Over the last few years weekday weddings have become increasingly popular. The number of weddings taking place “out of season” have also increased significantly. Many wedding venues offer weekday wedding discounts or off peak wedding special offers in order to fill their calendar.
As a result there is somewhat of a myth that all wedding suppliers do or should offer weekday wedding discounts or money off for “off peak” dates.
With the attractive offers that many wedding venues now offer for these dates, more couples than ever are tying the knot October-March. More weddings are also taking place Monday-Thursday, year round. A time that would traditionally have been a little quieter for weddings. Because of this however, there is far greater demand for these dates. As a result many good or popular wedding suppliers are now booking to capacity most months of the year and not just during the summer months.
For many there is no “Out of season” and “Off peak” doesn’t really exist.
For this reason, we personally do not offer discounts for such dates. There are a number of reasons for this, which we will mention below.
We do not offer weekday wedding discounts or off peak wedding special offers because:
- We take on a set number of bookings each year because we believe that quality is more important than quantity. Delivering excellent service to our couples is most important, so we do not try and cram as many weddings as possible into our calendar. Instead we take on a smaller number, giving us time and flexibility with each couple. Because of this our prices need to be consistent so we know they will cover our expenses but also provide a wage.
- Getting loans, mortgages or credit is tricky when you are self employed. Rental properties, mortgage advisors, everyone is wary of the self employed because your income isn’t viewed as being guaranteed in the same way that is is when you have a contract of employment. You need a valid set of accounts that proves your earnings are consistent and stable over a period of time. Keeping our pricing consistent is the best way of ensuring our business is sustainable. It’s the best way of proving our earnings and making sure we are eligible for mortgages, loans etc.
Weekday wedding discounts and off peak wedding discounts and deals?
- We are so fortunate to receive over 250 enquiries a year. We have multiple date clash enquires each year and sadly need to pass on far more weddings than we’d like. It does not make business sense to discount when there are potentially several other couples happy to pay full price for the same date.
- We don’t feel it’s fair to charge one couple one price and another couple another price for the same service.
- We feel that asking for a discount from a small business is the equivalent of asking a stranger to contribute towards your wedding. If we knock of £200 for example, we are basically giving you £200 to spend elsewhere. As much as we looooove our couples, it’s simply not a sustainable business model.
- Weekday weddings can be SO much more stressful that weekend weddings! Why? Because of rush hour traffic. We have to allow so much extra travel time to account for possible delays. Weekday weddings also tend to be a bit quieter in the evening so we usually have to stay longer than we otherwise would to capture all that we need = longer, more stressful day.
- The same applies for “out of season” weddings in November or February for example. There’s a much higher chance of ice, snow or fog so we need to set out much earlier, or even stay over the night before a wedding “just in case”. Also, because the sun sets much earlier it’s often rush rush rush after a ceremony to get everything done before the light drops.
So why can (do) wedding venues offer such good weekday wedding discounts or off peak wedding special offers?
Well really, it’s because they’re often a much bigger business than the small, independent suppliers who offer things like chair covers or photography.
Wedding venues are often the first thing to be booked and they tend to command the highest fees. Popular venues can be booked up completely more than 2 years in advance, with some having waiting lists! Because of this there’s wiggle room in their pricing as there’s the expectation that people will haggle.
Many venues have staff who are contracted whether there are weddings on or not, so it is in their best interests to take on as many bookings as possible. Similarly they also have year round expenses to consider- heating the building for example, security etc. Therefore they need to host events year round.
Wedding venues also do not have the post wedding workload that other suppliers such as photographers do. A venue can host a wedding, turn the venue around and be ready for the next one. A wedding photographer will shoot a wedding and have at least a week’s worth of editing to do before they can move onto the next.
There are many more reasons, but I think we have managed to sum up the differences between big wedding venue businesses and small, independent wedding businesses.
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