Would you consider this?

[Gypsy]

I''m not seriously considering it, but I thought I would see what you all think.

Would you delay your wedding venue booking by about 6 weeks in order to get a lower rate from your vendors?

If I wait six weeks, a couple of the venues that are right now just outside my budget would be willing to lower their facility rental prices so that they work in my budget. I might not get the perfect date I want, but I would save a nice amount of money and enable me to have the wedding at a (possibly) nicer venue.

I have a all my own clothing except a veil. John would be buying a tux. I have everything except a photographer and baker and a DJ picked out. So... it really wouldn''t add a great deal of stress to my planning. Especially as finding an booking a photographer will probably take me over a month anyway. The cake isn''t a big deal, I can figure that out fairly quickly, and actually love Whole Foods Cakes, and the one by my parent''s house (may) do wedding cakes.

 

[iheartscience]

I would totally do it as long as nothing else was affected, such as guests not being able to come, etc. I would also only do it if it was a significant amount of $...

 

[sunnyd]

I totally would too! Unless you felt like you really wanted a fall wedding and 6 weeks put you into winter or something...

 

[Sha]

Same here!

Could you get them say exactly what kind of discount they would be offering? That way, you see how much you''re actually saving, and you can keep them ''accountable'' to what they offered, when the time comes.

 

[Gypsy]

What I meant is, if I'm 6 months out of from the wedding date (so wait until end of February to book) for an August/September wedding. And no, the savings isn't too significant that I can tell, from one place (so I wouldn't consider it there, all though they are completely open for September, so maybe I would), and I haven't heard from the other.

 

[gtn]

well, if delaying my wedding six weeks could save me a lot of money and all the people who I want at my wedding can come, YES, I would delay my wedding. My FI''s cousin did that. Also if I recall correctly, your wedding is labor day weekend in the bay area, October in the bay area is nice, although not as predictable.

 

[mjso]

Date: 1/17/2008 3:35:28 PM
Author: Gypsy
What I meant is, if I''m 6 months out of from the wedding date (so wait until end of February to book) for an August/September wedding. And no, the savings isn''t too significant that I can tell, from one place (so I wouldn''t consider it there, all though they are completely open for September, so maybe I would), and I haven''t heard from the other.

This is originally how I read your post and then I thought I was confused when I read the other replies!

I would be concerned that it would be booked in the meantime. Of course you said they are open for all of September. Would you be willing to continue to check in to see if they are still open? I think I would do it, but I''d be REALLY nervous.

 

[cara]

What day of the week are you looking at? Is the venue primarily a wedding venue? If so, why aren''t they all booked up for September? Sept. and June are the primo wedding months around here.

I can understand if they aren''t fully booked on non-Saturdays or if it is a non-traditional venue that doesn''t generate most of their income from weddings. If there really were NOT big downsides to playing the waiting game, and the cost savings were both substantial AND critical in affording a more desirable location, I would wait. But if you are just trying to scrape a few dollars off in negotiation, you might think about the possible upsides to just booking it now, such as getting the date most convenient for you or your ideal time of year or day of the week.

And...

There are downsides. Photogs, like bands, are vendors that can''t do more than one wedding at the same time. If you care about such things, every bit of time you wait to set the date delays the time you can scout out available photographers. Most want to know your date immediately, because obviously there is no point discussing anything if they are already booked.

Some guests will have inflexible schedules and earlier notice will help.

Some vendors periodically raise their prices. Not necessarily on New Year''s Day. If you book earlier, you get their old price not their new price.

But weddings are definitely planned in less than 6 months so I wouldn''t stress too much about the time crunch involved as long as you are flexible on other vendors and your guests are flexible on date.

 

[bee*]

I would definitely do it. I wouldn''t mind what date I got married and if I could get things at a better price I''d definitely do it provided that all my family and friends could still go.

 

[surfgirl]

Sure why not?!? Have you sent out your STDs yet? If not, no biggie. If so, just re send. If it allows you to have your wedding at the venue of your dreams, I''d totally do it.

 

[isaku5]

Personally, I''d be sitting on pins and needles for the entire six weeks worrying that they''d be completely booked when I called at the end of February. I still believe in the "a bird in the hand..." saying.

Please don''t take this the wrong way as my intentions are to be pragmatic. Right now, you have at least one venue available for your chosen wedding date; you have your ever loving would-be groom waiting with bated breath to be able to refer to you as his beloved wife; your newly designed e-ring is a vision of beauty; your relatatives as well as John''s are are able to attend; you have your colour scheme in place. ..I could go on and on ( but I''ll spare you that). In a nutshell, you have everything needed for an absolutely glorious wedding day, and you''re thinking of risking all that to wait and hope that a better venue will be available for the same amount as you''ll be spending anyway??????What are you thinking, girl!!!!

Just my two cents.... or maybe three cents or maybe only one cent....

 

[blueyes157]

That is risky... only if the savings are significant enough. I would be devastated to have all my STDs out or the florist, cake, etc booked for a certain date and it turns out another couple beat you to the punch. I would just weigh the risk and gain.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 1/17/2008 5:35:25 PM
Author: isaku5
Personally, I''d be sitting on pins and needles for the entire six weeks worrying that they''d be completely booked when I called at the end of February. I still believe in the ''a bird in the hand...'' saying.

Please don''t take this the wrong way as my intentions are to be pragmatic. Right now, you have at least one venue available for your chosen wedding date; you have your ever loving would-be groom waiting with bated breath to be able to refer to you as his beloved wife; your newly designed e-ring is a vision of beauty; your relatatives as well as John''s are are able to attend; you have your colour scheme in place. ..I could go on and on ( but I''ll spare you that). In a nutshell, you have everything needed for an absolutely glorious wedding day, and you''re thinking of risking all that to wait and hope that a better venue will be available for the same amount as you''ll be spending anyway??????What are you thinking, girl!!!!

Just my two cents.... or maybe three cents or maybe only one cent....

ROLFMAO.

Yeah. Ok. I hear you. Savings aren''t enough. The venue is crazy, near as I can tell. ALL Sundays in September and AUgust (primo months for them) are open at 7.5 months, it''s a vineyard, and they''re stalling. That tells me that their priorities are wacky. I do have one stong potential, another John is going to go and see. So, we''ll see what happens. Wente''s coordinator isn''t going to be able to match schedules up for me (since for me it''s weekends only and this one is out for me, and the next one is out for her) till we meet on Feb 2nd. So, I''m good there.

 

[kcoursolle]

If I haven''t send out the save the dates yet, I would definitely consider it! It''s great to save a little money and still get what you want!