Telling vendors you don't want expensive extras

I negotiated with the venue (which included food and beverage), the DJ, and the photographer. I was just upfront in stating that the price was a bit more than I was able to spend but really liked their services. Pretty much everyone was open to negotiation.

I told my photographer exactly what services I wanted and she made a bespoke package for me rather than picking from standard packages.

My best friend negotiated with her venue! They had a package and they let her subtract some stuff out. I honestly think it’s worth it for you to try! I tried with my venue but it didn’t work aha but worth a try

We did our invitations a la carte and got them for a lot less than I had expected.

You can always ask.

Most vendors like photographer, videographer, DJ, florist, and caterer will allow you to build your own package based on your needs.

Which fees/services are you referring to? Saying budget is a concern seemed to help our vendors think of other options. For example, the florist we chose had a $500 minimum but when I explained we were On a budget only having 15 guests, no wedding party and non-floral centerpieces, she was ok with just making a bridal bouquet for me.

View Quoted Comment I was referring to the general fact that when you tack the word "wedding" onto anything, the price seems to skyrocket. It's the same food, flowers, music, etc.
Some vendors honestly believe that you must have certain things to make it Pinterest-worthy or something out of a celeb magazine or it won't be "nice enough" for your guests and don't budge. Some do work with you to not have a cake cutting fee or have an open bar drink of your choice instead of champagne, etc but not all of them do.

It can never hurt to try! We've had some great success negotiating with different vendors!

View Quoted Comment Ugh. Yes that’s so true! Thank goodness our venue didn’t charge a cake cutting fee. That’s one of the most ridiculous over-charges.

You know, I really didn't experience much of the nickel and diming. I live in a high cost of living area and my PP price was $120. That included the venue for ceremony, an elaborate cocktail hour, a 3 course plated meal where they took orders at the table (they asked for pre-counts, but it was for a rough estimate), full open bar the entire time (including champagne and 2 signature drinks), all the staff, a 3 tier wedding cake from a popular bakery in the area, the tables and chairs and all that stuff, personalized printed menus at every seat and printed descriptions of the signature drinks at the bars, and all taxes and fees. Children and vendor meals were $35 per person. We had the option to cut certain things to cut down the cost, but we ended up not doing so. This was a country club venue, and we had exclusive access to a bridal suite as well, which they stocked with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and some snacks. Given everything we got, it really seemed like a fair market value for the amount of food (cocktail hour alone had 8 passed hor douerves, 2 hot apps, a carving station, and a display with cheese, charcuterie, veggies, hummus, etc.). They also didn't charge us for a 6-person private tasting. That is definitely something I never understood - you are spending all this money and they want to charge you for trying the food you want to pick? While I'm sure that some places do nickel and dime, I think part of it is also sticker shock since we normally don't host events for 100+ people. If I was hosting a charity gala, I'm sure the cost would be pretty much the same. Maybe less because I wouldn't need a wedding cake. I think the key is to look for the places that don't charge for all of these little things like tastings and cake cutting. When I was searching and saw those, I just skipped over these venues automatically.