sans*tulle

all too often, i've gone to process a final payment for a client when the mysterious "error 4859047iourpoer;oiiblahblahblah" pops onto the screen. apparently "error 4859047iourpoer;oiiblahblahblah" is supposed to be less humiliating than the good ol' "declined" message.

turns out this is not due to overspending or bad record keeping. it's due to your ever-vigilant bank watching several multi-thousand dollar transactions flying through your account within a few days time. so how do they come to the rescue? they financially cripple you by putting a stop on your cards...which is SO much fun when you find out this fact after their help lines close for the day. as if you don't have enough calls to make in the weeks before your wedding, now you have to call the bank, sort it out, and resubmit all your payments. i suppose it's great that they keep an eye out for possible fraud and we should all be grateful, but i've heard of such things happening while people have been out state or overseas...and they arrive with no credit for their hotel, food, etc. in short: it sucks.

so anyhoo...i suggest you call your bank the week before you start making your final payments to your vendors so you can avoid the stress and embarrassment. let the bank know that they will be seeing several $k transactions coming through...you're having a wedding...and they should please make a note of it on your account...because if you're forced to pull out any more hair, you'll have to attach your veil with duct tape and no one wants that...thanks, mr. banker.