Weddings are beautiful. Weddings also cost quite a bit of money. That’s why learning to haggle and negotiate with wedding vendors is an important skill to have when it comes to planning for your big day.
The average cost for a wedding is about $34,000. That number alone should motivate people to learn how to haggle! Of course, many weddings cost less. But some of them cost less because people learned to haggle.
Negotiate with Wedding Vendors
The following are tips on how to negotiate with wedding vendors. Keep these ideas in mind while you also consider wedding ideas you’ll love.
Set A Budget
This might prove the hardest part. The couple, along with whoever is paying the bills, must sit down and establish a budget. That way you only pick vendors who are within that budget. If a vendor is just a tad over what you expected to spend, ask them for ways to trim cost. Slightly smaller flower arrangements, for example. Or a DJ who plays for one less hour. There are many other ways to cut down on your wedding budget, such as getting musicians friends to play your wedding and borrowing items for the wedding rather than buying them.
Shop Around
Make sure to get quotes from a variety of vendors. The difference in cost might surprise you. Flowers, photography, music, foodservice and wedding planning are all very competitive businesses. See what each offers and at what price level. And as noted above, ask them to make tweaks. The one willing to do so is likely one that will be better to work with.
Time
As noted above with the example of the DJ, time is where you can often make the most impact with negotiations. Like most services, much of the cost baked into pricing by wedding vendors involves paying for their time. Try to reduce the time that the vendor needs to spend at your wedding, and you can substantially reduce cost.
Throw In Extras
If you can’t negotiate down the price, consider trying to negotiate for more items. This especially works with venues because they have a smaller amount of wiggle room to negotiate on price.
Out-Of-Season Weddings
One of the best tactics to employ before you talk to the first vendor is to select an out-of-season date for your wedding. It’s hard to negotiate with wedding vendors during peak wedding season – you’re unlikely to get much of a deal. But that can rapidly change when you are not getting married in June, July or August. Even within those three months, you can often find days of the week where you will get lower rates.
These are some of the ways to cut costs with wedding vendors. Just remember to never accept the quoted price as the final offer. Wedding vendors know that many couples will negotiate. You want to be one of those couples!
