Negotiating with caterer

Re: Negotiating with caterer

• sjsphish

  

  October 2009 edited December 2011

  Depends on the vendor but there is always wiggle room one way or another.   For instance, we're getting married at VIP in 10 days (YAY!). We originally were going for a late oct wedding on a sat night. We were quoted I think $150 (maybe even more) pp, plus taxes, tips etc. By movin to the very first weekend in Nov and moving to a friday, we got them down to like $130ish pp plus tax/tip/extras. Then we continued to negotiate based on our numbers. We planned to invite 275, so we asked if he would be able to do $120 pp with all tax/tip/everything included (no extras/hidden costs). He said if we guaranteed 230 people, he would give us a price of $120 per head with all taxes etc already incuded. When you guarantee them thousands of dollars liek that, it makes it hard for them to say no (unless of course you go to surf club where the prices are astronomical and completely non-negotiable)   As it turns out, we are a few short of our numbers. When we went for our final meeting a few weeks ago, we told him we'd be 10-15 people short. As a result, they threw in an extra station at cocktail hr and extra cookies/sweets for dessert!Definitely play hard ball with them. If they are inflexible and wont work with you, then don't bother with them. You need someone who will be kind, flexible and accomodating through your whole planning process!Also, as an aside, if you are visiting VIP, ask to speak with Tom and you can tell him Saad and Samantha (wedding date 11/6/09) recommended him!

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• lizbeth126

  

  October 2009 edited December 2011

  We are actaully going to VIP on Sunday.  We went to a wedding there last year and loved it!  Thanks so much for the info!I cant wait to see your pictures!

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• mocknine member

  

  October 2009 edited December 2011

  Hi lizbeth- With my caterer/venue I was able to negotiate more food at no extra cost rather than taking the pp cost down.  at my second choice venue i did try negotiating the actual price, and they were willing to reduce the pp cost, but not on the date i wanted.if you are flexible in your season/day/date you might have some more leverage to get a better price.in the end.. always ask!  the worst they can say is, no!

  

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• rblucy

  

  October 2009 edited December 2011

  You will def have better luck if you're more flexible on day and season. By going from a Sunday in June to Sunday in July (1 week later) we knocked off $4pp which ends up close to $1k. I would visit a place that's $10pp more but not a place that's closer to $25pp over your budget. When you're figuring out your budget be sure to include tax and tip bc that makes a big difference. We learned it never hurts to ask. Don't accept their initial offer because they'll always do better. Sometimes offering to pay cash can help too, if you can swing it. Good luck!

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• TerriandJoe

  

  October 2009 edited December 2011

  Ditto to all pp's. Also remember - you have more ability to negotiate BEFORE you give them a deposit (because that's when they are trying to get your business. And that's not just caterer's, it's every vendor)GL!

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• holli71

  

  October 2009 edited December 2011

  I got extra food and drink for the original price. Also, if you can pay in cash (yes, actually bring them all of the money) sometimes they will work with you.

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