Is it fair to make a corkage charge?

In most cases, I would say yes. It does depend on where you are, and what the venue is doing for the charge. The staff at most venues, like hotels or restaurants, may offer a number of services, such as putting bottles in fridges, continuously supplying ice from the restaurant’s ice machines (click here if interested in commercial ice machines), washing glasses, clearing bottles, etc. And of course, they may want some compensation for the fact that they won’t be making a profit on the sale of the drink. However, as to fairness, that of course depends on the level of the charge!

How much should I expect to pay?

How long is a piece of string! The corkage charge is normally made per bottle brought but can vary based on the type of drink. Often the corkage on a bottle of Champagne is many times greater than that on a bottle of wine. A big factor will also be the general prices of the wine that they normally sell. If a bottle of house wine is 20 then the corkage charge may be around 12 but if they have a higher-end wine list and the house wine is 50 bottle (the highest I know of locally is over 100!), then the corkage will also be much higher. The level of charge may also reflect how keen they really are for you to bring your own bottles.

Is it worth paying a corkage charge?

There are a few factors to juggle here.

1. How much does the venue charge for corkage?
2. What is the cost of their drinks?
3. How much can you buy the drinks for?
4. Do you a particular wine you want that is not on their wine list?

As a quick calculation based on 120 guests, with using the usual 1/2 bottle per person for wine and 1/3 for fizz, so that is 60 bottles wine and 40 bottles of fizz. We will also assume that the cost of the drinks are: from a supermarket £6 and £9, and from the venue £25 and £35 for wine and Fizz respectively.

Own wine with a corkage charge

If you buy your own wine from a supermarket or local wine merchant you might be looking at £6 for wine and £9 for Fizz with corkage charges of £12 and £18. This would give a cost of; 60 x £6 = £360 for the wine and 40 x £9 = £360 for the Fizz and the corkage would be 60 x £12 = 720 for the wine and 40 x £18 = £720 for the Fizz:

Drinks cost £720

Corkage £1440

Total £2160

From the venue’s wine list

Wine 60 x £25 = £1500

Fizz 40 x £35 = £1400

Total = £2900

Clearly even with the corkage charges, in this example, supplying your own would be cheaper. Obviously, you will have to swap numbers around depending on quotes from your venue, and wines you have chosen.

Are there any options?

Yes! At Hargate Hall and some other venues, you can bring your own drinks and there are no corkage charges at all. Why you might ask, would we not charge anything. Well, for us, we don’t have a fixed manned bar that we want to push. Nor do we have any staff to pay to do all the jobs that justify charging corkage.

So based on the numbers above you are not paying, £2900, you are not even paying £2160, you are paying £720. That is a huge saving! You might choose to use some of that saving to employ staff to serve and help out, but 2 staff for 6 hours won’t come anywhere near that cost.

What about the evening reception?

Generally, venues provide a pay bar for in the evenings. If you have gone for a DIY wedding venue then you have the freedom to provide all the drinks yourself if you want to. We offer 3 options of DIY, DIY with Staff and Full Pay Bar. It is the closest to a drinks package that we have! If you are interested in this, we have a separate page all about our bar options.

In summary

Whatever you do has pros and cons. If you provide everything then the total bill is definitely cheaper. You have to weigh this up against the time and effort to sort it all out. You also have to think about what do do with any leftovers. What you might buy for 120 people for partying lasts a very long time when there are just 2 of you!! Also, although it is cheaper, you are picking up the whole cost. Finding somewhere where you can provide your day time drinks with no corkage, but offers a pay bar in the evening can be a happy compromise.

Other relevant posts

What is a DIY Wedding

Why should I book Hargate Hall

Key features to planning your wedding

The post What is a Corkage Charge and are they a rip-off?? appeared first on Hargate Hall.

Whether you’ve chosen your wedding venue or even if you are still shopping around, wedding venue open days can give a fantastic insight into the planning process.

Venue open days allow you to explore your potential venue with no time pressure or pushy sales pitch. You will have a whole day to imagine, plan and research what your wedding could look like and how your wedding day might plan out. Often venues are ‘dressed’ for the occasion or they are left as a blank canvas so you can let your creativity go wild.

1. Research

Open days are the best way to conduct research about your venue. The owners or managers will have cleared out their diaries and will be on hand all day to ensure they can answer every question you’ve got. Because of this, there won’t be the pressure of trying to squeeze all your questions into an email or scribble down responses from a phone call. You can take your time and research everything you need to and take pictures to help with the planning when you get home.

2, Meet suppliers.

Sometimes venues will invite suppliers to open days. This can be a great way to meet a trusted supplier that already knows your venue well. If the open day is exclusive for clients and there aren’t suppliers, you can still speak to the hosts about people they might recommend. You also get a much better opportunity to explore the venue.

3. Meet other couples.

Venue open days are a great way to meet other couples who are looking at booking the same venue as you. You can, for instance, share ideas and helpful suggestions and even swap supplier details. Don’t see other couples as competition. Think of it as another way to mine information!

4. It’s fun!

Planning a wedding should be a happy and fun time. What better way to spend a weekend than moseying around a wedding venue. Even if you are not ready to book, you might never get the opportunity again! Make a day of it (and sample the free drinks and food)!

Next week Hargate Hall will open its doors for its annual open weekend. Saturday (18^th) and Sunday (19^th) 11am and 4pm. Join us for a chance to explore your potential wedding venue and ask all the questions that you’ve been desperate to ask.

Free workshops!

Across the weekend, we are also running free workshops – What makes a great DIY wedding? Exclusively for couples looking to get married at Hargate Hall. These free thirty-minute workshops will briefly outline some of the tools and ideas you need to help you create your unique and personal DIY wedding.

The session has been created especially for couples looking to get married at Hargate Hall. We will give you an overview of some of the top tips and tricks you need to know! Are you are looking to create the wedding of your dreams and one that your guests won’t stop talking about? Then this session is for you! BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW!

In the session we will briefly look at:

• The elements that make up a great DIY wedding
• The top mistakes people make
• …and plenty of other bits of useful advice and time for questions.

This session is delivered by Laura Stroud – Owner of Peak District Events. Laura graduated with a first-class degree in event management and has worked all over the world managing projects and events. From business launches to conferences, with over 10 years of experience, Laura now specialises in DIY weddings and on the day event management in the Peak District and surrounding area.

General details of the Hargate Hall Open Days can be found here

Laura Stroud

The post The top 4 reasons to attend a wedding venue open day appeared first on Hargate Hall.