Lock in Your Wedding Catering/Banquet Cost Now?
Al forwarded an interesting article by Tralee Pearce from the Globe & Mail yesterday which talked about the increase in food prices and weddings. Here are some points which I found interesting:
- The average Canadian wedding cost $19,000. (Survey by Weddingbells)
- 50% of this amount were spent on food & breverages.
- Many catering companies are increasing their prices to cover the rising cost in foods such as flour, rice and grains.
- Fuel surcharge is one of the reason for the increase in food cost.
- A couple in Toronto were notified that their wedding catering bill would have a 12.5% increase ($2,500) due to the hike of food prices.
- Alison McGill, editor-in-chief of Weddingbells: “Everything’s noegotiable,…If there’s no wiggle room, that’s a red flag.”
When I went to book my banquet a month ago, the manager had told me that on average, food prices goes up 3-5% every year. One of the best way to save money, aside from negotiating, is to book early to lock in prices. I’m not sure if this works for catering, since I’m having a Chinese banquet. It won’t hurt to ask though.
What if I sign a contract now but the food prices are still high next year and the restaurant wants to increase the banquet cost? I hope this won’t happen but if it does, I’d probably negotiate with them again. I definitely would not pay a 12.5% additional cost for my banquet. Worst come to worst, I’d just cancel my reservations and take back my $500 refundable deposit. Make sure to read the fine print on the contracts and always ask about cancellation policies. I also find that most Chinese restaurants don’t have proper paper work. So the best way is to have them write it down and sign it.
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Comments
Hi xiaobee, we know the manager there and we told him we were also comparing other restaurants currently, so he told us to pay the deposit to secure the date and size of the room first. Since it was about 18 months before the actual wedding date, they weren’t too strict on the deposit. We’ll have to confirm this summer (~10 months prior) if we decide to go with them, then I believe it’d be non-refundable.
$500 refundable deposit? I’m surprised that it’s refundable as it completely loses the meaning behind a deposit.