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5 Hidden Wedding Costs That Might Surprise Wedding Planners
Weddings can be shockingly expensive. When it comes to keeping your clients on a budget, there are hidden fees, financial traps, and add-ons that crop up along the way that may not get factored into your initial wedding budget projection.
While tips are not necessarily required, they are generally expected and appreciated for services, especially if the wedding professionals did an outstanding job. When budgeting for your wedding couples, plan 10-20% for gratuities for their service-based vendors. Venues and caterers often add on a service charge to cover the cost of doing business. This service charge is usually not a tip for the catering or venue staff. You can confirm this by asking the venue or catering manager prior to the wedding.
During the wedding planning process, ask what brands of alcohol, wine, and beer will be served at an open bar. Top shelf alcohol and wine can add up quickly which can be a surprise to both you and your clients when the final bar bill shows up. The alcohol brands and costs should be documented in the banquet event order from the venue, caterer, or bartending service.
Wedding vendors may not mention taxes in their initial pricing. Ask up front about whether taxes will be added to the final bill and what the approximate taxes will be so that you and your clients can plan for this cost in the wedding budget.
It’s important to know the fees for additional time from all vendors in case the event ends up being longer than expected. This includes bands, DJs, photographers, videographer, transportation services, and venue. As event planners, we do our best to keep things on track to avoid incurring overtime fees, but sometimes unexpected issues occur and throw off the event timing. Get all overtime fees in writing prior to the event and be sure that your own overtime fees are listed in your wedding planning contract.
When the inevitable happens, you’ll want to be prepared. You are setting your couples up for success by protecting them from losing their entire wedding investment should something unexpected happen such as extreme weather, injury, property damage, a no-show vendor that has to be replaced, stolen gifts, or a damaged gown. Imagine the shock at receiving a large bill for property damage that occurred at the venue during the wedding. This is easily preventable with a low-cost event insurance policy.
Markel Event Insurance offers one-day event liability insurance to hosts and honorees, protecting them (and you, the wedding planner) from incidents such as property damage to the venue or injury to a guest. Up to $2 million in event liability insurance can be purchased by your client from Markel Event Insurance at least 1 day before the event. Policies start as low as $75.
By offering event insurance, it will not only protect your clients, but it can also protect you by potentially decreasing your own business liability risk for accidents due to negligence of the event host or honoree. Markel Event Insurance is an easy and affordable solution for your clients – a free event insurance quote takes only a few minutes online or on the phone.
Get more information now on the Markel Insurance website for event planners.
While some of these hidden wedding costs are minor, they can add up and surprise both you and your clients. By using these helpful tips to uncover hidden costs in advance and by requiring that your clients purchase event insurance, you can breathe easier knowing you are doing everything possible to protect yourself and your clients from unexpected expenses.
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Business
Wedding Planning
Marketing
Day in the Life
Self Development
Friday Favorites
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