Negotiating with venue 16 January 2017 at 3:48PM in Weddings & anniversaries 5 replies 5.5K views

kmcly1234

Hi All


I'm wondering if anyone has managed to successfully negotiate with a wedding venue?


Have got a quote for November midweek wedding next year so going out of season and in the week, I know I could get a better deal if I waited until nearer the time to book but I would rather get it all booked.


It's my dream venue and the price isn't too outrageous compared to others but I am on quite a restrictive budget.


Does anyone have any ideas on how I could negotiate a better deal or are venues quite strict on their pricing?


Thanks

ScarlettKitsune

Bigger companies are often open to a bit of negotiating because they have a flexible budget. Small family run businesses tend to be more rigid, I've found.

daivid

Perhaps look through the breakdown and see if any items seem overpriced or two expensive then ask for a discount or alternative. Some of our prospective venues offered to waive venue hire charges given a certain number of guests.

With the venue we went for (a family run hotel) the evening buffet options seemed pricey (and not really what we wanted). After talking this through they offered a buffet to our wants and on a flat price not per head. The saving was about £1500. It did take a few emails and a face to face meeting with the manager to sort but was well worth it.

cashewnut

If this is your dream venue be careful not to insult them with your negotiations...

We just chose somewhere that matched our budget and they did a tremendous job.

ceb1995

What I did was to nicely mention when speaking to the events coordinator the parts of the offered package that we wouldn't feel the need to use or want such as the amount of alcohol on offer, as it is october we are getting married in I think that helped with negotiations so we got £3 off per person and a free room for 2 of us the night before by not having one drink per person.

paddyrg

Tell them you love the place and want to use it, but you're struggling a bit with the price. Then you can discuss with them the figure you need to get to, and ask how they suggest you get there. They won't want to lose the business as long as you're in the right ballpark. You could also request they could throw something in as a freebie - best to go for things that cost them little - eg an extra night's room for you two, breakfasts, keeping the venue bar open for an extra hour, an extra coordinator to help arrange things, etc.