To Negotiate or Not?

blabla89 · March 2014

The idea of negotiating with wedding vendors hadn't really crossed my mind until FI and I were discussing budget today and he stated that he thinks everything is negotiable. I don't really agree with this. I know some vendors are more flexible than others (like the caterer, who has given me multiple proposals at different price points) - but I imagine it would be off-putting to some vendors. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable doing it myself, but FI seems to be pretty set on it.

I've skimmed some articles about why you should or shouldn't negotiate with wedding vendors...so now I'd like to hear it from you ladies.

Did you negotiate with any of your vendors? Why or why not? What are the general rules around this?

HisGirlFriday13 · March 2014

We didn't negotiate with any of our vendors, but we also (a) got really good deals from friends/acquaintances who were vendors and (b) didn't have that many (florist, organist, DJ, photographer, baker, venue.)

For the ones who are providing set packages, I don't think there's a lot of room for negotiation. Photographers probably have a set hourly rate that they don't deviate from. Florists probably have a set cost for things that they won't deviate from.

I think some things are negotiable -- the venue rental fee might be waived if you guarantee a certain number of guests or a certain level of package -- but I think some vendors might be offended by your trying to negotiate with them.

If you FI really wants to, he can certainly try.

hikebikebemerry · March 2014

I think it's easier to negotiate with services, rather than price.

For example, looking at a photographer who has a package where engagement pics are included, but they only provide 6 hours of photography the day of- ask them to nix the engagement pics, but do 7 hours the day of your wedding.

I know that my sister had dessert included in her package, but they didn't want it (because they were already doing cake), so they just asked if they could upgrade some apps (but pay the same price).

ETA: This is more catering to your personal needs. I am very leery of "talking down price" for a vendor, how would you feel if your boss came up to you, asked you to work on a huge project, but then said that you should work for less of your base rate while doing it.

lyndausvi · March 2014

We did not negotiate. We didn't have budget concerns and felt the prices were reasonable. Mind you we were living in the islands. The stateside prices seemed cheap to what we were use to paying. Even though we knew some places to negotiate it's something we just didn't pursue.

That said, by all means negotiate. Some vendors will negotiate others will not. Don't take it personal if a vendor doesn't negotiate. Some will often discounts, other throw is extras. Never know unless you try.

kaitlynmichelle · March 2014

I negotiated a better price with our photographer. I had asked for her price list after looking at her work as I wasn't sure if she was within our budget. She gave me prices based on hours of coverage and noted that she was willing to change her packages for us.

I mentioned our budget was closer to the less coverage option, and she offered to give us more coverage at a lower rate to help us out.

It is a bit different as she knew we were on a budget and offered to help, but now we get the perfect photography package for our needs at a price that we can be happy with.

silver0319 · March 2014

We didn't negotiate with any of our vendors except for our venue. We didn't try to lower the price, but instead got them to add on things (refreshments for early arrivals! champagne toast, etc). I was also looking over our "banquet order" last week before our final submittal, and they upgraded our bar package!

Our photographer was the big bargain; I contacted her when she was first building up her business. She was transitioning from fashion/editorial to weddings, and had a deal on living social. I emailed for her regular rates, added her to my list of possible photogs, and the continued my search. I contacted her again a few months later, and her prices had significantly increased. However, she honored the pricelist she originally gave me.

We also found our florist through our photog, who is giving me a major discount on delivery and some extras at cost (because of the referral from the photog). She's also buying our lanterns (centerpieces) from me after the wedding.

Our DJ was recommended by a friend who used him 4 years ago. He gave us their contracted price (because we were a referral), which saved us a couple hundred dollars.

OliveOilsMom · March 2014

We married towards the end of the winter off season and on a Friday. So I brought that up with all vendors in hopes of discounts. Our reception venue offered nothing (though others offered money off, it was still cheaper in the end), our limo company did, and our photographer gave us a print credit since we were recommended to her by a friend. So we always asked when we went, but I wouldn't say we negotiated.

AprilH81 · March 2014

We got married in January and when I contacted venues I asked if they had any off season discounts and that got us a better deal with our venue, photographer and videographer. We didn't get discounts on the DJ or florist, but since it was the off season we had our pick of very popular (inexpensive) vendors.

