Favorite venue price hike Help!

[fieryred33143]

We had decided we were going to do something small.

Then I went to visit my mom over the weekend and FI spent time with his family. Both families agreed with the approach...but both families mentioned how great it would be if we could do something bigger. We weren''t sweating it until I got a call from a friend that said our favorite venue is increasing all prices ($15 more per person).

I contacted the catering manager and they told me that since I''ve been in contact with them, they''ll give me until Friday to make the desposit and they''ll honor 2008 prices. The deposit is only $500.

I feel torn now. It''s definitely affordable as is (about $4,000 for the reception and ceremony for 60 people) but it won''t be once the price increase takes into affect. What if we decide later on that we really do want something a little bit bigger and miss out on this opportunity??

So I guess what I need help with is whether or not I should make the deposit. If we give them the $500 it gaurantees the contract price. If we don''t go with them, we lose the deposit but it can be applied to future parties (like bridal shower or baby shower, etc.).

What do you think we should do? Should we not waste $500 in case we go with our plan to do something very small? Or should we give $500 in case we change our minds?

 

[newbie124]

Hmm...well, in "wedding" terms, $500 isn''t a whole lot relatively speaking. But it IS still a good chunk of change that I personally would regret losing.

If you followed your heart, would it be to go with your original idea of a smaller wedding or take up your families'' suggestions of doing something bigger? I wouldn''t have a bigger wedding just b/c your family might be pressuring you to do it...you may end up regretting it down the road. Did you guys happen to also discuss budget with them? If they want a bigger party, are they going to be footing the bill for the extra costs?

I think you have to consider all of this before you decide what to do about the deposit. Is the venue nice enough that you think you would consider holding another event there if you decide on something different for the wedding itself?

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 9/22/2008 1:12:05 PM
Author: newbie124
Hmm...well, in ''wedding'' terms, $500 isn''t a whole lot relatively speaking. But it IS still a good chunk of change that I personally would regret losing.

If you followed your heart, would it be to go with your original idea of a smaller wedding or take up your families'' suggestions of doing something bigger? I wouldn''t have a bigger wedding just b/c your family might be pressuring you to do it...you may end up regretting it down the road. Did you guys happen to also discuss budget with them? If they want a bigger party, are they going to be footing the bill for the extra costs?

I think you have to consider all of this before you decide what to do about the deposit. Is the venue nice enough that you think you would consider holding another event there if you decide on something different for the wedding itself?

Hi newbie

Honestly, my heart tells me different things all the time. When I start thinking about doing a small wedding I get really excited and feel that''s the right decision. But when I start thinking about something bigger (not much bigger, 60 people in total) I also get very excited.

Our families will not be paying for the wedding. My mom mentioned contributing towards something to help me out but the most I''ll accept from her is something small like maybe the limo cost or cost for invites. The only reason why I would even accept her help is that it makes her feel bad if I don''t. His parents haven''t mentioned anything.

 

[Mediterranean]

I voted to pull the trigger.

They''re ALL going up around our metro. The event coordinator at my venue commented that I put down my deposit just in time, because their new prices went into effect after I had, and in idle conversation, she mentioned that a couple of other places were raising theirs, too (old stand-by places, too, who have had high prices for a long time, and haven''t traditionally raised theirs for a while...like Grove Isle and the Ritz C. Key Bisc.)

Also, if you invite more, you''ll likely have some people reply with regrets. So it''ll even out to be roughly the same size party. Can you do do A-List, B-list? Or is that too weird because everyone knows everyone.

 

[crystalheart1]

The price you quoted for 60 people sounds very resonable. We are doing a wedding around the same size and our venue will be almost double that! Keep in mind some of the extra charges, no matter what your guest count is, will be the same charge .. Example Photographer, DJ or Live Music, and Flowers...

I would suggest to look at the big picture. There have been so many extra charges for our "small wedding "

that it is almost double of what we were planning to spend. You start getting in that wedding mode of not wanting to cut this or that out...and it can get out of hand very easily.

