How do I check a wedding venue’s exclusive vendor agreements?

Many venues require couples to use certain caterers or bar services, or charge a fee when they bring their own. Those arrangements can be a real source of income, or a source of complaints. Ask the seller to list every one, whether written or informal, and to say how long each has run.

Read the paper itself. Look at who is bound, how long it lasts, how it renews, how either side exits, what the venue is paid and what it must provide in return. Notice whether the vendor can end it if the venue is sold. An informal handshake deal should be written down or ended before closing.

Then ask what couples think. Do reviews mention the required vendors? Are exceptions given, and who decides? Check also how the exclusive fees show up in the books, so you understand how much of the income comes from them. Finally, talk with the main vendors, with the seller’s permission, about whether they would carry on with a new owner. Ask whether any vendor has ever complained or threatened to leave over the arrangement.

Key takeaways

• List every exclusive, preferred or fee-based vendor arrangement, written or not.
• Read the term, renewal, exit and transfer terms of each.
• Check how couples feel about the required vendors, using reviews and past complaints.
• Find out how much income depends on those arrangements.