Vendors / Services

I didn’t feel confident lying to my vendors about the type of event I was having and it might cause some problems with your contract. Events are usually more expensive for weddings due to the increased expectations that come with weddings.

I agree with PP. I wouldn't have felt comfortable lying to my vendors about the nature of the event being a wedding.

I also wouldn't lie because I want all my vendors to deliver "wedding perfect" services. But some ways to get around it would be getting food from a local restaurant, as they wouldn't ask what the event is, or ordering a relatively simple cake that doesn't scream wedding and having someone pick it up the day of. Or going to a salon the day of your wedding to get a "special event" hairstyle done. There's no real way to hire on site vendors without saying mentioning it's for a wedding.

You could use “family reunion”, “large party”

I dont think you'd be able to pull this off for any vendors that would need provide services at your venue like catering, DJ, photographer, etc. You could maybe get away with it if you were picking something up and bringing it to your venue to set up yourself like dessert, flowers, centerpieces, etc.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! I’ve been using that “family reunion” option

View Quoted Comment Gotcha! Thank you 😊

I think it depends on the vendor. If ordering cupcakes or picking up table linens to rent or something along those lines, you could tell them that they're for an event that you're hosting. If they directly ask if it's a wedding, I would absolutely be honest though. If it's a photographer or DJ or other vendor that will be at your wedding all day, I definitely wouldn't lie to them. Any vendors at your wedding should 100% be aware that it's a wedding.

View Quoted Comment Awesome! Thank you 😊

Like others, I wouldn’t try to pass your wedding off as anything but a wedding. Often, vendors will have a clause that says they will not provide services if the event turns out to be anything other than what is listed in the contract.

There are some vendors/services that don't care what type of event you are having and others that do. Either way, the upcharge percentage just for saying the word is ridiculous. Many vendors don't put the extra attention to detail/dedication into it to validate the prices they charge.

I personally have never agreed with the phrase "weddings have greater expectations/standards". Actually no they don't. That implies that any other event has zero importance and should be treated as such. The customers have higher expectations because the wedding industry (vendors, tv, etc) tells them their event will be a disaster if they are remotely budget conscious. Most "cost cutting tips" the wedding industry suggests don't save any money at all. That is why venues and vendors who specialize in weddings only have preset bundles that include X, Y, Z. Especially at all inclusive venues. If you don't want X, Y, Z, too bad. You have to have it for it to be a wedding.

The best thing to do is ask the vendor point blank "why does the wedding cost more than the corporate party/family reunion? The same services and level of service should apply to both. We do not want X, Y, Z and do not need/want whatever makes a wedding more expensive so that will bring the cost down. How do we make that happen and get that in writing?"

A venue, as long as it is not all inclusive, will not generally care. They are providing the same space no matter what. The type of event does not change the layout of length of time you are allowed. Same goes for catering/bartending. Outside of a very optional champagne toast that most do not drink, the food/beverages are the same for a corporate party or a wedding. Restaurants that provide corporate catering on Casual Friday couldn't care less what type of event because the food is the same. Considering that so many don't even serve wedding cake anymore, the same could be done for a baker. A hairdresser/makeup artist for a couple people max shouldn't be charged extra because people dress up for formal events all the time. 2 or more attendants in entourage would only require another beautician, not upcharges. A dj plays the same music with the same time slot whether it's prom or a wedding.

A florist and photographer are the only ones that would reasonably upcharge. Even then, there is no reason to.

Saying it is an event is not lying. There are very few instances where they will ask for specifics. People have over the top birthdays and basic proms that are more elaborate than many weddings and cost less overall because they're not telling the vendors "this is a wedding". You can bet the vendors are making sure those are perfect so saying a wedding is perfect while another event is not or should not be given equal attention to detail makes no sense at all. Why bother having a family reunion/other event if people are going to criticize it for not having the same worth?

View Quoted Comment So an example i found was mission bbq RESTAURANT...on their website menu u can order for large groups of people, and picked it up/have it delivered for feeding 50 they have something called the “family reunion” food package, pricing available... BUT for a wedding they didnt have pricing on their site you had to CALL and actually talk to like 3 different “managers” and get quotes for all this extra stuff we didnt want and ultimately they suggested we choose the “family reunion” meal option and order 3 of them for our 130 estimate... which i was gonna do from the beginning 🙄🙄 so yeh waste of time and certain vendors u can just call it a family reunion and save yourself a headache!!! (And money)

View Quoted Comment

Exactly. Most vendors are the same. Just call it a family reunion which it is and they truly do not care what type of event nor will they penalize you and the lower price is often better quality . If you do not want wedding extras, you should not be forced to buy them at extra cost.

Yeah it depends on The vendor because like pp said if it’s a DJ then they’re gonna know it’s a wedding regardless but if it’s something like a dessert you’re picking up then just saying you’re hosting a large event is sufficient

I chose a weekday with under 50 guests. I have a great in-house planner where we are holding the venue and she actually gave me a great price due to the day of week and amount of people invited.