 

[muffindowd]

I agree, you should go for it. Venue prices go up all the time and you''re much better off guaranteeing yourself the lower price...we lucked out with our venue and photographer this way. Book it!

 

[doodle]

if they''ll let you apply the deposit to something else like a bridal shower if you change your mind, quite frankly, you have nothing to lose, and it could turn into a nice venue for a rehearsal dinner, haha! with all the wedding-related events that''ll pop up around a wedding, you''ll use it whether it''s for your wedding or not. that $500 won''t get wasted, but if you DON''T put a deposit down now, think how much money you''ll have wasted if you decide you really really want to go with that venue and have to pay the extra money per person! go for it!

 

[Gwyn]

Date: 9/22/2008 1:01:05 PM
Author:fieryred33143
We had decided we were going to do something small.

Then I went to visit my mom over the weekend and FI spent time with his family. Both families agreed with the approach...but both families mentioned how great it would be if we could do something bigger. We weren''t sweating it until I got a call from a friend that said our favorite venue is increasing all prices ($15 more per person).

I contacted the catering manager and they told me that since I''ve been in contact with them, they''ll give me until Friday to make the desposit and they''ll honor 2008 prices. The deposit is only $500.

I feel torn now. It''s definitely affordable as is (about $4,000 for the reception and ceremony for 60 people) but it won''t be once the price increase takes into affect. What if we decide later on that we really do want something a little bit bigger and miss out on this opportunity??

So I guess what I need help with is whether or not I should make the deposit. If we give them the $500 it gaurantees the contract price. If we don''t go with them, we lose the deposit but it can be applied to future parties (like bridal shower or baby shower, etc.).

What do you think we should do? Should we not waste $500 in case we go with our plan to do something very small? Or should we give $500 in case we change our minds?

I have not voted yet because I am a little confused. Is the problem with putting down the deposit that you cannot meet the places minimum if you decide to do a smaller wedding? And how small were you thinking?

Also I do not see how, if going with the smaller wedding makes this place unusable, you would be able to use it for a bridal shower since that would most likely have less people. If anything, exactly the same but certainly not more. And a baby shower, unless you are expecting, that may not be for years even. How long are they going to hold this deposit for you and keep the 2008 prices locked? CHances are, even if they were willing to hold the deposit indefinitely so you could use it for baby shower or something like that, they will not be holding the 2008 prices as well.


I guess before I vote I need to know what makes this place not work for the smaller wedding and how set you are on having a wedding of that size.

 

[Sparkalicious]

If you are thinking, seriously, that another venue may be optimal, it may not be best to put a deposit down for this one as yet. If you can afford to "lose" this $500, so to speak, then it seems as though you would be able to spend another $15/person, if you need to. This being said, I am undecided as well because if you do decide to go with this place, it certainly would be nice to take advantage of the present pricing.

What do you think is going to be the deciding factor as to whether or not you can go a little bigger? and Do you love this place? If you do, maybe you should just go ahead and book it.

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 9/22/2008 6:25:34 PM
Author: Gwyn
I have not voted yet because I am a little confused. Is the problem with putting down the deposit that you cannot meet the places minimum if you decide to do a smaller wedding? And how small were you thinking?

Also I do not see how, if going with the smaller wedding makes this place unusable, you would be able to use it for a bridal shower since that would most likely have less people. If anything, exactly the same but certainly not more. And a baby shower, unless you are expecting, that may not be for years even. How long are they going to hold this deposit for you and keep the 2008 prices locked? CHances are, even if they were willing to hold the deposit indefinitely so you could use it for baby shower or something like that, they will not be holding the 2008 prices as well.


I guess before I vote I need to know what makes this place not work for the smaller wedding and how set you are on having a wedding of that size.

