Weddings are stressful and tend to be more on the expensive side. We get it. We always say a “wedding is a luxury.” The actual legal paperwork is what makes a marriage official. If you are planning a wedding, it’s always necessary to create a budget to make sure you know your priorities, and don’t over spend. Sometimes there are those “hidden fees” that can increase your budget unknowingly. When you work with Fierce Productions, we use a wedding planning system that helps track your budget, and avoid those fees from creeping up. That being said, here are a few “hidden fees” you should be aware of:

Credit Card Fees

It’s always satisfying to collect credit or bonus points when using a credit card, but be aware, a lot of vendors will have service fees when paying with a credit card. Please know, it’s not the vendor trying to squeeze money out of you. Lots of credit cards have a processing fee due to the website or app, transfer process, or conversion rates. There is a fee because the credit card company/app charges us, so we include that percentage into your invoice. The fee is typically around 3% so it’s not the end of the world, but it is an additional charge to be aware of, and worth noting if you need to make budget adjustments.

Service Fees

These are often found on catering or venue invoices and are typically between 18-24%. What is included under this charge is different for each vendor, but often includes administrative fees, event production costs, or what most refer to as the “cost of doing busy work”. This fee is paying for the services of having admin help: this covers the vendors time working with the couple before and during the event, such as creating and updating the BEO, prepping for the event, creating floor-plans, tastings, and attending walk-throughs among other things!

Moving Furniture Fee

If you are getting married at a restaurant, hotel or other space whose main purpose may not be to host events, you may see a moving furniture fee on your contract. This fee is to pay the staff for moving additional furniture around in order to get the space ready for your event. Just something to keep in mind, if you are having a bit more custom event, or hosting at a non-event space.

Extra Event Hour Fee

Lots of venues have set packages with a set price. This usually includes between 6-8 hours. If you want to extend your event a bit longer, then you will need to pay for the additional hour. It’s usually pretty simple to get an extension, as venues typically have an hourly rate. Just make sure you make your hours clear to the venue when booking!

Outside Vendor Fee

Some venues have exclusive or preferred vendors. These are vendors the venue has worked with before, trust, and know they will provide excellent service. The venue highly recommends you work with those vendors, but occasionally they will allow “new” ones. If you want to bring in an outside vendor, like your favorite catering, then some venues might have a small charge. This charge is a bit of an insurance to make sure the outside vendor takes care of the space, and to cover any potential orientation needed with the outside vendor.

Permits/Event Insurance

Venues require event insurance! Make sure you have insurance for your event incase anything happens. Luckily getting insurance is rather simple, and typically not a huge wallet breaker. We constantly recommend Event Helper to our clients. It has a simple system that allows you to fill in any blanks, and breaks things down for you.

Parking and Transportation

If you have your wedding venue far away from your wedding room block, or have multiple locations for your wedding, or want to take first look photos at a specific location, then you will need to consider transportation. Transportation can get a bit pricey if you book last minute, or require a lot of services. Typically transportation also has a minimum set of hours. If you aren’t doing transportation then you’ll need to potentially consider parking. Sometimes the venue has parking, or there is street parking available, but sometimes you might need to book parking services. You can also potentially hire valet services if you want your guests to feel ‘fancy.’ Just know transportation/parking can sometimes sneak up on you if you don’t think about logistics, so just be aware it is another thing to prepare in your budget.

Tastings

Typically tastings are included with your overall catering/service fee, but it never hurts to check. Typically, it’s “complimentary” with a limited number of guests. If you desire to include more guests, that’s when an additional fee will be added. After all, they need to make sure they bring enough resources to feed all the guests. It will be up to you if you’d track this additional fee in your wedding budget, or separate.

Vendor Meals

Don’t forget your vendors are working all day and require nice warm meals. You will need to provide meals for vendors at your event longer than 6 hours. This typically includes your event coordination team, the photography/video team, and probably your dj. Remember, we are there to support you and stay active all day, so some food is required. Lots of vendors will have vendor meals included in their contract. Keep in mind, if one is not provided, the vendor is 100% valid to excuse themself for a moment to grab food.

Gratuities

Not so much a hidden fee, but sometimes it slips our mind when creating a final budget. Make sure to include the vendor gratuity in your final budget! Typically vendors will expect 10%-20%. When in doubt, ask the vendor or your planner what the typical amount is.

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Fierce Productions is a Chicago based event planning company specializing in curating unique, bold, non-traditional weddings and events. Our talented team of professionals can handle all of your event needs including planning and coordination, design and styling, vendor and talent management, fundraising, marketing support and beyond - get in touch to learn more!

Hidden Fees to Look for When Wedding Planning