Venue Payment Schedule

That seems very strange. I paid $1,000 deposit to hold my date, another $1,500 deposit 6 months out when we planned the menu, and now the rest isn't due until 3 days before the wedding.

I had to pay $2000 deposit because we are using the entire building. 25% of the balance is due in July, 25% of the balance is due in October and then the balance when I give my final guest count 2 weeks before. How are you paying per person before you've gotten your RSVP back?

Our venue required $1500 when the contract was signed and another $1500 6 months before the wedding date. Final payment is due the Monday before the wedding. Since we have money saved up, we have been making monthly payments on our credit card (and paying it off every month) and getting points! We like to cruise so we opened a Royal Caribbean credit card and hopefully all of our wedding spending can get us enough points for at least one cruise

..this is weird.

Mine was a $1,000 deposit. And then $1,000 payments 6 months and 3 months before the wedding. The balance is due with final numbers two weeks before the date.

I think mine is 1,000 at signing. 50% 6 months before and full amount 2 days before. It's also all inclusive of food, drinks, ceremony, chairs etc. Also, if your venue is like ours it's not way too much.

A year and a half is a bit extreme, but not too out of the ordinary.

Our venue required 50% to reserve and the other 50% 1 year before the date. Their contract requires we use them as our caterer and we have to do 50% food costs 6 months out and the other 50% 2 weeks before the wedding.

That seems ridiculous. Our venue wanted $1,000 deposit. Then 9 months before the wedding $2200, 6 months before $2200 and 10 days before wedding final deposit. We are having roughly 100 people at $88 per person all inclusive.

Venues in demand ask exactly what they want because if you don't book them, someone else will. It's not pretty, but it's a fact, and in my area, 2018 dates are already slim. Interestingly enough, I'm seeing a big spike in Thursday and morning weddings for 2017 because there are so few dates left.

The only thing that weirds me out a little is that big a non refundable deposit so far in advance. Some of that should be refundable; they will rebook the date for sure. The non refundable part should cover their time to deal with you and work up the proposal, but having that much be non refundable is a bit nuts.

As Richard said, I think wedding insurance is a very smart idea if you go ahead (I think it's smart in any and every case).

What's the payment breakdown by percentages? My venue asked for a deposit of 15% of the estimated total (including the food and drink minimum) and the rest 1 week before the wedding, when food and drink headcounts were finalized.

Yours would be outrageous inn my market, but like Celia says, some areas are special circumstances.

Does that payment include food and alcohol and everything you need for the night? That price is insane

Reality check time for NJ/NY; with tax and service, a 'nice' place here will run 130-200.00 per guest or more with a 125 person (or more) on a Saturday night. Passed hors, open bar, plated dinner, cake. This is why I just chuckle to myself when I see budgets like 3000.00 for 200 guests.

@tjacob2014 nobody was coming at her for spending that much on her wedding. The questions are just to ensure that she's receiving the most bang for her buck especially since they are asking for so much money (and it's nonrefundable) up front. There are lots of Jersey ladies here so they might have been able to help her find something else that would be in line with her vision in case she decided to go in a different direction.

OP- I think it's a great idea to wait a bit and perhaps look at other venues too just to have a back up plan. I agree that they are asking for way too much upfront and the fact that it's non-refundable would make me hesitate too! I'm in Chicago but my venue asked for $750 down, $750 within 60 days of signing and the rest 10 days prior to the event. I realize this is quite generous though but most venues that I checked out required at least 25% down and 25% installments until it was paid off.

Thank you @tjacob2014 ! Don't let anyone tell you that your venue is took expensive. including catering, that might be a steal of a deal for your area.

For the venue to ask that much upfront is concerning. a lot of venues do non-refundable deposits, even if the wedding is called off. seeing as you're booking that far out, if you ever were to change venues, they would still be able to book your date with another girl- so there really isn't a good reason to ask for that much money up front. Sorry this is the grim way of looking at things, but they're a business!

we did $1,000 deposit upon booking and a 50% payment of the 8500 venue fee. catering is billed separately because its not like they're buying the food right now, so they don't need to money right now. it sounds like a lot but the venue includes 24 hours rental of a 120 acre estate and 9 guests rooms for the BP. every little thing most venues nickel and dime you on (like cutting cake- REALLY!?) are included. so while it sounds like a lot upfront, at least we know what the total will be. do whatever makes you & FH happy!

@JSmith2U, I also was raised in Jersey and am planning a NY wedding, so I know the area well. The point is, lots of people made their comments about how it's insanely expensive when that's not what OP was asking, she was asking about the payment schedule. I went in with the assumption that OP is an adult and can decide for herself what venue she wants and what price she's willing to pay for it. In addition, she is getting her bang for her buck. At 18k for 110 people, that puts you at 135-145 before service and tax, on the low end for decent all inclusive venues. In fact, this was the lowest price for a decent all inclusive I could find in my area, which is comparable to most of Jersey.

People gave good advice. If you proceed, consider insurance. If not, I'd wait till 18 months out to book. It's not super odd for the area to have weird payment schedules. Mine asked for a 25% deposit and to pay installments whenever I want. Is it a usual payment plan? No but I have full trust in my venue, they do amazing work.

Our total venue cost (includes catering, cake, flowers and some decorations) will be about $7500. We did a $2000 deposit when we book and then the remaining balance will be paid monthly leading up to the wedding. So our final balance (excepting any last-minute guest additions) is due 30 days before the wedding and any leftover is due two weeks afterward. It's much easier to pay in installments, definitely look into if that's a possibility.

Price aside, I find that very strange, particularly given that its nonrefundable. Generally even with all-inclusive venues, you dont make any payments on food and beverage until MUCH closer to the date, once you've selected a menu and have a more accurate general guesstimate on headcount. We paid 50% of the venue fee at the time of booking, and 50% 6 months before our date, but we dont make payments towards the food and beverage costs until April, with the final estimate balance due 30 days before, and any additional overages within 7 days after the wedding.

Seems excessive that so much of the wedding would need to be paid for 1+ year prior to the wedding.

Our venue is slightly more than your estimated total and our payment schedule was $2000 deposit upon signing the contract in August, and $3000 due 60 days later. Our next payment is due this month and its $4200 with the balance due 2 weeks before the wedding.

With food and beverages included, that is about average at least in my area. however, it does seem like a large deposit and i have not found any venues that required full payment sooner than 2 weeks before the wedding.

For our venue (ceremony and reception) we had to give a $1500 deposit when we signed the contract. 50% of the remaining balance is due 6 months prior when we do our taste testing and the final payment is due 14 days prior to event.

Ours was $2000 as the deposit and half of it 6 months prior. Then the rest of the 20k needs to be paid 2 weeks prior