Bride with Limo
Image courtesy of flickr.com

I’m not saying this happens here, but I guess it could…Beware!… If you’re planning a wedding, you may want to attempt to not mention that to your vendors…

New findings from Consumer Reports show that many vendors charge higher rates or tack on a “wedding surcharge” for their services. A group of secret-shoppers contacted 40 vendors in 12 states in an effort to determine if going over budget was simply a result of consumers’ poor planning or being overcharged by wedding vendors. The shoppers called the same photographers, florists, limousine services, caterers, and other party vendors at least a week apart and got comparative estimates for a wedding and a 50th anniversary party that were identical in every other respect. In about 28 percent of cases, vendors quoted higher prices for the wedding than for the anniversary party. They found, for example, that a New York-area wedding banquet starts at $125 per person in January and February and $140 per person in May to October. Other events, such as a party or meeting, scheduled at the same time had a starting price of $55 per person. Additionally, several vendors and industries included built-in gratuities of as much as 26 percent on top of their standard cost. The report also found that some vendors were willing to work with shoppers on prices. Tobie Stanger, senior editor at Consumer Reports said in a statement, “You may not think to bargain, but you should. While our findings aren’t enough to indict an entire industry, they’re a warning to wedding shoppers to read fine print, ask smart questions, and negotiate before signing anything.”