Discounts

It's not rude. If they didn't want to provide them, they wouldn't offer them. Just make your question about whether they have a law enforcement discount polite.

I think that depends on your town. I live in NYC and unless you are using space here provided by the police department (they have venues in NYC and often use a reception room in the court houses) that does not fly. I don't think it's rude. Vets get freebies, so I don't think it's so unusual. Just call your vendors first and see if they can offer any kind of civil service discount. You may not get a discount from a photographer or DJ, but should get something off from a venue. See if in your area you can find space of where the Policeman's or Fireman's yearly functions are held as they do raise funds for local charities. They are quite nice in the NY area so I assume you may have access to nice space. Also see if they can refer vendors like florists and caterers they use. I don't think a regular venue can offer a discount unless you book your wedding during the week day or have an luncheon wedding.

*enforcement

I'm not a fan of asking for discounts of any kind unless they are offered to me. When LEOs are hired to work at events do people ask them to discount their time? No, because they are professionals and their time/expertise is valuable.

I suppose you can ask. Try an Elk's lodge, a VFW or a K of C-- I feel like those types of places are pretty LEO- friendly.

How many guests are you hoping to have?

I think it’s fine to ask the venue politely if they do discounts for LEOs but with your other vendors, just realize that this is their job. If you ask for a discount, that means a smaller paycheck that they might need in order to go on vacation, pay for their kids college, or even put food on the table.

My FH is firefighte and I found that ALOT of vendors do first responders/ military discounts .. although we didn’t just come right out and ask, most told us about it when we mentioned he was on the fire department or had it listed on their websites .. also 90% of our vendors offered discounts for paying in cash

I absolutely don’t think it’s rude. If they offer it, great. If not, no harm done. I don’t see how it’s rude. And imo you’re more likely to see it with vendors like photographer or catering than venue or dj. I saw a few offering it when I was browsing (veteran myself) but my personal vendors didn’t offer any.