How much should corkage fee be for a wedding held at my parents?

Knottie1451875753

I ask because our caterer dropped a nice surprise a week before our wedding. Back story is that the caterer mentioned there would be a corkage fee, but never stated the cost in any communication/paperwork we received. Our mistake was thinking that the fee would not be that much or else it would have been stated on something we received/signed. Again....the wedding is being held in our parents field/yard.
 
Fast forward to today when my fiancé received an email stating well normally normally they charge $10 per bottle!!! Fee but they would cut us a deal and only charge $5. Keep in mind this is on top of a separate line item for the bartender.  Does this seem reasonable? 

Overall our experience with this caterer has not been good as getting any kind of responses back with any kind of timeliness has almost been impossible since we signed the contract. So this is just adding to our frustration.

CMGragain

Knottie1451875753 said:

I ask because our caterer dropped a nice surprise a week before our wedding. Back story is that the caterer mentioned there would be a corkage fee, but never stated the cost in any communication/paperwork we received. Our mistake was thinking that the fee would not be that much or else it would have been stated on something we received/signed. Again....the wedding is being held in our parents field/yard.
 
Fast forward to today when my fiancé received an email stating well normally normally they charge $10 per bottle!!! Fee but they would cut us a deal and only charge $5. Keep in mind this is on top of a separate line item for the bartender.  Does this seem reasonable? 

Overall our experience with this caterer has not been good as getting any kind of responses back with any kind of timeliness has almost been impossible since we signed the contract. So this is just adding to our frustration.

Is a corkage fee mentioned in your contract?  If it is, you should have questioned it before signing.  If it isn't, you don't pay it.
$10 corkage fee is what we pay on our cruises.  Its purpose is to discourage us from providing our own wine, cutting the profit from the cruise line.  This also applies to caterers.  You should have asked about this before selecting your caterer.

charlotte989875

The corkage fee at my venue, if I wanted to bring in my own wine/champagne and not use theirs was $7. So to me $5 isn't that bad. 

ILoveBeachMusic

I, too, think it is reasonable. I have heard of $10 corkage fees for non-wedding events (fund raising galas).

glasgowtolondon

We picked our venue especially because it doesn't charge corkage, however that meant that the venue cost was higher than other places we looked at. Those other places were routinely £10+ on corkage so I think you are getting a great deal. That being said, if the contract mentions nothing about corkage you should challenge back on the basis that you should not have to pay for anything that was not agreed beforehand. If there is something in your contract but no cost specified then a)you should have clarified all costs before signing, and b) be thankful that the corkage is not huge. 

TrixieJess

Around here the corkage fee can be $15-$25, pay the $10 and learn to read your contracts carefully in the future.

Knottie1451875753

Again the venue is my parents back yard/field so I guess that neither of us expected normal venue policies/corkage costing to apply.  Looking at the first invoice sent over, there was a line item that said corkage fee to be determined on usage with $0 next to it. Not TBD.....$0. So it was absolutely our fault for not clarifying the cost up front, but the fact she waited until the week before to drop this is what's frustrating for us. 

charlotte989875

Knottie1451875753 said:

Again the venue is my parents back yard/field so I guess that neither of us expected normal venue policies/corkage costing to apply.  Looking at the first invoice sent over, there was a line item that said corkage fee to be determined on usage with $0 next to it. Not TBD.....$0. So it was absolutely our fault for not clarifying the cost up front, but the fact she waited until the week before to drop this is what's frustrating for us. 

It doesn't really matter where the venue is, it's the catering (assuming they are providing the alcohol and/or servers). For our caterer/venue we could use their wine at $14/bottle or pay a $7 corkage fee to bring my own. So if we could get a good deal on wine (we did) that was less than their wine we do that, otherwise we'd just use there's. You bringing your own wine, and not buying from them saves you money, but loses them money so they add on a fee. 

ETA: my guess the reason it was listed as to be determine on usage and $0 is because you haven't actually used any wine yet, or told them how many you planned to use. Ours was the same until we confirmed final numbers. 

ETF my math. 

TrixieJess

Knottie1451875753 said:

Again the venue is my parents back yard/field so I guess that neither of us expected normal venue policies/corkage costing to apply.  Looking at the first invoice sent over, there was a line item that said corkage fee to be determined on usage with $0 next to it. Not TBD.....$0. So it was absolutely our fault for not clarifying the cost up front, but the fact she waited until the week before to drop this is what's frustrating for us. 

You have a caterer, right? That means you are paying for set-up, tear down, linens, silverware, china, glassware, servers, bartenders, and chefs. Your corkage fee is for opening and pouring, who do you think does that? There are liquor licenses and liability insurance that the catering company pays for as well. What do you think you're paying for?

