Capitalizing on another's cancelled wedding?

av8rx · April 2012

I've heard about being able to save a lot of money by, for lack of a better term, capitalizing on someone else's cancelled wedding. In other words, taking advantage of flowers, a ceremony/reception site, etc. that have already been paid for. How does this happen so that someone like me can take advantage of this? I really don't care about all the details about the wedding (i.e. flower color choices, etc.) and I might actually prefer if I didn't have to choose. The other reason for inquiring about this is because my father passed away from cancer and since then, there isn't much money for the wedding. I'd like to have something nice and elegant, but I'm trying to come up with ways to save some money. Having it at the house isn't an option because it is going up for sale (again, related to my father's illness). I looked into restaurants, but there are many restaurants that want to charge just as much as a hotel or some other expensive venue. I suppose I'll keep looking, but any advice would be appreciated.

kmmssg · April 2012

I'm sorry, but I don't think you are going to get a lot of postiive feedback on a post asking how you can swoop in and captialize on someone else's pain.

AurorasEnvy · April 2012

I guess I'm just not sure how this would work, because most of the time everything is booked through separate vendors - IE, my reception venue, florist, DJ, bakery, etc. are not related in any way. And for many things like a florist & bakery, unless they cancel the day before they'll likely just not bake the cake, order the flowers, etc. And to be honest, these vendors are going to profit more by keeping the money they've been paid and doing no work than to having everything transferred to another bride. I guess I've just never heard of this before.

If you want to save money, consider a wedding off-season (and that depends on where you live) or on a Friday or Sunday. You can get pretty deep discounts that way. I'd check out the budget wedding boards, too. And wedding classifieds, you can buy a lot of stuff used (even wedding dresses).

Sorry to hear about your dad.

MrsKathyC · April 2012

I've never heard of it before, other than say a bride/groom looking for another couple to book their venue for the same day, so that the original bride/groom dont lose their deposit.

I don't see how this would save the new bride/groom anything.

mattycam · April 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-recap-withdrawal_capitalizing-on-anothers-cancelled-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:12Discussion:a645f572-d866-4e4d-b131-0196cd2566efPost:da718e8b-d47d-49a1-ba49-51c704151be0">Re: Capitalizing on another's cancelled wedding?</a>:
[QUOTE] If you want to save money, consider a wedding off-season (and that depends on where you live) or on a Friday or Sunday. You can get pretty deep discounts that way. I'd check out the budget wedding boards, too. And wedding classifieds, you can buy a lot of stuff used (even wedding dresses). Sorry to hear about your dad.
Posted by AurorasEnvy[/QUOTE]

I agree that doing it the old fashioned way is better than looking for cancellations. AurorasEnvy made some great suggestions. Also if you are creative you can consider DIY projects. If you have any family and friends that can offer their services in lieu of a gift, that can save you tons on a photographer, cake, invites and/or music to name a few.

All the best to you and sorry to read about your dad.

Gabrielle76 · May 2012

I've never heard of this, and I don't see why a vendor would do this, becaus there wouldn't really be any benefit. I have deposits down for my vendors, but if I were to cancel, I would just lose the deposits, and the vendor could charge full price for another bride.

Plus, I know I personally would much rather have an inexpensive park wedding with a burgers and ipod reception than a pricy wedding I was only able to afford because someone else's relationship fell apart.

Carla1019 · May 2012

Can you have an outside wedding reception in a park?

Here is an article of a bride that had 125 guests and it cost $5000.

http://www.projectwedding.com/wedding-ideas/budget-savvy-bride-smaid-planning-a-backyard-wedding

lconoran · May 2012

I actually had a friend get married at a certain location for a great price because of a cancellation. Now his situation was completely opposite of yours, he had all the money he needed at his disposal, therefore was able to afford a wedding 3 months away rather than 12. You have to think of it that way too. Venue, the most expensive and therefore the biggest place for saving. But can you afford invitations, dress, tux, etc quickly. Might be better to save/plan accordingly to your ability to save.

I'm sure you are going through a lot with your dad's passing. Take your time. Breath. I am very sorry for your loss.

RamonaFlowers · May 2012

I've seen people try to sell their date (For whatever money they can't get refunded) when they have to cancel the wedding or change dates so they don't completely lose out on any non-refundable deposits on non-perishable things like the venue and the music. I've never heard of somebody flat out just giving their date to somebody else before, though.

And like PP said, things like flowers and cakes just will end up not being ordered/prepared if the cancellation happens more than a few days before the wedding, which certainly wouldn't be enough notice for you to commandeer the spoils for your own.

Lots of couples do pay for their own weddings without their parents' help nowadays, check out the Budget Brides board for money-saving tips.

Giaspo · May 2012

Some venues in my area list "value dates" on their websites, and some of those are cancellations. If you are really looking for a deal, you might want to call a few places and ask about last minute dates. Midweek weddings seem to be gaining popularity too.

librababy · May 2012

I have never heard of that before. I have heard of lower prices for a venue during certain days/seasons. Even a bride 'selling' her venue. I did see an episode of whose wedding is it anyway, where the couple did get a wedding. A friend of the bride had paid for a venue and called off her wedding, so she offered it up. The bride had to get married sooner than she planned but all her family pulled together to make it work and she basically got a free wedding.

For me though, I'd rather just pay for my own, which I am doing on a tight budget. Maybe look into budget venues in your area or some venues offer specials too.

Capitalizing on another's cancelled wedding?

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