Wedding Venue Fee

Hi. . .newbie here. . .seeking advice on what to charge as a wedding venue fee. I have visited the online wedding sites, but it is difficult to tell what their average wedding venue fee is without having to reach out to each one and my competition certainly does not want to share Are you doing weddings at your Inn? Do you find them to be a good revenue source? What do you charge as a venue fee? Our plan is not to get involved in the wedding planning business. We will leave that up to the Bride's wedding planner to handle catering, setup, etc. We would just provide the venue (located in a vineyard) and require booking of all 5 rooms at the Inn. I have heard figures like $3,000 per wedding for the venue fee. Does this sound standard? I could call Wedding Planners in the area but thought I would start with this forum. We have County approval to do weddings. Thanks!

I thought you had just started building? Seems way early to try to figure this out. I would be looking at comparable area venues to see what they offer and what they charge. Yes, one by one.
ps Interesting reading ... Use the Google Custom Search box in the upper right corner of this page to search the forum for "wedding".

Not sure I'd be looking at pricing right now but definitely get the venue set up! Around here? Booking a conference room at a hotel starts around $5k. That's the room. Nothing else. You want tables & chairs? It's a per person fee.

I think I would take the prices for the 5 rooms and add 20 or 30%.
But it depends on what comes with the fee. Do you do set up ? How big?
As an example, we have a place in town that is $350 to rent. Big, dance floor, parking. Really nice but you have to do all the work. They just open the door.
Another place is $6000 but they set up and you get to get married in front of a window overlooking the bay. Very exclusive.

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, we did just start building so it may seem early to think about weddings but I want to forecast short term & long term key revenue sources. Weddings seem to be a good revenue source to focus on.

There's no way anyone here can tell you what to charge. We don't know your location, property or facilities.

CaliGirl, we have some wedding package pricing on our website, http://www.harborfields.com/Weddings.html -- feel free to e-mail and I can give you the breakdown (what we charge for venue fees vs. the cottage rentals, and what is included with that as well as what is not). Can also share a sample contract.

I am going to ask a stupid question. Why are you worrying about what to charge for weddings and any other extraneous services if you are not even built yet? I would think getting built, creating a web site, getting open AND "getting your feet wet" with hosting guests would be a priority before even considering the extra headaches involved with wedding venues, etc. As a start-up, I had my hands full getting the rooms furnished, the linens, towels, decor, and all that went with a new venture. Prices now may not be valid later anyway. Get built and get open.
I will return to my corner.

Hi Cali! We do weddings here. How we came up with prices is visiting with venues as potential clients. Got their price list etc.

Costs will be different in different locals, you need to research in your area.
You will also need to discuss this with your insurance carrier. Some carriers will frown on this.
You may want to require the wedding party to purchase liability event ins which has you as a rider of the policy to protect YOU from any claims due to any illness or injury.

You would want AT least a 2 night min. with guests. OR that the wedding party cover the 2 nights.

Lots of things to consider when doing these. IT IS a money maker but it also is a BIG pain!!!!

CaliGirl said:

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, we did just start building so it may seem early to think about weddings but I want to forecast short term & long term key revenue sources. Weddings seem to be a good revenue source to focus on..

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We have done one - one - wedding, really to do my heart good as much as anything. Having said that, if you are to incorporate weddings into the service you provide - you'll have to decide how you're going to handle providing the gathering space, parking and restroom facilities. You'll likely want a space caterers can use that is near the venue and away from your own kitchen. You'll need enough chairs, tables, decorating basics etc...plus the space to store them. You'll have to factor in who will do set up and tear down. Sound? A place for musicians? Even if you don't provide those services yourselves, there will have to be ample space, plumbing, electric etc...for those who are contracted to do them. All these plus the parking issue may affect your building plans (and relationships with the neighbors). A friend in this area has several acres, ample parking, and is planning a pavilion specially for weddings and similar special events. She does not offer Lodging.
An Inn in our area specializes in small weddings. They put up bride and close friends (only four rooms). They have a sort of great hall area to do the rehearsal dinners, But they don't have a lot of parking. This is a huge complicator. They do have a private beach where the ceremonies are usually conducted if not in/at another local venue.
They advertise their venue in area media and spring wedding shows in a nearby major metropolitan area.

We charge $3000 plus require all six rooms to be booked for 2 nights for weddings up to 75 guests. Over 75 to 150 $5000 plus rooms. Over 150 we send them to the vineyard next door where the venue fee is a flat $8000 regardless of guest numbers, but then they require a hors d'oeuvres, food, wine package starting at $129 per person plus 11.3% tax and 20% gratuity.

An Old Tavernkeeper said:

We charge $3000 plus require all six rooms to be booked for 2 nights for weddings up to 75 guests. Over 75 to 150 $5000 plus rooms. Over 150 we send them to the vineyard next door where the venue fee is a flat $8000 regardless of guest numbers, but then they require a hors d'oeuvres, food, wine package starting at $129 per person plus 11.3% tax and 20% gratuity..

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Curious, do you have a facility that can accommodate up to 150? Or do your guests still have to rent a tent and furniture on top of your fees?

