7 Tips to Determine Price for Your Wedding Venue Start Up
How to determine price when you start your venue will take some thought and research. It’s important to have a price that is comparable to those in your area, but price also has to do with what you have to offer. Price seems to be the first thing clients want to know, so do your “pricing” homework.
The pricing issue is discouraging. Venue owners that I know work very hard to give every client a wonderful experience. Clients sometimes do not recognize all the preparation that a venue owner does until, or should I say if, they book your venue.
Trying to determine price for your venue may seem frightening; it was for me! Many thoughts went through my head; If I’m too high I will not book any weddings, if I’m too low is it even worth having the business?
Running a venue is hard work and we do it because we love it. I’m going to share 7 tips that will help you make the pricing decision easy… or at least easier. ?
Wedding networking group
I mentioned this in my eBook “How to Start and Run a Wedding Venue in Your Own Backyard” how important it is to be in a networking group. Do some research to see if there’s a group in your area and join it. When you first start out, the group will be of great value to your new business. You’ll meet other venue owners who may be willing to share their advice on the pricing issue.
On-line research
No secrete here, on-line is a great place to do research. You can visit the web page of every venue in your area because they should all have one. Some will have pricing, and some may not. You need to compare apples to apples: are they providing the same services as your venue.
Call the venue
While some of you will have a problem with calling venues with questions, others won’t. Be upfront about why you are calling. They will either say no or you could become fast friends. Firsthand information is invaluable.
Bridal Fair
What a great place to ask questions and meet vendors, and not just venue owners. A bridal fair offers countless chances to ask questions and learn about the wedding business. You won’t want to miss this opportunity. Attend a bridal fair and take notes.
Brides Day Out
This is usually an event where 3 to 4 wedding venues will host an open house. Each venue invites other vendors to participate: DJs, caterers, a photo booth, officiants, photographers, etc. The idea is to set the venue up like a real wedding day. Each venue provides drinks and snacks and you get to tour the venue. Fun right!! This event provides a great opportunity to see what several venues have to offer.
Wedding on-line marketplaces
Many venues are listed with an on-line marketplace like Wedding Wire, The Knot, mywedding.com and others. You can find information about many of the wedding venues in your area on these sites.
Friends
I’m sure many of your friends or their children have either gotten married or attended a wedding venue in your area. They can provide you with a wealth of information; what did they like and dislike about the venue, how many people can they accommodate, what are the rules and policies? They might even have the old contract they are willing to share with you.
Finally, it’s important that you don’t let the pricing issue get you down. I would consider starting slightly under price. As you build confidence and become known, then raise your price. The first few years were lean for us; it takes a while to get your name out there. You’ll need to build a reputation in your community.
I remember the second year we booked a few weddings because we were the only venue that still had available dates! Hey, I’ll take it. It can get discouraging at times. I talk about this in my eBook. You need to know your why, why am I doing this business.
The great thing about pricing is you can increase it when you decide it needs to be done. We have increased price 5 times now, but not by the same amount each time. Why and when did we decide to increase? Well, that is another post that needs to be written.
Blessings, Teri : )
