Booking a hall late

Do you really think you can get a good deal if you book only 6 months ahead in most of the halls?
I am thinking of halls like:
Vanderbilt
Flowerfields
Lands End
For a Sept or Oct '06 wedding?????
I liked all 3 but got 135 ++ pp on a Sat night and just cant do it!
What do you think? Has anyone ever done that?

Re: Booking a hall late

Yes, I will think you will be able to negotiate with them... The one thing to keep in mind though, if you book 6 months in advance you will have to be pretty flexible with your date and just take what they have available.

And holding off on finalizing your date means holding off on other things like: photo/video, band, florist...

Just something to keep in mind. Good luck!!!

Re: Booking a hall late

We booked about 7 months in advance and I don't think we got a price break. Since you have a year, I would recommend finding the place you love & the date you want and booking it. You can negotiate on price with them a little and pick and choose what's most important to you. You can also look for a Fri or Sunday night event to save some money as well. If you wait you'll probably end up paying the same & having less options in terms of available dates. My 2 cents...

Re: Booking a hall late

When we were looking for halls some places told us that they had given lower pricing to people who referred us to them because those people had booked only 6 months in advance. (I hope I made sense) I think it should be able to help you get lower pricing.

But the downside is you cant be picky with you dates and have to take what they have left. Sometimes you may get lucky though and they'll have what you want or have a cancellation.

Re: Booking a hall late

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Posted by Soon2BMrsA
But the downside is you cant be picky with you dates and have to take what they have left. Sometimes you may get lucky though and they'll have what you want or have a cancellation.

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We booked 'short' which was 7 months in advance. We weren't picky and would have taken anything in our price range. As Amy wrote above, they had a cancellation in May so we got lucky. It can happen - just go with an open mind.

Re: Booking a hall late

I am getting married in October at Flowerfield, Sat night, the only thing I will say is I am not sure how flexible they will be with dates and what they will have avail but not sure if they are flex with $
GOod luck!

Re: Booking a hall late

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Posted by CalJoe0124

I am getting married in October at Flowerfield, Sat night, the only thing I will say is I am not sure how flexible they will be with dates and what they will have avail but not sure if they are flex with $
GOod luck!

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I am getting married at Flower field also - I don't think they are flexible with the $$

I am paying a lot of a december wedding

Re: Booking a hall late

One of my FH's friend booked their reception maybe 4 months in advance and got an awesome deal (it wasn't at any of the locations you nmd though). The hardest part would be availability, especially if you 're having a ceremony at a church first but it can absolutely be done!

Re: Booking a hall late

I booked at Land's End back in February of 2004 for a Sept of 05 wedding. Due to illness, I had to postpone my wedding. We just booked them again three weeks ago for this upcoming May and we saved over 5,000 dollars. So yes, there are places where you can definitely save. But, you have to be able to be flexible with dates and other vendors. So be careful!

Re: Booking a hall late

THanks and I hope all is well!

Yeah, I might hold off on the booking.

But I am meeting with a priest on Sunday. I hope he will not be mad if I do not have a definite date!

Re: Booking a hall late

Actually, I think priests prefer that you check with them first before halls for availability.

You might be able to get a good deal at hte last minute -- but you have listed all very popular locations that book pretty reliably. I think if you wait too long you are taking a big chance that you won't be able to get what you want and then you might have more limited options to choose from.

GOOD LUCK

Re: Booking a hall late

My brother got married at Flowerfields in May 2 Years ago. He booked 3 months in advance. The only reason why he got the date was b/c someone canceled. He didn't really get that much of a deal. But my friend was going to get married at Lands End this August and she ask for prices 3 months in advance and she got a good deal but then she broke off the engagement.

Re: Booking a hall late

Thanks!
Anything is better than paying 135++.
I just cannot do it!

Re: Booking a hall late

Yes FF probably will not be flexible with $ but it never hurts to ask

Re: Booking a hall late

If you are incredibly flexible with the day of the week and time they will negotiate if you are planning a wedding less than 6 months out. You just need to decide if you are the kind of person that can throw it all together in six months. If so, then go for it!

Re: Booking a hall late

That's the other thing. Be really careful about your church. They can book up fast and you could have problems coordinating dates. Unfortunately, you need to be really flexible when booking halls late.

Re: Booking a hall late

You probably won't find availablity for a Sat. night, but if you're flexible (Friday night, Sunday etc...) then you'll have better luck.

Re: Booking a hall late

They might work with you if they are trying to get rid of the date.
When I was looking at halls, one hall had one Sat night in May open and told me they'd give it to me for a good price. It really depends, Sept/Oct is a year away so they might not do it because it's still a year away. BUT, I'm getting married at Flowerfields on a Sat night in September and if they just quoted you for $135. per person, they already went down from a few months ago when I booked it, so if you really love these places maybe you should wait a few more months? They might drop lower

Re: Booking a hall late

You'd be surprised how many Saturday nights are available. As long as you are flexible.

I have been calling places to set up appointments (even though they would not tell me the avail dates) they did confirm that there were Sat nights avail in May, June, July of 2006.

There are also cancellations.

Re: Booking a hall late

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Posted by malbert

Actually, I think priests prefer that you check with them first before halls for availability.

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I was going to say this too. Generally, the churches don't want to hear that you booked the hall first. In our case, it was tougher to get a date with the church than it was to get the date with the hall. But, I think the church also has cancellations.

My brother and sister both did short bookings - like 3 months before. I don't think I could do that, but they got a good deal, one got a cancellation date and the other I think just lucked out b/c the hall probably knew they wouldn't get another booking in such a short time.

GOOD LUCK!!