Generally speaking the venue and caterer is where you will be able to negotiate the most (waiving fees, including more for the same price, lowering food and beverage minimums, etc.). The other vendors probably won't budge much on price but you can try to negotiate more services into the price they charge.

As long as you ask in a professional manner I doubt they would be offended. The worst thing that would happen is they say no.

mellyD2014 · March 2014

We negotiated with almost all of our vendors - the reception hall, the photographer, the florist, hair & make up... We're getting married in north NJ, though, and the prices for the wedding machine are absolutely out of control. Only 1 place refused to negotiate and we ended up moving our business elsewhere. We found out through word of mouth later that we dodged a bullet with that venue - the owner has a terrible reputation, so it turned out for the best!

Now, we didn't get huge discounts, but every little bit helped. And as someone said earlier, more often than not we were able to get more for the same quote, rather than getting a price cut. It's absolutely worth a shot, so I'd recommend negotiating!

smalfrie19 · March 2014

We didn't negotiate, but we are getting some killer deals from our vendors. We are getting half off the rental rate for the venue because my grandparents are members, our photogs are family friends and are giving us a family rate. We met with our dj last weekend and he offered to upgrade to his middle package at the base package price because he is an acquaintance of FI.

AddieCake · March 2014

We didn't negotiate other than to ask if there were any off-season discounts. I didn't feel like I knew enough about pricing in the industry to do any negotiating.

grumbledore · March 2014

He is right. The worst they can say is no.

MyNameIsNot · March 2014

We negotiated with some. We didn't for the ones that we thought offered a good price out of the gate.

Your FI is right. Everything can be negotiable. It's just business. In the wedding industry, there are so many solo and small business operations. Those entities have to do what they have to do to make the sale. When they get to the point that they can turn away customers, they raise their prices.

If the prices aren't flexible, they just say X is the price, take it or leave it. You wouldn't want to work with a vendor who would take it personally or get their feelings hurt if you try to haggle. That's no professional at all.

pumpkinsandturkeys · March 2014

I negotiated a bit for photography and videography, and I'm currently negotiating transportation.

Our photographer is a close friend who is giving us a great deal, but I still negotiated to include the engagement shoot and photo guest book at no cost, and a reduced rate for save the dates. We also agreed that she would include her assistant free of charge.

Our videographer is fairly new on the scene and priced really well as a result, but FI was iffy on having videography at all, so I haggled a little bit and re-worked the package so that we're not paying for any more time than we need, while still covering all of the main highlights of the day. We're also getting all of the raw footage for no additional charge, and I negotiated for a longer edited highlights video.

For transportation, we really only need a car/limo to drive me and my sister (and possibly my mum) 10 minutes down the road, and then pick up me and FI at the end of the night. We also need a towncar to take us to the airport early the next morning (joy.). I explained this to the company, and they're knocking down their normal price to accommodate fewer hours on our wedding day, and customizing a package to include both the wedding and the airport transfer.

Everything else was well within budget for us and very reasonably priced, so I didn't feel the need to negotiate.

KytchynWitche · March 2014

I'm also against negotiating for various reasons. But if your FI really wants you to negotiate, start out by asking the vendor "How firm are your prices?" - that way you can reply with "Fair enough." if they say their prices are firm, or go on to negotiate if they say they're flexible. This way, you should be able to avoid offending anyone who doesn't want to negotiate, and still find the best prices.

We decided not to hire the photographer we both adore, because his cheapest package is more than my entire outfit all together, and about twice what we can comfortably spend on photog. Seeing as photography is his livelihood (he has no other source of income), I wouldn't feel comfortable asking him to halve his fee. Lucky for us, my art teacher has offered us her services at a fraction of the cost - and she often works as our first choice's second shooter, so she knows his style.

loro929 · March 2014

I haven't negotiated yet, but one of the photographers we're talking to told us to "keep them in the loop" with our search and if pricing was one of the concerns we had when selecting one over the other to be up front about it.

Besides that, I don't think we will negotiate in the future neither. I feel, from what I have seen so far at least, is that there are many different price points for various vendors. That being said, instead of negotiating with someone who may be a bit beyond your budget, try to find someone who is within your budget.

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