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Just Said Yes June 2021

Negotiating with a venue?

Adam, on June 14, 2020 at 10:53 AM Posted in Planning 0 12

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Hi all,

We're new to this but were hoping to get some advice and wisdom from the community!

We've been searching for venues for months and put everything on hold with the pandemic happening. We recently started looking again and found a wedding venue recent that we absolutely love, but we had a quick question about pricing and negotiating with the venue.

We just got a price proposal from them, and there were a lot more fees than we were expecting. On top of the venue fee, there is a labor charge (which was unexpected, as they had initially led us to believe that set up/clean up/staff were included in the venue fee), a 23% service fee on everything (on food and beverage was expected, but also on the venue fee, labor, and equipment), plus 15% gratuity (on food and beverage only), plus 11.4% sales tax on everything (our state/county tax is only 8-9%).
I guess my main question is whether these are all reasonable charges. Most other places we have gotten proposals from will charge a service fee on food and beverage (and some have included gratuity with the service fee) and sales tax, but that's about it. We were just a bit shocked to see the service fee applied to the venue, equipment, and labor in addition to the gratuity and the oddly high sales tax.
My second question is whether people can typically negotiate with wedding venues about pricing, and if so, how to go about it. We really love this particular venue, and we don't want to let it slip away, but we just feel a bit blindsided by all of these new costs that they never discussed with us until they sent the proposal.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Thank you so much!

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12 Comments

Latest activity by Hhh, on June 15, 2020 at 8:45 PM

Super November 2019
Mrs. S · on June 14, 2020 at 11:24 AM
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As much as it sucks, everything you are listing does seem standard to me. The wedding industry has exploded and it's out of hand. The only thing that seems sketchy to me is the increased sales tax rate. We didn't have a service fee on our venue, but also didn't get any help with set up or anything. We literally paid to rent the building and had to get our own tables, dishes etc, decorate, and find our own catering (and other vendors). With almost all my vendors though there were taxes and extra fees on my invoice, same with other venues that I turned down. You may be able to find a better venue for a better deal. Good luck!
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Champion July 2019
Veronica · on June 14, 2020 at 11:51 AM
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I think this is pretty standard. I think negotiating on fees would be rather difficult as most places have standard fees that they apply. My best suggestion would be to cut costs if it's more than what you want to spend. One example of ways to cut costs would be just to serve beer and wine rather than a full open bar.
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Legend June 2019
Melle · on June 14, 2020 at 11:57 AM
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You could try to negotiate it. I don’t see the harm in trying to. I’ve never heard of labor fee before because I assumed service fee would cover that but I guess maybe some places do that separately.
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June 2021
Dj Tanner · on June 14, 2020 at 12:00 PM
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Not sure what The deal is with the higher percentage on sales tax. You may want to question them about that. As far as all of the other fees go it is pretty standard. They probably won’t be negotiating any price with you if it’s in a Saturday, but theyMore than likely have discounted rates on a weekday. Depending on how you feel about a weekday wedding The discount is usually pretty significant like thousands. Good luck
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Devoted August 2020
Kate · on June 14, 2020 at 12:37 PM
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You can definitely try and negotiate. If they won’t come down on price, see if they might throw something in for you (upgraded chairs or late night snacks, for example.) There is absolutely no harm in trying to negotiate, as long as you know that they could always say no. I would definitely have them explain the high sales tax to you, as some businesses are trying to make up for lost time by adding extra charges due to Covid-19. While it’s understandable, it should be clearly laid out in your quote if that’s what they are doing. I politely tried to negotiate with most of my vendors, and it definitely paid off with some of them. There is a lot of competition in the wedding industry, so if a company really wants your business, they may be willing to work with you on some things. I’d try and put a soft hold on the date you want while you spend time working out the details with them. Best of luck to you and congrats!
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Just Said Yes June 2021
Adam · on June 14, 2020 at 1:16 PM
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Thank you everyone for all of the input!
We knew that the wedding industry was crazy and were expecting lots of these extra fees and taxes, but I guess there was maybe just one or two more fees than we were hoping for! Especially the higher sales tax, as most of you pointed out. Taking even a few percent off of the entire wedding cost can really make a difference!
I think we may try to discuss with them or at least see if there are any extras that can be thrown in - there's no harm in trying, right? - but with full knowledge that they'll likely say no.
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Dedicated September 2021
Sasha · on June 14, 2020 at 4:55 PM
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Hi Adam,

I echo what the ladies are saying above about the mine items you listed being standard. One thing you can do is negotiate the base rate per person number. I would first ask for price difference between different days such as Saturday’s usually most expensive, then a Friday or Sunday, followed by other days or week. I’d also ask for numbers in different months and seasons. Once you have the différente is base rates, then use that to negotiate.

For example:
Peak Saturday in June - $200 per person 150 pp min
Peak Friday in June - $175 per person 125 pp min
Off Peak Saturday in November - $150 per person 100 person min
Off Peak Saturday $125 per person 75 pp min
Now you can say what’s the best you can offer for a Friday in May for example. Can you do 150 min guest count for $145 per person? You can also try to negotiate extra time in bridal suite, or snacks for bridal party as well as menu additions. Usually the most desirable food station are extra etc. Good luck negotiating. I would not accept the first number they give you. If you negotiate properly, you will get a more favorable deal.
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Devoted September 2020
Queen Cone · on June 14, 2020 at 5:29 PM
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This is pretty common but maybe due to pandemic theyll be willing to negotiate ?
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VIP June 2019
Hanna · on June 14, 2020 at 10:27 PM
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This is unfortunately extremely common. I'm not sure I would recommend trying to negotiate right now. Venues are in such high demand with so many 2020 brides postponing.
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VIP December 2021
mrswinteriscoming · on June 14, 2020 at 11:25 PM
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I would see if they will waive the sales tax if you pay in cash, and second if they do not allow this, negotiate the sales tax to be reduced so it is in line with your state’s tax scheme. Where I live (Australia), we had a number of vendors agree to waive the goods and services tax if we paid cash. So far between the florist, band, and cake maker, this has saved us well over $1,000 in itself. This is one of the few things you might be successful in negotiating as the other things seem standard, but have been ‘hidden’ by your venue.

I would also, for every single contract you enter into, ensure the force majeure clause is amended to include epidemic, pandemic, quarantine, or declaration of a state of emergency. After COVID-19 you want to make sure you are covered in the event anything goes belly up!
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Just Said Yes May 2022
Deana · on June 14, 2020 at 11:34 PM
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To echo everyone else's points, be honest about how much you love the venue and want to get married there. When our venue came back with higher than expected catering costs, we told them our budget and they crunched the numbers and got us a menu we could afford. Seeing how hard they worked for our business was really encouraging.
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Devoted August 2023
Hhh · on June 15, 2020 at 8:45 PM
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Agree with much of the above, but without any leverage to negotiate it is unlikely they will just lower the price. You could offer to put more down upfront (many vendors are having cash flow problems with delays and cancellations) in exchange for a better rate. Otherwise, you’re best bet is probably to novitiate the extras which would cost you a lot but are almost insignificant for them. We had luck getting tables with tablecloths thrown in as well as the use of various rental furniture/decor and longer time to use the space.
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