ETA: your contract basically said that once your numbers were finalised, they would determine the corkage fee. If that wasn't clear, you should have clarified. It's not the caterer's fault your reading comprehension wasn't up to par.

artbyallie

Knottie1451875753 said:

Again the venue is my parents back yard/field so I guess that neither of us expected normal venue policies/corkage costing to apply.  Looking at the first invoice sent over, there was a line item that said corkage fee to be determined on usage with $0 next to it. Not TBD.....$0. So it was absolutely our fault for not clarifying the cost up front, but the fact she waited until the week before to drop this is what's frustrating for us. 

Perhaps you should have asked sooner rather than assume it would stay zero? The caterer is not responsible for verbally explaining every item in your written contract unless you ask for clarification.

ILoveBeachMusic

Knottie1451875753 said:

Again the venue is my parents back yard/field so I guess that neither of us expected normal venue policies/corkage costing to apply.  Looking at the first invoice sent over, there was a line item that said corkage fee to be determined on usage with $0 next to it. Not TBD.....$0. So it was absolutely our fault for not clarifying the cost up front, but the fact she waited until the week before to drop this is what's frustrating for us. 

If this is the line in your contract, it does say "to be determined" which is the same as "TBD...$0". I don't think it is the caterer's fault at all. You and FI just didn't read and ask questions appropriately. Not sure why you thought it being in your parents' backyard would negate policies. It would be no different than the caterer going to another more traditional venue. They still have to provide servers and equipment at either place. Lesson learned I suppose.

GBCK

I haven't ever paid a corkage fee, because I'm cheap.  But I'm in a low COL living area and, as mentioned, cheap, and I don't think I've ever heard of it being less than about $10 per bottle

MesmrEwe

100% of the answer is going to depend on what your contract says!  Either it says TBD or it says $0.  If it says $0, then they can whine that they want $5/bottle and it means squat because they screwed up the contract.  If it says TBD, pay the $5/bottle and lesson learned to always read through the details and confirm every little thing BEFORE ever signing a contract.  They likely realized this, hence making you "feel" like you're "getting a deal" with the $5 instead of $10...

6fsn

I think $5 is reasonable.  It's probably still less than buying direct from the caterer.  Get boxes of wine!  Then you get like 4 bottles for one corkage fee.

VarunaTT

Corkage fee isn't about the location, it's about the license/insurance to serve liquor.  So, even if you take your bottle of wine into a restaurant, you are still using their license/insurance to open/serve it.

$5 is really cheap, IMHO.  I don't think I've seen it less than $12+/bottle for a long time.

madamerwin

MesmrEwe said:

100% of the answer is going to depend on what your contract says!  Either it says TBD or it says $0.  If it says $0, then they can whine that they want $5/bottle and it means squat because they screwed up the contract.  If it says TBD, pay the $5/bottle and lesson learned to always read through the details and confirm every little thing BEFORE ever signing a contract.  They likely realized this, hence making you "feel" like you're "getting a deal" with the $5 instead of $10...

It says "to be determined based on usage" with a $0 next to it. I think that's pretty clear - it's $0 now, because no wine is being poured prior to the event. They will likely charge after the event, based on how many bottles are consumed. Of course they cannot give a total for corkage fees until they know how many bottles they go through. Granted, I think they should have said "$5 per bottle to be determined based on usage" on the invoice, to be clear, but OP should have followed up to clarify. She knew there was a corkage fee, it was her responsibility to find out what it was.

And I agree with PPs - $5/bottle is a good deal. Most restaurants and caterers in my area charge at least $10-$15/bottle. 

mrsconn23

6fsn said:

I think $5 is reasonable.  It's probably still less than buying direct from the caterer.  Get boxes of wine!  Then you get like 4 bottles for one corkage fee.

Even $10-15 is reasonable and probably less than what you'd pay the caterer per bottle. 

Also, I agree with box wine.  Trader Joe's has some decent boxed wine.  

SaintPaulGal

$5 seems like a fabulous deal to me.  I can't really imagine it being less than that.  I would expect to pay either nothing or $10-$25 depending on the terms of the caterer.  If your contract mentions corkage, I'd say you are getting off easy.

*Barbie*

i would say that you did a poor job of negotiating your contract, so if they're offering $5 now, take it or try to negotiate less. 

lyndausvi

$10 is reasonable. If they are cutting you a deal to $5, take it.

short+sassy

Although I understand the purpose of corkage fees, as a cheap wine-o myself, it is hard for me to fathom paying the same or more in a "corkage" fee than the typical bottles of wine I buy cost.  Yellow Tail is my go-to, lol.

However, for this type of situation...a wedding/event...where a corkage fee will be a necessary evil, $5/pop sounds like a great deal.