Is it possible for your reception venue to legally change catering prices after you've signed a contract?

I'm sure that somewhere in the contract is says that the venue reserves the rights to change the price so make sure you comb through that first. Also, I'd send an email to the person you booked through and ask them what your options are. I held on to all my original pricing and menu quotes and then when I went in to my meeting, they honored those prices listed.

Agreed with Shelby. The contract you signed has to say the prices are locked. Otherwise if it says "Subject to change" then yes they can do that. Talk to them.

Read through the contract. I'm pretty sure mine says that they reserve the right to change the prices up to a certain point before the wedding, but only by some percent. With your wedding a decent amount of time away I am betting that may be the case with yours. I really am doubting that they would try to pull anything illegal on you, but who knows.

I would also mention to them that one of the reasons your chose the venue was that it fit into your budget. Once you start talking $$$ and risk you walking away, only making a deposit when they could have made a few grand, they usually are much more understanding.

Thank you all for the advice, it's so helpful!

While this type of clause is not unusual, $35 PP does seem high. Something must be going on the food and beverage industry that we aren't aware of. There was another bride who posted about the same thing this past weekend, and her upcharge was $25 PP. Unfortunately, if your contract says your prices are locked in three months prior to the event, I think you're stuck since you've got nine months before the wedding.

Look very closely at your contract. Ours states that the prices may change until I think 60 or 90 days before the event. Signing a contract just basically states what you will be getting and what day, not pricing. But that is how ours is worded.

Mine stated that once the contract is signed and deposit put down on our date, the catering/bar prices (they are separate for ours) will not change either way more than 5%. Meaning they have the right to change our meal and beverage price to keep with the market price, but not more than 5% of what we were originally told (and the prices are spelled out in the contract).

You have to look at your contract and make sure that something like a cost containment or a services containment is in there.

If the prices aren't listed explicitly or attached to the contract, you probably have no legal standing.

As for why the prices are all going up, FOOD prices are going up globally - there are a lot of reasons for this, but if you eat out you may have noticed restaurants claiming their menus now feature "sensible portions" - which is code for "smaller portions for the same price", or they may have cut the size of the basket of fries, or reduced the portion of chicken on your salad, or other slight variations. But catering companies are in a different situation because of the way they have to order their food.

Check out this report on the rising cost of food in the US: http://online.wsj.com/articles/as-food-prices-rise-fed-keeps-a-wary-eye-1404672384

One more thing to keep in mind: the typical American pre-WWII spent 25% of their monthly budget on food. Today, nationally the average is a mere 10%. Essentially, we're *underpaying* for our food - but as global warming changes weather patterns, increasing desertification of dry areas and changing the growing seasons, and we drain natural acquafers in the South and West faster than nature can replace the water, we're going to see this trend continue.

The good news is that compared to the rest of the world, our food is still incredibly cheap... the diet of the average Egyptian is 70% bread, because that's all they can afford. But for wedding planning, definitely hits the budget hard.

My DH husband is dealing with similar issues from the venue-side at work. (He works in the accounting department at a resort.) Recently, there was a change to the liquor laws in our state that make it IMPOSSIBLE to offer a bar at a $pp/hour rate. To stay legal, the only option is to use consumption.

They are having to go back to anyone with an event this year (law took effect Jan 1) that signed a contract prior to the passing of the law and explain that, now, the only option is a consumption-based bar. To try to keep it in budget, they can cap the bar cost at a $$ value comparable to what the price would have been under the $pp/hour structure... Basically, they are doing their best to try to work with people BUT they must stay within the law. Its a mess. He is dealing with some very angry customers. STILL. In October.

Think this question was asked a little while ago, or something close. if you search for it, might be able to swap stories, could help

Yes to everything @rebecca said. Also, keep in mind that the food and beverage industry typically works at a *very slim* margin. Restaurants make most of their money off of beverage sales, not food sales. So, if your venue was the type that tries to stay incredibly price competitive by reducing fees for things like venue rental or champagne pour and still keeping food prices reasonable, they're possibly primed to lose a lot of money if they make the adjustment. Essentially, the more affordable your venue was to begin with, the more likely you are to see an adjustment.

Might you be getting married in delaware? The same thing happened to me this past week, we're probably changing venues! We're meeting with the wedding coordinator this weekend to discuss it but she basically told us in the email that they are not budging with honoring the original package. We worked some numbers and in order to get the same package equivalent we're looking at a $3-4,000 price jump.

In the same boat here. The problem for us is that some big company purchased our small venue (a golf club). Now they are not honoring the original package and quoting us for $100 more per person if we want the same menu. Otherwise, we are looking at significant downgrade! Our contract does state that they have the right to adjust the price. But we can choose to terminate the contract. But I don't think we can get our deposit back. It's not our fault that they purchased the venue!!!!!