Q. We have decided on a Wedding Venue, where the cermony and reception will be held together.

Is it normal practice for the venue to charge a 10% service charge on Food and Wine?

Also we have noted that there are hidden costs of which we were not notified at the initial enquiry, and in this day and age are you able to negioate on costs and if so what are the most likely areas of which they will negioate on.

A1. Really venues can charge what they like, you have negotiate right from the beginning. Ask them why they have a 10% charge on food and wine? This is where a wedding planner comes in handy to do all of this for you. Personally I wouldn't pay an additional 10%, nor would I expect any of my brides to either.

As for the hidden costs ask them why you were not told about these? The fact that you weren't told about these extra costs means that they have accepted your booking as a binding contract without fully informing you of the full details of your contract, which at this point I don't think you should have to pay for.

That is like; for example, agreeing to buy a pair of shoes from a shop, then they tell you there is a surcharge for the box and then you get to the till and they want money for the carrier bag.
Of course you can negotiate on any aspect and may I suggest you contact them in the very near future to do so. Everything is negotiable!.

(Answered by MrsS)


A2. In my experience an added service charge is not abnormal. Some venues do and some venues don't. What is important is that you are aware of it from the beginning and can now budget for that extra 10%. You are right in saying that certain charges are negotiable. Many venues will negotiate certain aspects of your day for example corkage, the per head charge on a wedding package, the cost of accommodation, venue hire charge. Venues are far more likely to negotiate if the wedding is being hold out of season, if it is taking place during the week or if it is a last minute booking, perhaps only six or less months to the day of the wedding. Unfortunately there are no hard and fast rules and it does differ greatly from venue to venue. It is important that you happy with the prices negotiated but don't get too bogged down with negotiating yourself, perhaps ask a family member to do it on your behalf.

Good luck with everything.
(Answered by Toni Henningsohn)