How to get discounts

Ask! There were a number of vendors we met with and after talking with them about their business, we told them "X is the budget we are trying to stay around. Is there any way you can work with me on the price?"

Now you need to make sure you are reasonable when giving your budget. If it is $50 per person, don't ask if they can work with a $10 per person budget because they won't take you seriously. Some vendors may say no, but we have a lot of vendors who lowered their prices because we negotiated. Also, vendors often give discounts at local bridal shows, so if you have one nearby you, attend!

Thank you! What do you think may be a reasonable price to ask for catering?

It depend on how many people you plan on inviting to the wedding. If you are inviting 100 people, it might be a little bit unreasonable to think you may get catering to be under 1,000 (maybe for around 50 though)

I don't like being asked to take pay cuts, but if someone who is serious and passionate about my work asks for a feasible option to accommodate their budget, I'm more than happy to try to make them the right configuration. But that takes flexibility and an open mind on both ends. If I sense that someone is just trying to get a deal, and is only concerned about price, they're not my client.

Either be clear about your catering budget and ask how they can accommodate you (whether that's 'we have x people, how can we do this cheap' or 'this is our budget, how many plates can we work with?'), or base your asking price on their original prices (or theirs compared to legitimately similar practices). I know for certain things asking for more than 20% is rude, but I haven't heard specifically about catering.

Ask if they have specials. Some vendors run promotions frequently to try to build their client list. Or see if they are willing to make custom packages that fit your budget needs. You may have to take things out of their normal package, but a lot of vendors are willing to work with you.

Oh also, be ready to make commitments, show a willingness. I don't mean to sign onto stuff right away if you're unsure, but if somewhere is offering you a big discount, don't wait a month to get back to them. For one, they probably won't remember/care about their old offer anymore, and for another, they probably won't want to offer specials to someone who flaked out on them. As well as that, people don't want to spend a ton of time negotiating for no reason.

Another also, if this is an important, makes or breaks the budget thing, look for alternatives to some of what makes up their service charge (eg not requiring waiters, or ordering a few more things that don't need to be prepped on site/immediately before, or buying some plates of fruit or whatever for pre dinner elsewhere). Conversely, ask about combos (with dishware, with cake service, etc).

I believe that this is a very "touchy-feely" subject. We understand your side of the deal (the huge expense for the wedding), but sometimes our clients might not understand ours and why we price as we do. For instance, in photography there's a lot of time put into editing and preparing for your day. In catering, cooking your meals and making sure that nobody gets food poisoning. Venues, making sure their space is well kept and clean. Florists, making sure that flowers are nice and fresh and that your flower decoration looks like you envisioned. The list goes on.

Yes, there can be some promotions or deals (within reason). Please do not try to negotiate down to a point where you expect everything for free or close to free. Clients need to think about how they like to get paid for doing their job at their employment. We (your vendors) like to earn our worth and keep our businesses afloat.

Hope this helps and by no mean I tried to call out on anyone.

Happy planning!

Carmen

We received $1,000 off from our cinematographer for being recommended to them, booking 6 months in advance, and paying in full. Our baker gave us 25% off for booking 6 months in advance and paying in full. We did have to ask these questions though. Our caterer gave us 10% off for paying for the minimal number of people we estimated to be at the wedding...

Some vendors will give you discounts if you pay in full at the time of booking. Just ask, but be prepared to pay and commit.

Always ask, it does not hurt and something off the price is better than nothing!! Most people will at least give something

Research and come ready to pay same day. For example our venue threw in two upgrades, bc I asked for an incentive to book now and they said well two upgrades. I also got my photographer to add another session just for working on the date with him. Originally I date wasn't available for him. I asked for an incentive to change it and he threw in another session. So now the engagement and bridal pictures are included in the original price. In essence just ask. If a simular venue had something else for a simular price tell them. They may lower theirs or throw it in. Last example, the same day we saw our venue we were in town for a wedding at a similarly price venue. The guy told us that their service isnt as good and they trick guest bc they they bring out the more undesirable food first (heavy app style reception, starts with cold sandwiches) and get gueat full then bring out the good stuff (shrimp, gumbo) once everyone is half full and wont eat as much. Which I noticed. He said while we offer our full menu the couple controls whats served & when.

