God has been good, so good! I FINALLY booked the reception hall and He gave me more than I imagined possible. I was at the hall for a total of 59 minutes yesterday literally negotiating down to the very last penny that I can save. For all those who have never negotiated in your life, you HAVE to try it! Not only with wedding vendors, but any vendors you deal with.
You do NOT have to pay the prices wedding vendors advertise (even non-wedding vendors - example below). You CAN negotiate you know? I've been doing a lot of research for my wedding planning career and at the same time for my own wedding. Here are some tips you can use when you negotiate with your vendors. Do NOT ever sign a contract without trying some of these negotiating techniques. You will be surprised how much you can get your vendors to go down on their prices. If I can do it, you can do it or I will do it for you!
Never show too much interest or emotion.
When I saw my reception hall, it was unbelievable! I was able to control my excitment even though I knew THAT was IT and I don't care, I will do whatever I can to book that hall! Do not ever show any signs that you will not be able to live without having your reception there. When you do, you force them to come after you and they know they've got you and you'll pay premium prices. As long as they believe you're not totally interested and are prepared to walk away, you put yourself in control. Also, speak with confident, show them you know what you're talking about and let them know THAT is what you want. Always look them in the eyes, do not look down or look else where because you are scared.
Inform them of your small budget
Let them know that you do not have a big budget but you are interested in their service or products. Be careful, letting them know you're (slightly) interested is not the same things as showing excitment and letting them think you cannot live without their service or products. Telling them that you like their service or products makes them feel good. This will not always work with all vendors, so forget about those you cannot work with and focus on the vendors you can work with. During the first appointment with the reception hall, the lady asked me what my budget is. Don't be afraid to tell your vendors your budget. When they do ask, that means they are willing to compromise to get your business. After my first appointment, I waited a few days and emailed her back saying that I really like their hall, however, with the deal she gave me, I had forgotten to take into consideration the taxes and the service charge, with everything totalled up, we are still over budget (I didn't lie, I did forget about the taxes and tips haha, but thought I'd give it another shot at negotiating, even though I was willing to settling, but never let them think you're willing to settle!). The lady emailed me back and said "I am willing to renegotiate, make another appointment with me." I was thinking, oh... that was easy...
What can the vendors gain from this?
You know what you want, but do you have something that they want? Do you have friends who will be getting married and can recommend them to the vendor? Do you or your other half have your own business that you can exchange? During my last negotiation session yesterday, I said to the lady "oh I have to tell you this! I'm so excited, I will be certified as a wedding planner in a couple of weeks!" She was totally interested because it was a hint from me that if I am pleased with their services, I will bring them customers in the future. Show them that this relationship will be of value to them. Another thing I was up front with them about is that my in-laws want Chinese food but I don't. But, if they are willing to budge with the price, my in-laws will save money, I will get my 6-course Western food and they will make more money because they are catering the food instead of Kam Fung. So try to make it a win-win situation. This doesn't only apply to wedding vendors, I used this technique with a salesman who was trying to get my mom and I to buy these darn expensive Bergnoff cookware made from Germany, it worked, we bought the cookware and got two other sets of wok at 80% off!
Befriend the vendors
Make an effort to befriend them and get to know them beyond a business/client relationship. I've made quite a few trips to the reception hall to see the lady many times before I finally booked them today. During those appointments I used them to build a relationship. Whenever I had the chance, I slipped in some personal information about myself, my fiancee or my wedding in general, let them get to know me more than just another client (just like how when I told her I will be a certified wedding planner, I was telling her like she was a friend). During one of the appointments, I was frustrated because our wedding date was still not set and everything was still up in the air. I kinda did a little venting with the lady so that she knows what I'm going through. Because I have had so many little chats with the lady, she had invested a lot of time on me and will probably be more inclined to make a deal with me. Otherwise, she'd feel that she had wasted time on me. At the end, I showed that I really appreciate all the time and effort she put in me and gave her a big huge (girls, only do that to women, that's why I like negotiating with women, the are less stubborn and probably more willing to help you out haha, very bad assumption. BTW, at first I dealt with the other guy from the reception hall and he quoted me a price that is like... wth? I don't even know why I ended up asking the lady for another quote, God is good! They have had no idea I spoke with both of them)!
Do your research
I am SOOO an internet bride. I've been doing a lot of my planning through the internet. Do your research properly, google the vendor's name, there might be some reviews from other clients. Get in touch with those clients and ask them what the vendor charged them, it's good to know these things when it comes time to deal with the vendors. Even if you don't do online research, ask around, perhaps some of your friends can recommend you a vendor or have used one of your vendors before. If not, ASK ME! I will try my best to help you and would make my day if I can help you save money. It also makes you feel good when you know you got a great deal. I know this other couple who also has a 2008 wedding at the same reception hall. Even though they got a little more in their package than we did, their price is way up there! Makes me super thankful for what God had given us, it also helps to pray before the negotiation haha!
That's about all the tips I can give you for now. Try some of them the next time you make a major purchase! And please don't ask how much it will cost for our wedding, it will remain confidential for a few reasons, one being this will be my job later on, I can't give you all the details and secrets to it =D
CHEERS!
