Service Charges at wedding venues

muletide

Hi all

The venue we are having our wedding charges 10% service charge for the reception which I do not have a problem with

However they have included two items in the calculation of the charge which seem like they should not be there

The first is the cost of providing a security guard of €150 - I know its only 15 euro but it all counts. I could understand it if they polished him up and served him out to us on a plate

The second is the cost to hire their marquee - I mean there is no where else to have the wedding

Does it seem reasonable to include these items and i s it an issue I should pursue

Thanks all
Mule

Figment

Is this before or after the wedding?
Did you get a break down of the costs before booking the venue?
It is always worth querying a bill.

muletide

Yea I just got the breakdown of costs today the wedding is on in a few weeks

Figment

Everything is negotiable. Give it a try.
It seems very late to be getting the cost breakdown. When did you book the venue?

muletide

Sorry, I wasn't clear enough - we always had an idea of cost but in the last week or so we have finally decided for definite on things like the menu/wine and numbers of guests - so we conformed all these with the hotel and they sent out the final costs.

It was just when I saw these items included in the calculation of the service charge that they stood out to me

Figment

I know its a bit late now but you should always get a detailed costing when originally booking a venue. Its fine to leave wine and number to later but you should still be working off fixed costs per meal. Otherwise a venue can add in any old thing at the last minute and you have no room to negotiate or find another venue.