Military discount?

ashfann

My fiance is active duty Air Force. It's not a traditional military wedding per se, but he will be wearing his dress blues. Anyhow, is it acceptable to ask a vendor (caterer, specifically) if they honor a military discount? We are on a budget, and I'm definately not above haggling over prices, but i didn't know if this would be considered rude.

laurenclaire1386

Go for it. The worst they can do is tell you no. It's tacky to hit people up for money, but I don't think it's tacky or rude to try to find a bargain where you can.

cengle

I would do it. We negotiated with some of our vendors regarding prices. As LC said, the worst that can happen is they say no.

KatyRoseM

Why wouldn't it be?  Military discounts exist because some companies want to help out military families.  They don't have to have one, so its not like your demanding something they don't want to give.  Go ahead and ask, they might want to thank your Fi for his service. 

impslave

Doesn't hurt to ask.  Here in Vegas, we recieved an upgrade to our chapel package for asking if they had a locals discount.

Ditto LC - not rude to ask if vendors offer discounts for various situations.

mob2689

absolutly ask if they have one! We are saving $85.00 on the wedding cake because of it! (They are usually 10%)That $85.00 we saved we were able to get more decorations, since you already have a set amt you are going to spend on your wedding. Love the AF dress blues!!

ashfann

Thanks guys! I feel better about asking now, y'all are right; the worst they can do is say no.

A&EToBe

I know you're already convinced, but I wanted to add my voice to the chorus.  I know our photographer offers a "Uniformed Services" discount (he includes police and firefighters) as well as an Educator's discount!  I've been amazed at how many people offer educator's discounts.  My Fiance and I are both teachers, so we've been sure to ask everywhere if they honor an educator's discount.  (FYI - iParty has a 10% teacher's discount, all you have to do is show your school ID or teacher's association membership card and it comes off everything (for classroom use, or not) it's great!)

mizjodi

Yes yes and yes! Always ask!

jemmini6

My FI is retired USAF and our officiant specifically has military prices listed on her website, so we are saving about $50 there.  Our DJ also threw in an extra lighting package and LCD TV for a slide show, which is worth about $250.  He spent 8 years of his life serving our country, a lot of vendors do what they can to say thanks.  If they don't, it's no big deal, but no harm in saving where you can.

ashfann

Thanks for the Alfred Angelo tip - definately going to check that one out.

Avion22

I'm AD Air Force as well.  I've casually mentioned this to prospective vendors (telling them tha I'm stationed overseas, and scheduling the wedding around my training schedule), and many have offered up a discount.  Those that haven't, I'm assuming don't offer one. 

I wouldn't ask....if they know he is military and haven't offered, then it's probably not gonna happen.

NcsuPsych

I'd def ask. .. I'd also ask to see if there is any clause in the contract in cause he gets deployed or stationed somewhere and the wedding has to be delayed or something (so that you don't lose deposit money).

I know most living situations include these clauses, but I'm not positive if every vendor has to offer it. Just a thought.

KellyBrian2013

I definitely say to ask, too. We got chair covers thrown in for free at my venue when we mentioned that my stepfather is a police officer... it was mentioned in passing, not as a bargaining chip, but the coordinator immediately said "we take care of our police families" and gave us the chair covers, as well as some bar substitutions at no cost. Never hurts to ask

hlgreer

Definately ask... also ladies.. you NEED to check out brides across america if you or your fiance has been deployed within the past 5 years. This organization gives away beautiful gowns as a way to say thanks. I was able to get a casablanca gown that I could never afford because my sweetie served in Iraq. 

kmmssg

Something else to ask your vendors for is a "military clause."  Ask them to agree to a clause that states if your FI is unable to attend the wedding due to military obligations (those can change on a dime), that you will be able to reschedule with no penalties.  Many are very willing to do this and those who aren't should be reconsidered.  I gave this advice to my niece last year and it saved their bacon.  She was supposed to get married in November just prior to him deploying.  The deployment was cancelled and he was given an unaccompanied assignment for one year starting in September.  Because they had that clause in their contract they rescheduled their wedding for September with no penalties.  They only had 3 months lead time in all of that too.

jr2013

Do you just ask them or is there a way to casually ask vendors? My hubby to be is USAF and I didn't think about even asking about this until I saw this post. THANK YOU by the way !!