Will Wedding Venues Negotiate on Price?
By Caitlin Hoare
Managing your wedding budget often starts with venue costs. If you’re open to flexibility—like booking late availability or choosing off-peak or midweek dates—you could negotiate better rates. Smaller guest lists may also reduce fees, while a larger headcount could make venues more willing to deal if they charge per guest for food and drinks. Exploring less traditional or newly launched venues can also unlock discounts or packages. Building good relationships—either through industry contacts or by bundling supplier services—improves your chances of securing a deal. Above all, approach any price discussions politely, showing genuine interest in working with the venue and focusing on a mutually beneficial outcome.
We all know full well that when it comes to talking about, planning and hosting your dream wedding, everything comes down to the B-word. The wedding budget. Unless money is no object, you are probably going to need your dollars to work pretty hard for you to create the wedding of your dreams straight out of your Pinterest board! With the average wedding budget being around the $30,000 mark, you also might be thinking about where you can save a bit of cash during the wedding planning process.
Whilst we wouldn’t recommend bartering with small indie wedding businesses (they need to make a living, too, folks!), there’s absolutely no harm at all in being upfront and honest with your venue to see if there is any flexibility in their hire fee. If you’ve chosen a particularly popular venue that gets booked up years in advance, it’s unlikely that they’ll move on price - because, honestly, if you don’t book, someone else will! That said, there are a few sneaky ways you might be able to save money on your venue hire - just make sure you approach these sensitive conversations in a friendly manner and leave the entitled demands at the door!
Late availability
The idea of booking a last-minute wedding might not be for everyone - most people book their wedding venue at least a year or two in advance, so you’ll need nerves of steel if you’re going to try for a last-minute bargain! It’s pretty common for venues to release offers and packages if they’ve got some late availability dates to fill, so if you think you can stomach the stress of not having anything booked for your big day, then this is probably the best chance you will get to negotiate wedding venue prices!
If you spot a last-minute venue deal, it’s always worth asking whether the advertised discount is the best they can do. If they’re not open to deducting any more cold hard cash, then you could always ask whether they can throw something else in for free! For example, this could include bottles of fizz for the drinks reception, accommodation for the newlyweds, or even an extended hire period. That way, although you won’t necessarily save money on the price, you will make up for it by gaining more towards your big day.
Off-peak wedding dates
Off-peak wedding dates have seen a huge surge in popularity in recent years and are a great way to negotiate on price. If you don’t mind getting married in winter or even picking a midweek wedding date, then you could make some big savings! Traditionally, these dates don’t sell as fast as dates in peak wedding season and could even be left empty, so you certainly have an advantage here. If you can be flexible, that would be even better. Go in with an open mind, and you might come away with an absolute bargain!
Mention guest numbers
It’s worth discussing the size of your guest list with your venue and finding out how that might impact the hire fee. If your wedding is intimate in size (around 50 guests or less), you might not need to hire the whole venue exclusively, which could mean the hire cost could be reduced. On the other hand, if your wedding is large and your venue charges per head for food and drinks, they will soon realise that they might be able to make money from your booking in other ways, away from the venue hire fee, and therefore be more open to striking a deal.
Research multiple venues
Keep an open mind when it comes to the style of wedding venue you'd like. Traditional wedding venues are likely to be well-established and less open to negotiation, so think outside the box. Look for alternative venues not usually used for weddings - hosting your celebration somewhere unexpected can make for a memorable and meaningful experience!
Keep your ear to the ground for new venues that might be launching or re-launching after a refurb - chances are that they will be offering some introductory deals to drive bookings. If they’re after photographs in return for a discount, then just remember that the copyright to your gallery always remains with your photographer, and you’ll need to check with them before offering anyone commercial use of your wedding photos.
Build relationships with your suppliers
If you already have a wedding planner or know people in the industry, it’s a good idea to chat with them first about their connections. They might be able to put a good word in for you or link you up with the right person who can help. Plus, who doesn’t love a word-of-mouth recommendation? This could be a brilliant way to get to your desired wedding venue!
If you're not set on selecting all of your suppliers yourself, then many wedding venues offer bundled services, such as catering, decor and entertainment, as part of their wedding packages. This can be a great way of making some substantial savings, not to mention making the wedding planning process a bit easier for you!
Ultimately, when it comes to asking venue staff for a better price, you don't really have anything to lose - the worst-case scenario is that they come back and say no! That said, it can feel tricky to know how to approach conversations about money - our top tip would be to avoid launching straight away with ‘What is the cheapest price that you can give me?’ and obviously commenting on how expensive weddings are isn’t going to get you anywhere fast!
It pays to find common ground, build a relationship with the venue coordinator, and make sure they know that you'd love to find a way to work together before you mention the possibility of a reduction - and it goes without saying, always be polite!