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Headcount question

collettestarlingcollettestarling member
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in Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
I was wondering, this is probably a silly question- but I wasn't sure of how things worked.

If your venue is somewhere that is charging you per head- how does that work in terms of your headcount? You don't know for sure how many people there will be, but you don't want to pay for a bunch of people that aren't coming- how is this usually handled? How long do you have before you need to give the number? I suppose you can wait for RSVPs... but... I was just curious as to how costs and stuff were generally handled.

Sorry for being so uninformed!
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Re: Headcount question

  • lindsaystewart6lindsaystewart6 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    At my venue, the headcount has to be into my coordinator 2-3 weeks in advance. After putting the deposit down to hold our date, we don't have to pay anything until the day-of, so the remaining balance is due after we have a final headcount.
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  • Ash2985Ash2985 member
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Ours was similar-- we had to have the final headcount in 3 days prior to the wedding, and at that point, they gave us the final bill and we paid it.  I had given a rough estimate of about 150 and I think we ended up with 148?  For budgeting purposes, though, you should plan as though everyone you invite will attend.
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  • cgyvhucgyvhu member
    Knottie Warrior 1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Ditto pp.  Budget as if everyone will attend, and set your RSVP approx 2 weeks before the venue needs a final headcount.  That way, you'll know how many people are attending and can pay for that number.
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  • carcrashheartcarcrashheart member
    Third Anniversary 100 Comments Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    actually, i see where the OP *may* be going with this.

    our venue deposit was based upon a head count. obviously, we didn't know FOR SURE, so we guessed we would be inviting/hosting about 150. at one point our guest list got out of hand and we considered hosting an event for about 200. there was a different deposit amount for 150 people and for 200 people. i inquired with my venue to see if they wanted the higher deposit amount, but they said it was fine as is. we ended up cutting our guest list and hosting almost exactly what we planned on.

    however, if you are referring to something like hosting a buffet dinner where you pay per person, then they'll count the plates at the end of the meal.

    they want head counts prior to the event for the sake of preparing food. typically you will pay the balance either at the event, or in the days after, once there was a confirmed number of people hosted. my parents paid the balance before we left the reception. whether that is normal or not, i have no idea. but they wanted to have it taken care of, as did the venue.
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