Transparency with vendor/venue prices

It would depend on the vendor. I would expect venues and photographer fees to be posted but others are subjective such as florist and bakery.

Because not all size fits all. They may be more willing to customize and accommodate to your budget.

View Quoted Comment Many don’t even list starting prices for basic services. Some such as photography will have Package A and Package B plus “contact us for a custom package”. That gives a ballpark starting price.


As far as venues, I’ve see more than not that don’t even list a base rental fee. The main ones that do list prices directly are owned by the local parks department. Some websites such as partyslate.com do the work for you of tracking down prices but why can’t the business themselves list it? All inclusive venues are really bad because they don’t tell you until you book them “oh btw the food/beverage minimum alone is 5figures” when so many people say those are the best for tiny tight under 5 figure budgets.
Reading experiences here and elsewhere online, brides tend to be told “oh sorry we’re out of your budget” when prices are not listed regardless of the type of vendor.

YES! If I have to give them my information for them to call or email me their prices, I skip right over them. I got so annoyed with that when we were looking at venues. I ended up emailing so many places that were way over my budget because they just didn’t list them. Thankfully the venue we chose has photography, florist and DJ all included in one price.

I’ve definitely skipped over vendors for this.

It's rather standard to NOT have starting prices where I am, so I would give them a layer.

If they didn't give me prices on my first inquiry, that was a red flag.

I did get annoyed at first if starting prices weren’t on their website but not all weddings are the same. If I just used their contact form they usually immediately sent me a pricing list, so it doesn’t waste much time other than an email.

I think they should have pricing easily accessible. Whenever I don't see a price I automatically assume it's because it's a ridiculous amount. I feel it's their way to suck you into loving what they offer before they slam the hammer down of a price you may not be comfortable paying. Mostly I skip them, sometimes though I will ask.

I think 9/10 times I’d skip over that vendor. I think all our vendors, with the exception of the bakery & florist, we knew pricing up front. I had to inquire with both regarding our specific requests which I think is reasonable given the amount of customization each can offer.

It depends on the vendor a baker cant put their prices on the website because every cake is different, however a venue, photographer, dj I think should list their prices

I inquired about one venue that didn't list their prices online and said call to inquire and they wanted WAYYYY over my budget for my entire wedding. So I guess that kind of turned me off to other vendors who asked to call for pricing. I found plenty that listed at least a basic package online so we knew what the pricing was before we went to go look at the venues. There are so many to choose from where I am, so I didn't really want to waste time looking at things we might not be able to afford.

View Quoted Comment That’s interesting. While many do not list even a starting price so you know they are out of your price range, a number of them are very up front about prices. This list of flavors and fillings is $x per slice (wedding cake size which is tiny according to their attached diagram) and this list is $y per slice. Buttercream is default icing no extra charge. Fondant and gold leaf are $z for the entire cake.

Ugh i really do wish venues and vendors would list their pricing but i think they do that so they can get you to call and try to entice you haha