Wedding Venue Discounts/Complimentary extras

TomTree

Hi getting married in June in a venue that only hosts wedding and does not operate as a hotel also.

We selected a package and that comes as a set price per head. We are close to the max numbers the venue can hold. We have booked all the accommodation for the night of the wedding. We received a room as the bridal suit complimentary.

The venue is very much sticking to the package offered, no wriggle room on a discount or any addition of extras to the package at a lower rate or complimentary.

I hear a lot of of couples/friends saying their venues gave them x.y and z complimentary or free rooms etc.

Is it the " norm" to be able to negotiate or do people find the hotels/venues stick to the package?

Cheers

jlm29

From listening to friends, some hotels have a take it or leave it policy- I’ve had friends who were told to multiply the number of guests by the price per head and write the cheque basically. Others would have gotten different extras thrown in. Depends on how badly your business is needed I suppose!

baby and crumble

The way I looked at it when I was booking, the price is the price. We did ask for some amendments (to include non-alcoholic options etc) and they didn't charge us for them, which was great. But if they'd have charged I would have understood tbh. I'd imagine with a wedding only venue they know what they charge and that's it - you might get more wiggle room in a hotel where a wedding would mean a lot of business, but a lot of wedding venues will have no problem filling up every single weekend. So why would they need to keep you sweet, so to speak?

woodchuck

You're getting married in June, so I'm going to assume the contract is long signed at this point?

If you've already signed the contract, then I don't think there is any wiggle room at this point to ask for freebies/discounts etc. I think this is something that needs to be negotiated before signing. They stand to gain nothing by offering you extras after the contract has been signed! They are a business after all.

tiredblondie

To be honest, i took the price as being the price - the only "extra" was them not changing the room rate when the vat changed last year, but the overall price of the package did unfortunately go up - i didn't ask for anything to be thrown in, it was what it was and i was happy with that!

TomTree

Thanks for the replies.

I may have not worded the OP correctly. The question was not should I attempt to negotiation with the venue on price or complimentary items at this stage, as one said the contract is long signed and most of the wedding paid for at this point. Before signing the contract I did test the water on price negotiation or adding complimentary rooms or drinks to the service etc. However, it was quite clear from the wedding planner that the package was the package and we happily accepted that.

My query was is this exclusive to the venue we are dealing with, after attending close on 10 weddings this year from family and friends groups I regularly here "oh the hotel threw on the gin bar for us because of our numbers", or "we got the bridal party rooms complimentary" etc.

The query really came from a conversation between two different couples who got married a the same venue, one saying there venue was very strict on package price with no movement while the other couple had a some what different experience and could list extras and discount that they had negotiated. I attended both weddings and the services and layout seemed the same. I wonder is it just a case of some people projecting they got a deal as that is what they want you to think? Or some people just not brave enough to ask?

woodchuck

It could be to do with the day of week and/or the time of year too. I'd say they're much more likely to give extras/discounts if it's on a Wednesday in November compared to a Saturday in August.

Maybe some people are afraid to ask or they aren't good at negotiating. Or maybe some people aren't properly informed about the package to begin with.
- "Can we spend the night in the bridal suite for free?"
"Of course, that's no problem"
- "Can the bar stay open until 2am?"
"Absolutely, not an issue"
- "Can we have a red carpet on arrival"
"Whatever you want"
In reality all of these may have already been included in the package, but the couples might walk away thinking they were expert negotiators!

lazygal

Depends on the venue and time of year. When we were looking at venues some were absolutely rigid, no room for anything extra or discounts. Others were more flexible or open to changing things around to what we wanted.
Sometimes people want to say they got a great deal or that they're expert wheeler dealers. Very tedious to listen to!

Pink11

Presume if they are flinging loads of free extras at you they need the business ... badly?

Think some people find it really embarrassing to negotiate but I always push a little 'is that your best price?'. They are used to dealing with that everyday in that business. I've saved loads from politely asking if they are willing to negotiate. With the venue, where I saved the most was asking if I could change some menu options and getting one set medley trio as a dessert saved me a fortune. They won't point it out to you and of course they're going to hope you'll take the highest per head menu options. No harm in asking!

Kaylami

I work in events and it very much depends on the hotel.

Some will throw in endless extras to get the wedding and others that have more demand are basically like nope price is the price if you dont want it someone else will.

Think it depends on the coordinator too. I'm too nice for my own good and give in too easily! Others have hearts of stone.

TomTree

and where is it that you work .....:)

stargazer 68

Kaylami wrote: »

Think it depends on the coordinator too. I'm too nice for my own good and give in too easily! Others have hearts of stone.

Oh I definitely agree with this! We had loads of extras thrown in and Im a terrible negotiator. We upgraded our package evening food and reception food and it was added in with no charge and a few other things no late bar fee etc. Coordinator wrote it all on the contract, signed and paid the deposit.

A couple of months later she left and the new coordinator nearly keeled over when she saw our contract - you could see it in her face!

TomTree

Do you mind me asking was this a hotel, or a venue which only does weddings?

Neyite

Dovies wrote: »

Oh I definitely agree with this! We had loads of extras thrown in and Im a terrible negotiator. We upgraded our package evening food and reception food and it was added in with no charge and a few other things no late bar fee etc. Coordinator wrote it all on the contract, signed and paid the deposit.

A couple of months later she left and the new coordinator nearly keeled over when she saw our contract - you could see it in her face!

Now that's quitting with style