Application Fees
January 21, 2008
I’m in the process of tracking down wedding locations. I don’t need to tell you how much it sucks. You know. You also know that these places are charging insane rates. Oh, I’m not talking about rental rates (I understand that 200 people can wreak havoc on lawns and gardens), I’m talking about application fees.
Yes, application fees. The non-refundable fees that locations charge you regardless of whether or not you actually get to hold your wedding at that location. I mulled this over for a while, pondering the other application fees I’ve encountered in my life, the ones for Grad School and College. And…oh, hey! It turns out that my application fees have been limited to applying to enter a school. Those fees are about $50 for each school. This makes sense because universities spend a lot of time and money trying to figure out who best to select for their incoming classes. There are steps like essay-reading and document-confirmation and meetings. Oh Lord, the meetings.
And then there are wedding locations. I’m going to start entering on this page the ones that I find ridiculous. Insane. Unbelievable. Let’s start with the gorgeous Los Altos History Museum.
Los Altos History Museum
This place is “A Community Jewel” and it comes with a price tag to match. The wedding rental rate (for 8 hours on a Saturday) is $4,000. Maybe you are choking right now. Maybe you are laughing about how cheap that is. I choked. Just a little. But the fee wasn’t the kicker because there are a lot of fantastic things included in the day (docent-led tours of the museum, bridal-changing room, chairs, “use of restrooms” [yes, that is a quote], etc.). And the $1,000 refundable deposit didn’t shock me either. After all, it is a gorgeous historic place and if your guests can’t respect it you need to pony up.
What made me gasp with disbelief was the $500.00 non-refundable application fee. $500.00 freaking dollars. Holy crap! Can you imagine if colleges charged 12.5% of the tuition as the application fee? The non-refundable application fee?
If there’s anything that’s really made me sick in this whole wedding-planning journey, it is the amount of deceit and backhandedness I’ve seen in the industry. Maybe I expect a little too much good from the human race. Or maybe I just expect people to have the decency to create rental schedules that actually work.
Dear potential wedding locations: please have the decency to charge me a sensible application fee. I’d never balk at $50 (hey, I know that somebody’s got to pay for that receptionist and the photocopying), but charging $500.00 that doesn’t go toward my rental and I’ll never see again? You obviously need to get a better administrator on board.
Topics: Wedding Receptions |
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I choked at the price but made a loud screeching sound at the “application fee”. Holy crap!! How can they get away with that? Unless they’re giving you and each of your guests a handjob, I don’t think so!
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:57 pm
stunning….
$4000 is insane for me…beyond choking. i’m on the floor. dead.
i’m looking for places too but have yet to encounter the app fee…could be that i am down Southeast and that concept has not hit my region yet…..hopefully, it wont this year.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:54 am
Are they running background checks on you and your groom’s entire family? Pulling credit reports, and doing reference checks? What could possibly justify that fee?
January 24th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Holy CRAP. I can’t imagine charging any of my photography clients an application fee. I mean, jeez, they’re already spending enough on me! I think I can manage to spend $1 on any photocopies and admin stuff I need to do. $500 NON-refundable is insane and unethical.
January 24th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
What!?! Non-refundable and it doesn’t go towards your rental fee if you do book with them? If you are applying for a wedding there, do they wine & dine you…at the French Laundry (fancy Napa restaurant I will never be able to afford)? What will these vultures think of next?
January 27th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Golly! Exploitation on an unforgivable scale. They should be ashamed-there is no possible reason for it and it epitomises the commercial world of wedding planning. Don’t believe that has reached the UK …yet. It’s just not in the spirit of things is it-doesn’t leave you with a good feeling-is it not possible to steer clear of all the ‘wedding venues’ and look for something undiscovered, unconventional, somewhere with a big heart that wants to do their best for you-not rip you off?
February 1st, 2008 at 8:21 pm
OMG! I haven’t run accross application fees, but it took three months to find a decent place that didn’t charge $4000 + just to use the facilities. So, if anyone is getting married in California, there doesn’t seem to be any application fees here.
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:41 am
Addendum to my last post: I meant if you live in Southern California. I have friends in Walnut Creek that came down to Southern Cali to have their wedding just so they could afford it. I don’t get it because the prices here are crazy too. I have friends from Orange County getting married in Colorado this Labor Day weekend because they couldn’t afford it here. CRAZY!!!
February 4th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
All of these comments are both heartening (thanks for the shared outrage!) and sad (they have us over a barrel!). Sheesh.
March 15th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I was at grad school in the Bay Area, and my friends were all desperate for affordable venues too. And it was ugly! The best solution– one couple got married at the UC Berkeley botanical gardens. The ceremony was in the redwood grove, and there’s also a reception area there. Anyway, good luck finding something while not having to sell your first child into indentured servitude! ‘Cause I hear that sucks.
April 8th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
In all my research for locations, both east coast and west coast, I have never seen a non-refundable application fee for location. Depending on the size of your wedding, Hakone Gardens in Saratoga isn’t too bad.
July 27th, 2008 at 10:11 am
If you are interested, try a state park. Ceremony and reception cost total- $800. I’d never pay that kind of money on ONE DAY of my life and I’m glad my fiancé agrees. I’d much rather spend the money on a honeymoon!