Declining a venue e mail

"Thank you for your time and attention, but my fiance(e) and I have decided to host our wedding at another venue."

Why do you feel horrible? They didn't have availability, that's not your fault. You just say "Thank you so much for your help through this process; we have decided to book with another venue due to their availability matching ours." Simple as that! This is definitely not the most fun part of planning, but it's necessary and courteous to let vendors know!

Keep it simple and concise, like the suggestion above. Its very polite of you to let them know that you have decided on another location. Not many vendors get this notice.

Thank you!! And I only feel bad because I wanted so badly to have my wedding there. We went 3 times! And every time fell more in love! Your right. Just rip the bandaid and tell them it didn't work due to availability!

This goes for any vendor you speak with: We will always be disappointed not to be a part of your day, but we will always appreciate you telling us no. Simply ignoring a vendor who has taken time to speak with you, meet with you, provide a quote, anything, is just the worst part about our business, IMHO. You are doing the right thing and they will appreciate you telling them that you are going elsewhere.

May I ask why you are not willing to move your date if you are that in love with the venue?

Dear Tara,

It would be tremendously helpful to your vendor if you let them know you have chosen another venue and why. It will not be a unique event for your vendor, rather a regular occurence. Potential clients make their decisions for a variety of reasons. It helps our market research if you let us know where you will be hosting your wedding (informs us of our competition) and why (is there something we need to reconsider/do differently). We can then close your file and move on, so you will save us the time and effort of following-up with you.

The formula for giving bad news is to start out positively, deliver your message and then express your gratitude. No worries, your vendor will appreciate your upfront candor.

I've have told every vendor we met with (except 1) "thank you for your time meeting with us, however we have chosen to go another direction." some i've also told i will keep their info for the future and friends (loved them but for one reason or another it couldn't work). only vendor i just blew off was a dj, he was completely rude when we met with him slamming vendors he hadn't personally worked with, the fact that my brother is marrying us (he's also an officiant) and called and e-mailed us almost every day for a month both before and after we met. he was so pushy that we completely ignored him after we met.

I could be wrong, but it sounds like you're offering a great explanation.

being frank with them and saying that you actually wanted to have your wedding there, but they don't have your dates available is perfect!

It also has the added bonus of them knowing they should maybe let you know if something becomes available later.

That's the best excuse ever! You can't plan your wedding around them. They know they can't win um all!

@stacydiane.ox - I feel like I know that DJ and would be veeerrrryy interested in knowing if it's who I think it is. It sounds like him so much. I don't want you to put him on blast, but would you mind messaging me who it was? I'm dying to know if I'm right. lol.

@Pearleventplanning sent you an e-mail.

Even just a "No, thank you."

I've been waiting to hear back from 2 couples for later this month. I e-mailed follow-ups to both on Jan. 2.

Even just a "No, thank you."

I've been waiting to hear back from 2 couples for later this month. I e-mailed follow-ups to both on Jan. 2.

" Thank you for the details- I appreciate your information, X and Y will not work for our plans- thank you so much!

Most of my venues are declining me due to my small guest numbers though- so I don't have to write this that often LMAO- but it's not that hard- say thank you but no thank you.

One place I straight told her was way out of my budget since she was on the phone with me and we were discussing 2 spaces anyway- and the one was laughably out of my budget and I was like well we can just stop talking about that option now since I can't do that LOL- she was very easy going. The other space limited me to 10-11 AM for a ceremony and charged 3500 for the space in that fixed time- I said nope sorry that time slot isn't acceptable for us. Thanks. jackass.

okay I didn't say jackass- but I wanted to- he wasn't nice. But a simple- no thank you that doesn't work for us is totally fine.