Will Wedding Venues Negotiate the Price?
When considering different wedding venues, it is helpful to understand what might be negotiable and what is not.
Venues tend not to be very flexible with their pricing, but a few factors will influence their willingness to negotiate:
Pick off-season months and be flexible with your date.
Consider having your wedding November through April for the best possible pricing if you are thinking about a seasonal location like the Sonoma or Napa areas. During this time, the demand is much lower for prime locations, and your ability to negotiate site fees will increase. If a Friday or a Sunday is an option, that can increase the opportunity for additional savings
Your engagement length is important, as well.
If you are booking 18-22 months out, pricing will most likely be firm. Venues still have plenty of time to get top dollar, and they are unwilling to negotiate this far in advance. However, if you are booking six months out, which is shorter than the typical booking cycle, you will have more leverage on pricing.
Let your venue know that you are happy to have your wedding published.
In this day and age, getting published in different media outlets is very important to sites. Let them know they can use all photos, or even bring in their own photographer if they want to get what is needed for them to promote their location.
The art of the deal.
If you find a venue that you love, but it is just too expensive, you can say, “ We love this venue, and it is our first choice, but it is just a bit out of our budget, is there anything you can do?” They might not bring down the price, but they might give you an extra hour for free, or a complimentary champagne toast, or an upgrade to the Presidential Suite (if the location has accommodations).
There are deals to be had, and venues are willing to negotiate, but you have to be flexible and open to the possibilities to get the best price on your dream location.
About the author: Milestone Events Group is Northern California’s most experienced Wine Country Wedding Experts & largest event management company providing site selection services to multiple locations throughout Sonoma County. Over the past 6 years Milestone has helped hundreds of couples simplify the venue selection process by providing clarity, predictability and ultimately confidence for clients who work with them to evaluate wineries, ranches, and other locations for their private events.
After the venue selection process is complete, Milestone is also available to help produce events in a stress reduced and highly professional manner. www.MilestoneEventsGroup.com
