Your venue may be the largest line item on your wedding budget. So add a single hidden cost to this already-massive money-suck, says Kiss the Planner owner Aviva Samuels, and you could break the bank or even your wedding day vision. But the good news is you can anticipate those hidden costs and build a budget that takes them into account rather than takes you by surprise. Here, according to our experts, are seven hidden costs you should consider before you book a wedding venue.
1. Early access to your venue.
Your vendors may need entry to your ceremony or reception sites long before your contract states you can come on in—and that early access will cost you, warns Amy Nichols, owner of Amy Nichols Special Events and co-founder of The Poppy Group. Sneaking in sooner than you're supposed to "prevents the venue from having another event at this time and requires staff to be present," she explains, "so venues must charge an additional fee to cover their costs.."
2. Power—of the electric variety.
Just because you spot multiple outlets on your banquet hall's walls doesn't mean they can provide enough juice to power everything from your DJ's sound system to your custom purple up-lighting. "The last thing you would want is to lose power during your wedding," says Samuels. So depending upon your venue's amperage, you may have to cough up extra cash for added power. "It is always a good idea to find out how many amps the room supplies and how many is needed by your various vendors before contracting that venue," Samuels says.
3. Cake cutting or corkage fees.
You may save major moolah by bringing in a cake or alcoholic beverages provided by another vendor or even a generous or talented family member—but chances are your venue will earn back a few of those bucks by charging you cake cutting or corkage fees. "The venue adds these fees to your final bill to generate the revenue they're not receiving because you're bringing in external wine versus buying theirs," Nichols says.
4. A sound system for your ceremony.
As you exchange your vows, you want your voice to carry to the crowd—not away with the wind in the great outdoors or up to the ceiling in a room with poor acoustic qualities. "Do not assume that your venue supplies sound for your ceremony, whether indoors or outdoors," warns Samuels. While you may have the option to add a line item to what you already owe your venue, you could also have to hand over more cash to your DJ or even a lighting company to provide you with the sound system you'll need.
5. Overtime hours.
You don't want your wedding to end—and who could blame you? Your venue won't likely kick you out when the clock strikes midnight, but if you dance the night away inside its walls, be prepared to pay beaucoup bucks. "A wedding that runs later than the set venue hours can mean high overtime fees—and these fees are often even more expensive than the normal rental rate," warns Nichols. "The venue has to charge this fee to pay staff—including security and janitorial workers—at overtime rates."
6. Service charges and tax.
Your contract should spell out just what your venue will charge in service fees and taxes—but unless it's bolded in large font, you might skip over this added expense and be surprised to see it adds up on your final bill. So do the math before you sign on the dotted line, Samuels encourages. "A service charge is a set percentage of the total food and beverage costs—that's an easy one to calculate," she says. Taxes are calculated based on food and beverage costs combined with room rental rates, with some venues even taxing their service fees—and that's an important difference to note. "When you are talking about a large food and beverage bill," Samuels says, "this seemingly minor difference can amount to quite a bit of money for which you had not accounted."
7. Use of the venue's chairs.
Don't assume your rental rate comes complete with a place to keep up those peep-toe pumps. "A wedding venue may charge to use their existing chairs," says Nichols, who explains this additional cost is used to cover the labor of the venue's staff, who must move the chairs into place and put them away at the end of the evening.
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