Are vendor prices negotiable??

Would you like your salary to be haggled over?

@Celia was that directed at me? I work in sales. My salary is literally negotiated every time a client chooses not to renew their contract.

We didn't negotiate but some of our vendors did give us a discount.

DJ- does videography and photobooths as well. We booked all 3 services and got the Photobooth for half price, a free guestbook for the photostrips, 3 additional hours of video and 2 DVDs at no charge.

Photographer- Gave us $500 off and upgraded all of our albums to the crystal cover coffee table albums. They knew another photography company had offered me $500 off a package but we weren't interested in them, so they said they would honor someone else's discount. We did tell them that wasn't necessary but they insisted. We plan on making it up when we tip them.

Caterer- knocked $10 off person ($5 for dinner and $5 for the open bar)

FH got almost $1,000 knocked off of my ring, the story is funny, it wasn't his intention he is just very indecisive when it comes to spending a lot of money at once and I guess the lady needed the sale. So it went from $2,500 to $1,500

Hair and Makeup- gave me $20 off per service per person because I booked their last available stylist and artist they had for our date.

David's Bridal- The dress I ended up with was on sale online for $100 less than what they were selling it for in store. That was the only thing I negotiated. I got the $100 off after saying I would just order it online

I didn't really want to spend a lot of money on a DJ so when I asked for quotes, I always said I wanted be be under $600. One DJ came back and said he'd do it for $550. SOLD! Sometimes you just have to be honest about what you're willing to spend and if they will work with you. Venues have rates published and off season pricing for you to review before you go in so you shouldn't need to negotiate there. Good luck!!

We have asked our vendors in what ways can they help us cut the cost.

For Example: with our florist I wanted a specific flower, the quote they gave me for that flower in my bouquets made the bouquets higher then I wanted. I asked if there was another option, they suggested a similar flower that wasn't as expensive ETC.

With our Venue they offered either a buffet or a plated meal. Wanted plated, but didnt think needed an appetizer course after such a big cocktail hour. We asked if it could go form four course to three course and they took the per plate amount down about 5 dollars per person.

It all depends on how and what you ask for.

No, @Boudreau, it was a general comment.

There's definitely room for negotiation or at least inquire if the vendors provide any sort of discount. We found that vendors are more willing to negotiate if you offer to pay in cash. For instance, we took advantage of our venue's 10% discount if we paid in cash. DH was also able to negotiate an additional 5% off the venue price since we took a date that people did not necessarily want (the 13th). Also, we went to a family-owned jewelry store to purchase his wedding ring and they did not charge us tax for paying in cash. We booked our photobooth at a Bridal Expo and took advantage of the promotion they offered. It never hurts to ask.

Absolutely! You just have to be stern! Some vendors may not, but so far I've been able to negotiate 15-20% off everything OR have them throw in stuff I want for free. I'll take either lol. If you come across a vendor that isn't willing to negotiate whatsoever, I would say find another vendor. They'll probably be really up tight to work with anyways!