Wedding Plans - Hidden Charges (part 2)

Posted on | May 15, 2010 |

My sister-in-law fell victim to very high hidden charges at her wedding. I’m talking over a thousand dollars. They had a smaller wedding at a country club. They had an open bar and knew they would be paying depending on how much the guests drank. There were two major items that they didn’t think to ask, and the wedding coordinator they dealt with at the club neglected to mention.

The first problem at the open bar were shots. The guests ordered a lot of them, it was a younger crowd so it’s not unexpected. Problem was it never occurred to my in-laws, they were counting on the planner from the country club to discuss all their options. They discussed the price of beer and drinks, but the planner never brought up that shots would be more. Lot’s more.

The other problem was the gratuity or tip. The bartender had a huge glass out with a note about leaving tips. Not only did all the guests tip her, but my in-laws put in a huge tip as well. Guess what? When they got the final bill there was a charge for a $250.00 tip for the bartender. The bartender made a fortune that night. It wasn’t fair and my in-laws got ripped off, but at that point it was too late.

Had they discussed all this ahead of time and got everything in writing this wouldn’t have been a problem. They could have had an open bar that excluded shots, guests could have paid for their own. They could have discussed only certain shots that would have been a cheaper price or explored many other possible options. Same with the tip jar. Had they known they would be paying a tip at the end they could have removed the tip jar, or let the guests know that gratuities were already taken care of.

These hidden charges can been seen in almost every venue of your wedding, so if you didn’t hear me - GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING BEFORE YOU COMMIT! When you buy your wedding dress, are the alterations included? If not what are they going to charge you? It is something that you have to do, but it might be cheaper to go to a private seamstress to have the alterations done (that’s what I did and she even made my headpiece and handbag. I paid a fraction of what I would have at the place where I bought my dress).

Wedding’s in general are a money making business. It’s a once in a lifetime experience and many business realize this and take advantage of it. It is easy to fall into the moment and spend more then you want to or need too, in some cases more then you can afford! No one else has your best interests at heart , you need to look out for yourself.

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