Thank you for the advice. To answer some of your questions, we have approval to do weddings for up to 125 guests and have tons of parking & space for events since the Inn is located on a 40-acre vineyard. Not sure yet if we will provide the tent, chairs, tables, dance floor, etc. or if we will ask the bride to handle that with her wedding planner. It might seem early to be thinking along these lines but I like to plan ahead, especially since I have the time now to be more strategic about future revenue streams.
An Old Tavernkeeper - Interesting that you have tiered your rates based on number of guests. Something to think about.
Harborfields - Thank you for your offer to share a sample contract! Very nice of you.
Copperhead - Will check out the liability concerns mentioned and shop surrounding venues.
Gillumhouse - No worries. I will get a groove going with just renting the Inn before starting weddings.
Anon Inn - Appreciate all of the wedding elements to think thru as we build. As an FYI, we are incorporating a catering Kitchen to support events.

How much just for a simple ceremony to get married....with 25 people.....bride and groom are staying here, afterwards they are all going to a restaurant. Do you charge just for an hour ceremony?
No food, drinks etc., just using our deck.

dms121761
Yes,
I hosted a few weddings and there was the need for two side areas to prepare for each party getting married. I had to figure out how they could have the music they wanted. One was a simple cd player that had to be hooked up to speakers for another it was three musicians that needed seating. We figured out the seating area, they rented chairs and chair covers and sashes ... these took a long time for them to set up and then a big chuppah was brought in that had to be secured on the lawn (it was windy of course). Their florist also attached chair bows and flowers. Flowers and debris were scattered that I had to clean up. The chair covers, sashes and chairs all had to packed up. Lots of people used the restrooms ... to fix hair and makeup, and for afterwards, there was a line and I ended up opening the first floor unoccupied guest room to accommodate that. The photographer wanted to take pictures before and after (no surprise). The short ceremony turned into a four hour process. (again, no surprise to me) They took all the parking spaces and then some, blocking one neighbor's driveway.
By the way, some flowers arrived quite early and I had to take charge of them. Some people got lost and were calling for directions. Some people asked for rooms last minute.
It was fun but it was a lot more work than just someone using the lawn overlooking the harbor.
I checked our insurance to be certain we were covered.
What is the weight bearing of your deck?

dms121761 said:

How much just for a simple ceremony to get married....with 25 people.....bride and groom are staying here, afterwards they are all going to a restaurant. Do you charge just for an hour ceremony?
No food, drinks etc., just using our deck..

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dms121761 said:

How much just for a simple ceremony to get married....with 25 people.....bride and groom are staying here, afterwards they are all going to a restaurant. Do you charge just for an hour ceremony?
No food, drinks etc., just using our deck.

Click to expand...

The best thing to do is to google small weddings and elopements and see what's happening in your region. You have to determine whether having that many people on your property will interfere with your regular b&b guests. Parking for 25 people is a lot. What time will you allow them to have their ceremony? By the way, they typically start late. Where will these 25 people go to use a bathroom? Your liability will increase, the more people are on your property. Make sure your insurance knows about it.

You can only charge what they are willing to pay. My research would be to the area you are in, otherwise it is apples and oranges. I hope it all works out and can't wait to hear about your progress.

Harborfields said:

An Old Tavernkeeper said:

We charge $3000 plus require all six rooms to be booked for 2 nights for weddings up to 75 guests. Over 75 to 150 $5000 plus rooms. Over 150 we send them to the vineyard next door where the venue fee is a flat $8000 regardless of guest numbers, but then they require a hors d'oeuvres, food, wine package starting at $129 per person plus 11.3% tax and 20% gratuity..

Click to expand...

Curious, do you have a facility that can accommodate up to 150? Or do your guests still have to rent a tent and furniture on top of your fees?
.

Click to expand...

We require them to rent the tent. Same thing with tables, chairs, band riser, dance floor, catering, silverware, glassware etc. For their fee they get the use of the property, a basic men's and a nicer women's bathroom facility at the wedding site, electric and parking, everything else is on them. We didn't used to require them to rent all of the rooms but it was such an inconvenience to non-wedding guests we added that to the requirements about 5 years ago.
Janet

An Old Tavernkeeper said:

Harborfields said:

An Old Tavernkeeper said:

We charge $3000 plus require all six rooms to be booked for 2 nights for weddings up to 75 guests. Over 75 to 150 $5000 plus rooms. Over 150 we send them to the vineyard next door where the venue fee is a flat $8000 regardless of guest numbers, but then they require a hors d'oeuvres, food, wine package starting at $129 per person plus 11.3% tax and 20% gratuity..

Click to expand...

Curious, do you have a facility that can accommodate up to 150? Or do your guests still have to rent a tent and furniture on top of your fees?
.

Click to expand...

We require them to rent the tent. Same thing with tables, chairs, band riser, dance floor, catering, silverware, glassware etc. For their fee they get the use of the property, a basic men's and a nicer women's bathroom facility at the wedding site, electric and parking, everything else is on them. We didn't used to require them to rent all of the rooms but it was such an inconvenience to non-wedding guests we added that to the requirements about 5 years ago.
Janet
.

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We have weird rules about weddings in that UK that It wouldn't be worth it for me to go into it - however I would be all over renting the bedrooms - even if they don't use them they have to be paid for. Non wedding guests will feel sidelined (and they will be) but all the wedding carfuffle which will spread out everywhere and interfere with everything no matter what you do or what they promise. I also try and stay on good terms with my neighbours as I always say I have to live here after they have gone.

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