How to Read a Wedding Banquet Package Before You Sign
Per table or per person, minimum guarantees, corkage and overtime — the clauses that decide what a banquet really costs, and the questions to ask before signing.
Per table or per person: know your unit
The first line of any banquet quotation is the pricing unit, and it changes how you compare everything. Chinese-style banquets across the region are commonly quoted per table — usually of ten or twelve guests — while Western-style receptions and buffets are more often quoted per person. Neither is cheaper by nature; they simply count differently. Convert every quotation you receive into a single cost per guest, including the items below, before you compare venues. A package that looks modest per table can pass a rival once service charges and beverage terms are added, and the only way to see it is on one sheet, in one unit.
What is inside the price — and what is not
Read the inclusions list the way a lawyer would. Menus state their courses; ask what a substitution costs. Décor lines often cover a standard setup — confirm what counts as standard, and what the room in the photographs actually included. Then find the items that live outside the package price on most quotations: service charge and tax, corkage for wine or spirits you bring, parking, sound and lighting beyond the house system, and overtime once the evening runs past the contracted hour. None of these are hidden; they are simply itemized elsewhere. Your comparison is honest only when every elsewhere is on your sheet.
The clauses that decide your real cost
Three clauses matter more than the menu. The minimum guarantee sets how many tables or guests you pay for whether or not they attend — ask how late the number can change, and by how much. The deposit and cancellation schedule tells you what a change of plans costs at each stage; read it against the possibility of a date change, not just a cancellation. And for any outdoor element, the weather clause: who decides the move indoors, by what hour, and what the backup room actually looks like. Ask to stand in the backup room. A venue proud of its wet-weather plan will show you; hesitation is also an answer.
Questions to ask before you sign
Bring one list to every site visit. What does the quoted price include, line by line, and what is charged elsewhere? When is the menu tasting, and is it included? How many weddings does the venue host on the same day, and who is our coordinator on the night? What time does the room open for setup, and when must the evening end? Which prices in this quotation are guaranteed at signing, and which are subject to revision? Then take the answers home in writing. Banquet prices and inclusions change season to season — whatever a venue quotes you today, confirm it again before you sign, and keep the signed version as the only version that counts.
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