Wedding venue pricing calculator

Most venues use one of four models. The right one depends on whether you cater in house and how much you want your price to move with the guest count.

• Rental fee only: couples pay for the space and hire their own caterer. Simple to quote and easy to compare, but your revenue doesn’t grow with the guest count.
• Per-person package: one price per guest covers the space, food and drink. Couples see one clear number, and your revenue grows with every guest. Small weddings can earn too little unless you set a guest minimum.
• Food and beverage minimum: no rental fee, but couples must spend a set amount on food and drink. Common for hotels, restaurants and venues with in-house catering. Works well when the minimum is set so a typical wedding reaches it naturally.
• Hybrid: a rental fee plus a food and beverage minimum. It protects you on small weddings and still rewards big ones, but it is the hardest to explain. Show one example total so couples can follow it.

Your peak Saturdays are your scarcest product, so price them first and price everything else from them. Count how many peak-season Saturdays you actually have. That number sets the ceiling on your best-paying weddings each year.

Then work from both ends. From the bottom: what does one wedding cost you to run, and what margin do you need on your best dates to cover the slow months? From the top: what do comparable venues near you publish as a starting price? Many list one on their website or marketplace profile.

Watch how far ahead your peak Saturdays book. If they fill a long way out while other dates stay open, your peak price is likely too low. If peak Saturdays are still open close to the date, look at your price, your photos and how fast you answer inquiries before you cut the price.

• Set the minimum so your typical guest count on your most popular package reaches it. The calculator shows how many guests each package needs.
• If the guests needed on your entry package are above your capacity, no wedding can reach that minimum without upgrading. That reads as a hidden fee.
• Lower the minimum on Fridays, Sundays and weekdays, and in the off-season. The season settings do this for you.
• Say clearly whether the minimum is before or after service charge and tax. Most venues count food and drink only.

A service charge is a mandatory fee on the bill. A gratuity is a tip the couple chooses to give. They are not the same thing, and couples often assume a service charge goes to the staff. Say plainly on your pricing sheet and in your contract whether any of it does.

The difference matters for tax and payroll too. The IRS treats a mandatory service charge as a service charge, not a tip, so any part you pay to staff is wages (Revenue Ruling 2012-18). Whether sales tax applies to a service charge depends on your state. Check both with your accountant before you print prices.

Couples ask about price before almost anything else. A venue that hides it gets fewer inquiries from the right couples and more from couples who can’t afford it. Publishing a starting price filters both ways.

• Publish a starting price for each day type, for example “Saturdays from” and “Fridays and Sundays from”.
• List what is included: hours, tables and chairs, ceremony site, bridal suite, parking, coordinator.
• Show your seasons and the months in each.
• State minimums, service charge and tax plainly, with one example total.
• Keep the full pricing sheet for after the first reply or the tour, and send it fast.