Everyone knows that there’s a lot of negotiation when it comes to buying things for an Indian wedding. From the venue to the decor, every couple is trying to maximize value for every dollar spent.
And no wonder.
With the hefty price tag of an Indian wedding, it’s understandable. (Download our free South Asian Wedding Budget Infographic).
In this article we’re going to give you 3 actionable tips to help you negotiate with venues. Not sure which venues are Indian friendly? Check out our main website. You’ll find detailed profiles for each venue including pricing info, capacities, baraat, outside catering info and more!
{3 Indian Wedding Venue Negotiation Tips}
Exceeding the F&B Minimum. I hope you’ve read our article about Food & Beverage minimums (F&B min). If you haven’t please take a look at it as this negotiation tactic will make a lot more sense if you do. When you’re working with us at ShaadiShop to help you find your venue we always look at the venue’s F&B min. Is your event exceeding the minimum? By how much? If it does then you have negotiation power.
Get a re-sell clause added to your room block contract. Note: the room block contract is separate than the events contract. And if you haven’t read our guide on Indian wedding room blocks then take a look at it. If you fall short of your contracted room block, but the hotel ends up with over 90% occupancy that night, then it’s likely that they sold your unfulfilled rooms to others and for higher than your group rate. Therefore you shouldn’t be liable for the unfulfilled rooms.
Sales Goals. Catering Sales Managers have quotas and sales goals that are defined by months and quarters. For our clients we try to close deals towards the end of the month or quarter when they’re more incentivized to negotiate, as they’re focused on their monthly and quarterly goals.
{Event Time of Year & Type of Venue Influence Pricing}
Part of how much venues will negotiate depends on the time of year of your wedding and the type of venue.
Resorts are less willing to budge on pricing for summer and spring break as those are peak times for events and rooms.
Business hotels, on the other hand, are more likely to negotiate as they’re primarily occupied on weekdays.
Golf Clubs and banquet halls vary based on their location. Some are very busy with private events on weekends.
{Time of Year}
December holidays: Many venues book really quickly for the first few 3 weekends of December for corporate holiday events. And many venues give first right of refusal to those companies to re-book.
The Saturday of Easter weekend is a great time for an Indian wedding as few others are booking events that weekend.
For venues in Beverly Hills and other areas that are popular within the Jewish community, there are some “no-go” wedding dates which means those venues are more likely to be available. Like the Hindu and Jain religions the Jewish calendar also changes every year, so Google the dates for each holiday listed below, though we’ve given you the months for each:
Purim: March/April
Passover: March/April/May
3 weeks leading up to Tisha B’av: June/July
Rosh Hashana: September/October
Yom Kippur: September/October
Succot: September/October
Simchat Torah: October
FYI: By March of 2018, several popular Indian wedding venues were already completely sold out for April 2019. Just to give you a sense of how quickly dates can be taken.
Note: Venues will put courtesy holds on space for you and give you a certain amount of time before they will release their space to other parties. A venue is not booked until a deposit is paid. The same goes for all of your wedding vendors.
{South Asian Social Calendar}
We’ve made our own South Asian Social Calendar for 2018 and 2019, to help you avoid Diwali, Raksha Bandhan and other holidays.
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Visit shaadishop.co to get a great deal and save hours of time researching venues!
{Testimonials}
“Cannot say enough good things about the service from Samta and ShaadiShop who helped us research venues for our wedding this year. We wanted a non-hotel venue, and to get married within 6 months. ShaadiShop immediately found us venues, contacted them and educated us about all the things we needed to think about while selecting a venue. They put all the info together in a fabulous, super impressive, spreadsheet that helped us compare venues – seriously amazing and such a great help. Working with them made the whole stressful process MUCH easier and I can’t believe it was all free! ShaadiShop’s website is fantastic and such a great service for South Asians – so glad I found them!”
Anjli S., Bride
“Shaadishop helped me not only find venues but also understand how they work, the fees, and tips that I wouldn’t have otherwise known. Definitely a need service in the desi community. And best of all, it was free!!”
Hinna S., Bride
“We’re so glad we used ShaadiShop to book our venue. The info on the website is amazing and then they gave us such personalized attention! They were such a valuable resource for selecting venues, helping us understand policies and logistics. Their suggestions saved us a lot money too! They really understood us, what we wanted and helped us get it. AND it’s free! So glad there’s a service like this for South Asians. Awesome that there’s something like this for South Asians!”
Janki K., Bride
“I was working in Washington D.C. during my venue search and not living in Southern California. ShaadiShop put my family, fiance, and me at ease with the helpful and timely information they provided. The whole experience of finding a venue was so much better with them! I highly recommend using ShaadiShop for all your venue search needs!”
Shrishti M., Bride
Other ShaadiShop Posts You Might Like:
How Venue Fees Work For An Indian Wedding
How to Avoid Venue Overtime Fees at an Indian Wedding
Venue Food & Beverage Minimums: Everything You Need To Know
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