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50% is a huge discount... We aren't having a traditional wedding, so we don't have to do a lot of negotiating. However, I kind of wonder how you are planning to negotiate such large discount. It will be interesting to see. Keep us posted.
I'm getting no discount. In fact, I'm getting married at a venue that one of the Bees here used in 2007, and I'm paying 25% more than she did to be married there in two weeks.
When it comes to weddings, a lot of desirable venues are (unfortunately) aware that people will pay just about whatever they charge to have the venue of their dreams. And in a lot of cases, they're right!
Good luck! I negotiated with our DJ and got a really good deal. The hard thing about negotiating is that they have something you want, and you need to have something to give. You can't just say, the economy is bad, I shouldn't have to pay this much, you have to show them it's a benefit to them to give it to you at a lower price. Having your wedding not on a Saturday, or in the non-wedding season, can help you negotiate a better rate, since the venue will likely go unbooked otherwise. However, most venues know, even with the economy, people are still going to want to get married on Saturdays.
With the DJ, I went to a bridal show and got a coupon for a competitor and they told me they would match it. It's really hard for a venue though, because every venue will tell you how unique it is and that you're comparing apples to oranges when you're looking at a cheaper venue. I couldn't get our venue down at all. But, keep telling yourself, it never hurts to ask! And if you can't get them lower on the venue price, maybe they can throw in some extras!
No discounts.
The venue we have will book either way, so in that sense they have the upper hand. Same with the caterer (who is the exclusive caterer for the venue).
My photographer was just featured in the NYT as the featured wedding a few weeks ago, so I’m sure her price will go up – glad we got her when we did (not that she is cheap, but, I’m sure cheaper than she will be next summer!!)
It depends on the venue I think. We were the first real wedding at our venue (there had been ones done for friends but not rented out like we did) and I got the price down 50%. I think in our case, we happened to really love the venue and see the potential in it, and I think they were willing to bargain to have sort of a "test case" for the weddings there in the future.
I haven't gotten any discounts because of the economy. My venue had zero concerns about booking a wedding on the day I picked so i had no leverage.
Oh man......this gets me down a little because the rate is the highest in the area, while other venues nearby that are similar are 25 - 40% lower than what they're rate is. I was hoping to negotiate the fact that similar venues nearby are offering less and if they could match.
I'll definitely keep ya'll posted, I'm hoping to go talk to them next week.
Does anyone else have any stories/ideas?
It certainly doesn't hurt to ask them, especially if there are very similar venues nearby. If they have something that the nearby venues don't have (like, something much nicer), they might be less willing to negotiate, but worst case - they say no, and you decide what to do next :)
None! I asked and was basically shot down. Most of my vendors were booked over 2 years out so since they have the business they didn't really care to offer any discounts.
Yeah - I got zero discounts due to the economy. These vendors know pretty comfortably that they WILL get booked at their standard rate if you don't book so they have no incentive to give you a discount.
And as someone else mentioned - venues will simply tell you that you are comparing apples to oranges if you talk to them about the costs of other venues in the area. And really - they are right! If they were truely so similar, you wouldn't even be considering this venue and would just go ahead and book the cheaper one. Obviously there is something about this venue that stands out to you from the others and there is a price to that.
I got zero discounts due to the economy. i too think that 50% is a stretch - I doubt you'll be able to get them to go lower than the other venues you mentioned, as they clearly think their venue is worth a lot more to begin with. But, you may have luck being able to get them to knock down to somewhere between their prices and the competitors. Just don't be surprised if they refuse to beat the price....good luck!
I'm getting married the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is an extremely unpopular time or year and weekend in my area to get married. My venue was already offering a a discount of $15 dollars off a plate with chair covers thrown in. When I asked about room minimums they lowered the minimum for the larger room by 100 people for a Saturday for us. So, I received about a 25% discount, plus free chair covers (normally $5.50 each) and reduced minimums. In my opinion, an awesome deal! And, it was my favorite place!
We also received a great room rate at the hotel we blocked rooms at.
I also couldn't get a discount on my venue. They wouldn't even negotiate changing the guest number minimum to a dollar amount minimum. Same thing as others though, they know they could easily book another wedding on my date if I didn't book them! Oh well, hope you have better luck!
We were already getting a discount from our venue (a winery) because my FH works for a company owned by the same people that own our venue.
But, I did have FH go talk to them to see if we could get an ever bigger discount because of our budget, and having to pay for ourselves....and they gave it to us FREE.
I was in shock.
They said to consider it our wedding gift from the owners. Totally different situation from yours, but you'll never know what they'll say! Give it a shot.
No discount :( The wedding business in Charleston seems to be pretty stable and my wedding is a budget one, I don't think they are willing to budge on prices because for everyone one of me there are about 5 people who can afford over full price. Prime example one of the venues I looked at didn't have any dates in June available because someone was "deposit shopping" She put a deposit down for every weekend in June b/c she wasn't sure what day she wanted, she didn't even end up going with the venue!
I negotiated a reduced food/drink minimum since we are doing it on Friday the 13th, and I figured that not a lot of brides would want that date. Basically, they reduced the Friday night min by 1/3. So, we aren't getting a discount on an actual cost, but this allowed us to consider the venue since based on the size of our guest list, we would not have been able to come close to the typical Friday night min.
