Negotiate venue price

That's not how venues work normally. They all have a set rate that someone will pay, even if you won't. There are so many brides looking to reschedule their 2020 wedding that the venue can pretty much choose any price they want and someone will pay it. I suggest you keep looking and avoid the embarrassment of being laughed out of the office.

The ONLY way this might work is if things start shutting down again, God forbid, and a venue is just trying to make ends meet.

It doesn’t hurt to try, but if the date in your profile is correct, you may have a hard time. September is still prime wedding season in a lot of locations and with so many postponements from last year and this year, most venues are fairly booked for 2022.

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My fiance and I have not picked a date yet. We were planning to narrow down the date as we look at our venue options and see their availabilities.

I agree that it doesn't hurt to try. If you haven't already, I'd definitely ask for the per person price and guest minimum for both Friday and Sunday in writing and make sure your guest list is pretty much set - we got a brochure from our venue/caterer (same company) that listed both the per person price and the minimum number of guests for each day out so we were 100% sure what our minimum spend was going to be before booking them.

I got lucky and my venue has minimums listed on their site but they really don't care how many you have - thankfully otherwise I'd have a hard time finding a venue to accommodate less than 100 people. But my venue is an apple orchard/pumpkin farm so they have other revenue coming in besides just weddings.

They have these prices and minimums for a reason - I'm sure they'll get someone willing to pay full price for your date who can meet the minimums. They have to make money somehow.

How many people are you thinking of having? If its slightly under the minimum it might not be a problem if its like half of their min they'll probably turn you down.

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We weren't thinking of a huge jump. For a Sunday afternoon wedding, he told us it would be $120 for a minimum of 125. But for an evening wedding, it goes up to $135 for 175 people. We were thinking maybe even 150 minimum instead. It would be 25 fewer people...

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Thats not bad, see what they say - they could say no and then you have to start the venue search again I'm sorry you are dealing with it - weddings are so hard to plan and its super draining when you can't find something that works

You are certainly welcome to try, but the minimum headcount is probably based on covering their fixed costs. To have any negotiating leverage you likely need to offer a reason why they would lower the price further. Can you use the venue for less time, not use some locations or amenities, bring own disposable plates instead of using theirs, set up chairs/tables yourself, anything else in the contract? Or have them add extras in for the same price so you are saving money elsewhere in the budget? (eg. Having the venue coordinator do your coordination too, including rentals or decorations) Negotiating on just price is often unsuccessful, but being creative may help you!

My husband likes to say everything in life is a negotiation—you can always ask, and they can always say no, but there’s nothing wrong with asking politely and directly. Figure out what dollar amount would make the venue doable for you, and ask (in writing!). Don’t beg, and of course be willing to walk if they can’t work with you. Of course, with COVID, most venues have more business than they can handle—but you never know!

It's likely the venue doesn't require you to have a certain number of guests, but that the contract will require you to pay a certain total dollar amount. So, rather than you having to have 175 guests, they probably just want to make sure you end up paying 175 x $135, or $23625 (plus tax, service fees, gratuities, etc.). Sometimes a couple with a smaller guest list is willing to pay for menu/bar/etc. upgrades on their package so if they have 125 guests they are willing to pay $189 pp (23625/125), and the venue is probably fine with that. As others said, you can ask if there is any price flexibility, but especially during peak season many venues won't budge. If your date isn't set in stone, you might ask if they have any seasonal discounts. Daughter's So Cal venue discounted their Saturday night price/guest# to their Sunday price/guest levels in the month of January. She was completely fine with January and very happy for the $5000 savings -- and their preferred Saturday night wedding.

Venues have set rental rates. Other vendors may or may not be open to negotiation. Take a look at eventective.com and filter to whatever you can afford or check out the parks department website for venue rentals.

You can always try, but most venues will not negotiate. If you won't pay it, someone else will. So they don't see a need to change their rental rates.

If it's an all-inclusive venue, they are will most likely not negotiate. Their prices are set because they know what their minimum needs to be on order to make a profit.

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Hi! I am in the same boat as you!!! But my wedding will be in 2023 instead. My problem is also the same. The venue that we liked wants 175 and I only have 150 guest... Please let me know how it goes... Is there any way we can chat privately?