Wow, wedding services are expensive. But maybe that's just the list price? Maybe we're supposed to say "well this is a great offer but I need you to come down 20% or we're going to use the golf club down the street." Or maybe that's going to be received about as well as trying to get the milk cheaper at the grocery store.
I don't want to commit some sort of faux pas trying to negotiate if that's just not the done thing. But I can see how even a 10% drop in these prices would be a significant saving. Do people routinely negotiate? Will the venue be expecting that?
I'm considering several venues at the moment. Some are "we'll rent you the hall; get a caterer and rent some linens and décor yourself" while others are one-stop shopping including the ceremony and hotel rooms. These latter are the ones where I would get most "bang for my buck" negotiating, but I'm feeling unsure whether that's a normal thing to do in Canada (presumably, we have the same patterns as the US.) Or rather than asking for a reduction do you maybe ask for certain things to be "thrown in"? I'm not inexperienced when it comes to haggling, including at this price point - last year I got a $40,000 purchase down to less than $30,000 - but I am inexperienced when it comes to weddings (and frankly, hoping to stay that way :-) )