Working with multiple vendors can be very overwhelming. The stress, combined with all the contracts and legal verbiage, can whip you into a whirlwind if you don’t know some key elements to look out for. You have to be sure that you understand the vendors you are working with, because slight oversights can lead to costly penalties and fees that could eat up a large percentage of your valuable wedding budget.
Not like other brides..
Because each vendor has their own contracts, it’s hard to know what to look for. If your fiancé is like most brides, she has visions of sugar plums dancing in her head, and may be overlooking important details that if left untouched could turn the best day of her life into the day from hell. With you at her side, you can work together to ensure your special day is everything that you dreamed of.
Never settle!
So many times couples settle for what the contract says without taking into consideration that most items within a contract are negotiable. There is an old adage that says, “You have not because you ask not.” This rings true within the wedding world as well. Knowing what to negotiate is what is important. Hotels often are able to waive room rental fees or reduce the guarantee if you can provide an exact guest count, or a count that is within 10-15 people. Booking your wedding during an off season often times gives you valuable leverage when negotiating with your vendor. It is important to understand your position even when on a limited budget. In these economic times, most vendors and venues are very willing to make adjustments to accommodate your requests if you are bringing them revenue.
Read the Fine Print
It is very important to understand each vendor’s requirements, eg. Do you need to provide vendor meals, what are the hourly charges above the contracted rate, when do the band/DJ breaks need to be taken, is there an extra charge for delivery outside of operating hours, etc.. Let’s say you have contracted for use of a reception hall for 4 hours, but you have rented tables and chairs and they won’t be picking up the chairs until the next morning. Is there a storage fee associated with holding them overnight, will they allow a pickup as long as it is during business hours, and when will the linens be picked up? All of these are important items to be covered in the contract to ensure your vendor’s expectations are met, and that you are not surprised with an extra bill that you were not anticipating. Paying attention to each of these details will save a lot of stress in the long run. Recently one of my clients hired a band, and the venue provided one size stage only, and the band required larger stage than the venue provided. We were able to adjust the sizes with both parties beforehand which alleviated changes that would have had to be made the day of. It is these details that can make a difference on your wedding day, and certainly isn’t what you want to be dealing with while getting ready and enjoying one of the best days of your life. You can read more insight into other challenges we faced with this client by clicking Here along with other challenges that some of my other clients faced also.
Know When to Hold ‘em….
When negotiating contract terms, it’s important to consider several factors.
1. Time of year or day of week. (Is this peak season, or could your event be bringing revenue during a slow season)
2. Are other quotes you received including services that the vendor or venue you desire is not including? Use that as leverage to have them include additional services or extras that they would not have normally included.
3. Would they be willing to give discounts or extras in exchange for advertising on their website or using you as a reference?
4. Look for excessive charges or “Guarantees” that might be able to be reduced to a smaller amount if you can guarantee the guest count.
5. Ask for referral discounts if you send additional clients their way.
6. Make sure you are allowing sufficient time for set up and take down of all vendors involved.
7. Consider all vendors involved, and ensure that each will have sufficient time to set up if one is dependent on the other. Eg. Ensure that the fabric and lighting is set-up before centerpieces and place settings are set.
8. Ensure pick-up and delivery hours are within limits specified by your venue and ensure that all vendors involved have coordinated their times with the venues’.
Contract review can be a daunting task, and wedding planners, event designers and other professionals are used to the ins and outs of contracts and can help you along the way. Having an advocate that can foresee possible pitfalls is a valuable investment for such an important occasion that you hopefully only do once in your life. I am offering a free contract review for up to 2 vendors for all Groomsonline.com readers or subscribers of this blog. Please feel free to let me know if there is something in this blog that you would like me to go into more detail on, or if I missed a topic that you would like to see.
Kevin Sanchez-Principal Event Designer Artifex Events 303-465-0253 www.artifexevents.com
Tags: brides, grooms, wedding contracts, wedding vendor contracts, weddings
