Hidden Fees

The advantage of having an Event Planner is we take care of these hassles and save money for you: (You will spend more on these hidden fees than the cost of hiring an event planner)

Buyer Beware.
Everyone is out to get as much as they can from you. Whether it's a wedding, birthday party or a corporate event, you will not only be nickeled and dimed to death, but hit with hidden fees.

Catering - The price of the food may be within your budget, but what about the delivery fee? If your event is out of a certain area it may cost you a good chunk of change to have the food delivered to you. This does not include servers, who are an additional hourly rate or mileage that some caterers charge on top of the delivery fee.

Another fee hiding in the small print may be the cake cutting fee which can be anywhere from $1 -$4 per person. One way around this is to have individual cakes at each table, and guests can help themselves, or cupcakes often don't have a cake cutting fee.

*Delivery fees may also apply to your florist, linens vendor, and bakery.*

Space Rental - No matter what event you are having there is typically a fee to rent the room(s) in which you will be having your event. These fees are usually not mentioned until the end of the sales pitch and can be quite substantial. They range anywhere from $500 - $5,000. On top of all the other items you are paying for, linens, china, food, flowers, invitations, cake/desert, chair covers, favors, etc. you shouldn't have to pay a room rental fee. If they really want your business they will waive the fee. However, the smaller your event the less likely they are to waive the room rental fee.

Tax & Gratuity - This is probably where people do not budget the correct amount of money. If your event is $50/person, there is an additional tax and gratuity (or service charge) added on top of that dollar amount. Just like a large party at a restaurant, gratuity (or service charge) may be 18-25% of the total bill which can translate into hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

DJ/Band - Often times the DJ/band may charge extra for the transportation, set up and tear down of their equipment. It is best to have them look at the space prior to signing a contract so that they know exactly what space they are working with and you receive a fair and accurate quote that includes all of their fees.

Tips - This is not something that people typically get "tricked" into paying, if you will, however, this is something people typically leave out of their budget. The musicians, officiant, DJ/band, hair and make-up crew, valet, limo driver, coat-check attendants, and restroom attendants often get tipped at the end of their services. The tip should be around 20% of the cost of the service.

There are certainly more areas where hidden fees may be lurking. If you have questions, or would like to schedule a consultation, please contact us at info@petalsplanningco.com