You'll have more negotiating power if you are getting married at an less popular time of year (say - february), or on a Friday or Sunday.
I would be careful... 50% could be perceived as an insult, and you may be written off immediately. Even if they can come down a little, asking for so much makes you look like a problem from the start. Just because other venues are charging less, doesn't mean this venue should or can. Are you sure you're comparing apples to apples?
Just a thought...
We got no discounts what so ever... I did try to lower my photography package but he refused to budge and let me lower it (I asked a couple months before the wedding).
I think I won't mention what my goal is, I just want to see how far they'll come down.
I'm flexible to get married on a Sunday, and I'm even willing to put down more of a deposit if that will get them to lower the rate.
I'm thinking of talking about how much I like the venue, but there are other venues in the area that are similar and are willing to give a small discount and see if they are willing to budge.
@YSQueen: Good luck! I think that sounds like a good plan. Getting married on a Sunday is definitely increases your bargaining power. My venue actually offered me a discount on a Sunday when I was trying to negotiate with them, but wouldn't budge on the Saturday. A larger cash deposit might be helpful, especially if the venue is smaller and owned by an individual rather than a corporation!
I read this awhile back. Vendor's point of view on brides asking for discounts. Worth the read!
I think vendors are aware that, due to the economy, budgets nowadays are tighter than usual so they have either already reduced their prices or included more services to accomodate the change. I don't think I've ever been given a discount because of the economy. I have been able to negotiate minimal discounts (10-20%) on my dress, decorations, stationery, etc. but I doubt it was given to me because of the current economy.
@absolutbettie I love that article-- so true, you can get it cheaper, you just have to make sacrifices.
To OP-- if you're willing to make the sacrifices other brides won't (i.e. having a Sunday reception, you're much more likely to get the discounts) However, even in this economy 50% is really unlikely. You have to make it worth their while-- it's like Priceline: The hotels are willing to bargain, but after a certain point it's cheaper for them to keep the empty room, because the profit margin would be too low. Being a good negotiator means figuring out what that price is : )
No discount - at all. I tried to negotiate with a few, but all kindly told me that there is always another bride out there willing to pay full price so they don't need to negotiate. Some did offer payment plans, etc - but no one was willing to give a discount.
Did not get a discount on my venue, however, we are getting married on a Sunday and the venue price is $6k lower than Saturdays price. That helps immensely.
Remember while budgets have shifted and we are in a recession the bridal industry is not so much. There isn't a shortage of engagements which of course lead to weddings which of course lead to venues photogs florists music etc... 
mine's about $2k cheaper for having a friday rather than a saturday wedding and the room minimum was moved from 200 to 150 beacuse it's in the off season, but that won't even matter because i think we'll have 200 anyway. but discounts because of the economy? nope.
Absolutely no discounts. They all knew someone else out there would pay full price.
I got some deals. None of them were 50% off though.
My venue is a golf club which isn't doing too well in the wedding area. So they tacked on a bunch of stuff and basically saying yes to any idea/thought/question/suggestion I have had. We got a good price for a sit down dinner and 8 (not 6) 8 hours of deluxe bar time for $57 a person. For my area this is great especially since they through in so much stuff. Appetizers, complete table linens for color options, etc.
Our photographer offered a discount price at a bridal show and through in some extras on top of it.
That's about the extent of our discounts, better than nothing.
I got some deals. None of them were 50% off though.
My venue is a golf club which isn't doing too well in the wedding area. So they tacked on a bunch of stuff and basically saying yes to any idea/thought/question/suggestion I have had. We got a good price for a sit down dinner and 8 (not 6) 8 hours of deluxe bar time for $57 a person. For my area this is great especially since they through in so much stuff. Appetizers, complete table linens for color options, etc.
Our photographer offered a discount price at a bridal show and through in some extras on top of it.
That's about the extent of our discounts, better than nothing.
No real discounts here either, and this is for Atlanta on a Sunday as well. And I tried with every venue possible here in town. I did get them to agree to a lower minimum head count for a Sunday, but it was still a minimum of 100 people.
The only vendor we got cheaper was our photographer, who had published rates for Saturdays and Sundays that also varied per season (so a Sunday in January was cheaper than a Saturday in June), but this was it, no discounts off of that. And this was when the economy was perceived to be worse and I was letting people know I was laid off since I was during our wedding planning.
Good luck - but please don't be disappointed if you can't get discounts!
UPDATE!!
I spoke with the venue today, and was able to get 20% off their Sunday rate. I was initially looking to get 50% off of their Saturday rate, but the best they could give me was 20% off their Sunday rate.
The coordinator stated that the best they could do was 20% off either Saturday or Sunday. 20% off on a Saturday still would have put me 43% over budget so, at least with the Sunday I'm only 25% over my budget
At least I tried.
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I'm getting ready to negotiate with some of the venues that I'm interested in using for the wedding. My hope is to get the venue down to 50% of their price (a stretch, I know, but I can hope and pray, right?).
How possible do you think that is? How much of a discount have you been able to negotiate down with a vendor?