Venue Signing Fee Negotation

It never hurts to ask if they would be willing to work out another payment plan with you; but I would be prepare for them to decline. As you pointed out, September, 2024 is filling up quickly. That means this venue has no problem attracting others who are willing to adhere to their current payment plan.

September and October are prime wedding months, so venues want to make certain you're serious enough to book. As Cece said, it can't hurt to ask, but be prepared to accept their terms. Be sure you and your fiance have established a budget and a guest list. It looks like you're heading toward a $50,000+ wedding (average is around $35,000). The biggest way to cut expenses is to cut guest list. Also anyday except Saturday and/or brunch/lunch receptions are at least half the cost if you're willing to think outside the box.

200 people multiplied by $215 a plate would be $43,000. I imagine the venue assumes that anyone dropping that amount on their wedding already has $13k in the bank to finance that expense. I was able to negotiate the price per plate and a few minor things down a little bit, but venues are usually pretty set in their due dates, as they need to make sure they are compensated for holding that date in case the couple backs out down the line. It doesn’t hurt to ask, but I would also be prepared for them to say no.

I would just ask, but I'd also make sure you have a concrete plan for paying for this wedding (as in, "I can put $X away for Y months, and then I'll be able to cover everything") without taking on debt.

Venues have strict payment guidelines that are typically non negotiable. Other options are cutting the guest list and moving the date back.

You’ll most likely have more luck adjusting things on your end than the venue changing their policy. Chances are if you just got engaged, you haven’t really locked down your guest list yet. Like you might have made an initial list to come up with that 200 number, so now decide if this venue or having all 200 of these people present is more important to you. Taking out coworkers, distant relatives, and casual friends you barely speak to plus all their plus ones and kids could knock down your list and thus your deposit. Also, do you know yet if your parents plan to contribute at all? If they’ve said they will, you can also see if they can make that contribution sooner rather than later to give you and FH more time to start saving up for your portion.