding planners if they can do it themselves?
Professional planners bring industry expertise that saves time and prevents costly mistakes. They know which vendors actually deliver, where couples typically get blindsided, how to navigate complex timelines, and how to solve problems couples don’t even know to anticipate. It’s less about the logistics and more about the knowledge they bring.
What’s the difference between a real publication feature and a purchased one?
Real features: the publication covers costs; editors choose who to feature; they have circulation and advertising revenue beyond vendor fees. Purchased features: vendors pay to be included; everyone who pays gets in; the publication primarily makes money from selling features to businesses. Check a publication’s revenue model and editorial process—that tells you everything.
Have you encountered an award or feature that made you wonder how it was earned? Share your experience. The more transparent our industry becomes, the easier it will be for couples to make informed decisions.
Photo: Lena Mirisola
