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Maureen
Devoted November 2021

Food and Bev minimums

Maureen, on March 30, 2021 at 12:54 AM Posted in Wedding Reception 0 13
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I’m curious if other brides have had their venues waive their food and beverage minimums if they couldn’t meet it because of guests not showing due to Covid. The last thing I want is to be forced to meet the minimum with extra ad-ons, like extra champagne toasts or fancy coffee bar, when I can’t help a pandemic is influencing my guests decision to not come.


If everyone (or even close to everyone) came, we’d be able to hit the minimum no problem with just dinner/drinks and cocktail hour.
Has anyone had a problem with this? Any luck on venues throwing the white flag on minimums and just want to push you down the aisle? 75% of my guest list has to get on a plane to Florida. I can see us potentially not being able to hit the minimum. I don’t need or want chocolate fountain just to please their numbers, but I get it...business is business at the same time. 😫

13 Comments

Latest activity by Molly, on March 30, 2021 at 11:35 PM
  • mrswinteriscoming
    VIP December 2021
    mrswinteriscoming ·
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    We have a $16,000 minimum which translates to a minimum of 100 guests. Our venue allowed us to postpone our wedding free of charge but it had to be on the exact terms as the original booking, so our wedding is now on a Sunday ($14,000 minimum) but we are still subject to the original minimum spend.

    If you didn’t postpone your wedding and you are more just dealing with reduced numbers, your best bet is to read your contract and otherwise speak to your venue directly. Chances are this is something they will only accommodate if they choose to (unless contractually they’re obliged to reduce the minimum spend but this is unlikely) but it won’t hurt to try and see what they can do.

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  • Elizabeth
    Super June 2021
    Elizabeth ·
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    I had one venue offer to wave the minimum, but it was a hotel venue, not a stand-alone. Every stand-alone venue I talked to absolutely refused to waive the F&B minimim, even though our state had a tight indoor limit which meant that we would only be able to have 40-50 people. $12k minimum for 40 people? Pass. I think they believe they could get someone to pay it so they aren't going to waive it for us. I generally get why venues have a minimum and they've been struggling during the pandemic, so I don't want to begrudge them...but I a little bit do begrudge them
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  • J
    Devoted September 2021
    Jay ·
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    I would ask them & read the contract. We looked for venues during the pandemic & this was my question for any with minimums...every one said the minimum applies regardless of guest size, although I didn’t read the contracts. I suspect that’s just the nature of minimums: with or without COVID, if you anticipate needing X # of people to hit the minimum, invite at least X, but then have less than X show, you’re still held to it. We ultimately didn’t sign with any venues with minimums so I can’t help on the asking front.
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  • Katie
    VIP August 2020
    Katie ·
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    Hi Maureen! Last summer our venue did waive the minimum amount for us. We spoke to the venue about it, so definitely have that conversation and put the agreement in writing 😉
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  • Ava
    VIP May 2022
    Ava ·
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    Our venue waived their minimums last year during the height of the pandemic, but have since quit doing that. Now their minimums are being upheld regardless of reduced capacity. That was one of the reasons we chose to postpone until next year.
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  • MK
    Expert September 2021
    MK ·
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    One of the reasons we moved venues is because our original venue was forcing us to cut 2/3 of our guests list, while still keeping the same F&B minimum as if we were having the full list. Like others said, I think it's depending on the venue! For us, it was a deal breaker. We weren't willing to spend over 10K on a buffet style chicken tender dinner for a fraction of our guest list. The venue we moved to doesn't require a minimum and/or a restricted guests list. It was one of the main reasons we chose this one!

    Good luck!

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  • Lisa
    Rockstar July 2022
    Lisa ·
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    I think it really depends on the venue. It absolutely couldn't hurt to ask them to waive it. If I were to have held my wedding last summer as originally planned, my venue said they'd waive the minimum fee. However, another wedding I was supposed to attend last summer (which also got postponed), the bride's venue would not work with her on anything. She still would have been required to meet their minimum, and she also ended up having to pay a new deposit to postpone. So, I think it's really dependent on the venue. I think they'd be more likely to allow it if asked nicely (rather than demanding they waive it). Couldn't hurt to ask!
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  • Maureen
    Devoted November 2021
    Maureen ·
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    So you have to hit $16,000 on a Sunday, even though that’s not the required number for a Sunday wedding?
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  • M
    Legend June 2019
    Melle ·
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    My best friend said the venue for hers needed 100 minimum regardless so even if they didn't have 100 people, they'd still need to pay that amount for 100 people

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  • mrswinteriscoming
    VIP December 2021
    mrswinteriscoming ·
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    Yes because the booking was transferred on identical terms - not that we will have an issue hitting them (we will have about 20 more people than our minimum). Our venue threw us a lifeline though, they did this at their discretion. Had they not offered this we would’ve lost $5000 in cancelling.
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  • MK
    Expert September 2021
    MK ·
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    Whoo, this price in itself seems extravagant to me. I know prices vary depending on the location but even when I did have a F&B minimum, it was less than $9,000, and that was with 150 people. WW has shown me how vendor prices vary considerably depending on your area!

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  • J
    Devoted September 2021
    Jay ·
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    It varies so much! I’m in a HCOL area & the places we looked at with minimums were $15k at the lowest. That was food & drink only—venue rental was about $3-6k more. And, doing the math, we’d likely go over the minimum with our guest count! We’re going with a more a la carte venue, which is still pricey but thankfully no minimum. And then I see people online saying they’re at $25pp with drinks included & I’m in shock haha.
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  • Molly
    Expert August 2021
    Molly ·
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    Mine didn't remove it but due to Covid & couple feedback, they did lower it. So our F&B min went from $6000 to $4000. I agree with PP, message your venue and see what they can do.

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