Great advice! Thank you I will definitely keep all that in mind.

If it's catering, I am actually using a meat market to cook all my food. HUGE discount for me to pick it up and serve it myself.

If it's catering, I am actually using a meat market to cook all my food. HUGE discount for me to pick it up and serve it myself.

Go to a bridal show/expo. Many vendors that attend those (at least in my area) offer discounts or specials for having attended a show and booking within a certain amount of time. My venue gave us free uplighting and $400 towards décor rentals.

Do you already have a date and venue? You are more likely to get discounts during the off season, which varies by region. I have asked if we could get a discount for paying in cash, for paying up front in full, and just telling them your budget and asking if you can change my order to make it less expensive. You can ask to use cheaper flowers in a particular color, ask for fewer hours of shooting from a photographer or videographer, ask if they have promotions or a referral program. Also respect that just like you have a budget and bills, so does your vendor. He or she might not be able to give you a discount.

I got 10% off my catering for booking them within a certain # of days after a bridal show!

Be flexible.

If you are willing to use things / do things in a way that utilizes things for a vendor, they will cut you a break.

We had our wedding on a Sunday (which doing that gave us 20% off on the site rental fee) We knew our flower vendor ran a farmers market stall on Saturdays. We expressed what we wanted for my bouquet, and were not at all picky beyond that. They asked if we minded if they used "left over" flowers from the market to fill in our wedding flowers, beyond what they cut specifically for our wedding and set aside. Of course we didn't mind!

We had SO many flowers, and it was totally reasonable initial price - $850.00 We used something which for the vendor would have been waste, but because we weren't picky on specifics, they were able to make that happen in a mutually beneficial way. They charged us what they usually would, but we ended up with a lot more for it.

We also used the linens, flat ware and seating provided by the venue. Was it ideal? No. Was it budget friendly? Yes. They had it on hand, and offered to include it in the site rental price. I said yes.

Our DJ offered to include the ceremony music and set up for free because we pre-paid him (we declined. I have an ear issue, loud, heck even soft, music bugs me) Usually vendors are paid a portion in advance and the rest the day of. Be careful doing that *to get free things* though, the remainder of the payment is sometimes their incentive to show up, so make sure you have iron clad contracts.

So what I found was, be ready to give to get, and make sure you are willing to accept what is offered, when scouting for deals. It may not be exactly what you would have wanted.

Just like several ladies, ASK! The worst that can happen is the vendor will say no. Remember to be reasonable with your vendor though, as they have to pay their bills just like you do.

For everything I've booked or paid for already, I have yet to pay the price listed on the "price list" or "quote" and have always worked with my vendor to find a comfortable place for us both. For example, I fell in love with my venue but at the time, my budget was really tight. I worked with them to come up with a solution and at the end I got everything I wanted, got it for $400 less than list price and only had to give up having a Saturday wedding for a Friday wedding. My photographer gave us 20% off because our wedding is on a Friday, in addition because I asked if he could work with us on pricing he gave us a free engagement session and bound photo album of selected images.

Like I said before, don't lowball your vendors because at the end of the day they have bills to pay too and they most likely will be offended and/or ignore your offer. Set up your budget, your ABSOLUTE max for each vendor and find vendors in that price range up to 25% over your max. Don't think you can have a max budget of $1k for a photographer and think you can ask a photographer to provide you a discount on their cheapest $3k package. Also, if you find a vendor that you like then receive their price list but it's too high for you, let them know, it helps them stay competitive. Some times if you let them know they may even come back with a new offer, it happened to me with another venue.

Think logical and be ready to play ball.