If we do it with this venue then they have a 50 person minimum. We have a guest list of 115 right now so meeting the minimum will be no problem. The problem is that we are paying for the wedding ourselves and do not want to spend more than x amount of money on one day. So if we were to have a wedding, we would want it at 60 people max. Doing this is stressing me out as our families are not happy about it. When we decided to do something small, we were talking 15 people: our immediate family, grandparents, and best friends. If we did it this way we were going to have the ceremony at a church and then have a small dinner after (not at this venue).

So for your question it would work for a wedding of 50 to 360 (their max). But it wouldn''t be smart to use them if we went with the small wedding of 15.

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 9/22/2008 9:48:38 PM
Author: Sparkalicious
If you are thinking, seriously, that another venue may be optimal, it may not be best to put a deposit down for this one as yet. If you can afford to ''lose'' this $500, so to speak, then it seems as though you would be able to spend another $15/person, if you need to. This being said, I am undecided as well because if you do decide to go with this place, it certainly would be nice to take advantage of the present pricing.

What do you think is going to be the deciding factor as to whether or not you can go a little bigger? and Do you love this place? If you do, maybe you should just go ahead and book it.

I do love this place. It is our favorite and we''ve looked at 22 venues so far. The deciding factor for us is getting comfortable on how much we really feel we can throw towards a wedding and whether we can ever really be happy letting go of that much money. We wouldn''t be able to spend another $15 per person. Right now the reception would be $4,613 which would bring the total cost of the wedding to a little under $10K. That would mean scaling back on the honeymoon and waiting another year or so to buy a house. If we get after the price increases then the reception bumps up to $6,100 so we''ll be spending over $10K and possibly not go on a honeymoon and wait to buy a house for a few more years.

I don''t know.

 

[muffindowd]

22 venues!!!!! Honey, you need to book this venue. Prices are going up everywhere. My fiance and I are paying for our entire wedding ourselves too and I know it''s an absolutely daunting task to say the least, but it sounds like you have it figured out. After the price jump, you won''t be able to afford this venue...and if you love it, you need to lock that price in now!! My fiance and I locked in food and drink prices at our venue before they were raised and we got our photographer for $1000 less than he is currently charging for our package. I am so glad that we dropped the deposits when we did...you should jump on it!!

 

[Sparkalicious]

Date: 9/23/2008 10:31:12 AM
Author: muffindowd
22 venues!!!!! Honey, you need to book this venue. Prices are going up everywhere. My fiance and I are paying for our entire wedding ourselves too and I know it''s an absolutely daunting task to say the least, but it sounds like you have it figured out. After the price jump, you won''t be able to afford this venue...and if you love it, you need to lock that price in now!! My fiance and I locked in food and drink prices at our venue before they were raised and we got our photographer for $1000 less than he is currently charging for our package. I am so glad that we dropped the deposits when we did...you should jump on it!!

Fiery - If you''ve looked at 22 venues already and are concerned about your budget and quite like this place, I would have to agree with muffindowd''s post - do it! Don''t wait or else you are going to end up paying more for the same place.

Good luck!

 

[Gwyn]

I am ready to vote. Book it!

If you have 115 you could invite, then you can get their 50 min pretty easily. Plus, to echo some of the others, prices are going up everywhere. I know my plates went up $5 a peice from the time i looked to the time i booked my venue. If they will honor the old prices, I say go for it. Besides, even if you did try to plan something under 20, you would probably end up getting add ons and people inviting themselves and such and get rightup near 50 anyway. Not to mention the 22 other dissapointments you have already looked at (maybe not dissapointments just that you didnt like them as much).

Worse case scenario you lose the $500. Most likely no so good scenario, you use it for a baby shower or holiday party.Best case, you have an amazing wedding there!

I vote go for it!

 

[meresal]

Hey fiery!!

I let the thread go by because I couldn''t respond at work this week, but since I know it was due yesterday, I''ll hold my opinion until after you answer... so what was the decision?!?