"Be Careful to Avoid Trouble! What Do You Think the Venue's Reaction Will Be If You Ask for a 'Hikita-ku'?"

2019.10.10 published

Recently Increasing: Gift Delivery Services

The gift delivery service allows gifts to be sent from the wedding venue to guests' homes after the wedding day instead of being handed out at the reception.

Since this is a new service, there are still a limited number of wedding venues that offer it.

Many times, this service is not provided by the wedding venue, so you need to find a company on your own to order and communicate with them (often referred to as outsourcing or bringing in).

At this point, it's important to be cautious about the relationship with the wedding venue.

What do you think will happen if you tell the planner at the wedding venue, "I’m thinking of using a gift delivery service!"...??

@tekutekusawada

Caution: There May Be Cases Where Gift Delivery is Not Possible!

I believe everyone knows that when you handle your own dress, gifts, or photographer without going through the wedding venue, there may be an additional fee for bringing in outside services...

Gift delivery may be treated similarly.

Some might think, "Wait!? The gift delivery isn’t something brought into the venue!? Why is there a fee for bringing in something that’s supposed to be appealing because you don’t have to bring gifts to the venue? Why??”

However, the fact is, it can happen.

Even if there are no additional fees for bringing in, it might be wise to keep in mind that, for example, you might lose discounts when you sign the contract, or you may be outright refused the gift delivery service.

Reasons Why Gift Delivery is Not Accepted by Wedding Venues

Weddings often provide estimates from the start as a "set fee for this, this, this, and that."

This initial estimate and contract discounts are indeed calculated based on expected revenue, which is why the proposal is made that way.

It’s just common sense in the business world.

If you say, “I’ll handle gifts externally, so it’s all good! I won’t order from the wedding venue!” it’s a different story.

For the wedding venue providing the service, it deviates from what was anticipated during the contract, so they need to consider whether to change the contract or flat out refuse irregular requests.

As a result, planners often respond with the following:

Possible Responses from the Planner

<Case 1>

This wedding venue does not allow gift delivery services.

Guests must necessarily order gifts from our company.

(Although you can bring in items from external companies if you pay a fee, gift delivery is not included.)

<Case 2>

There is a partnered gift delivery company, so you can use them to arrange the service.

<Case 3>

We do not offer gift delivery services.

You can outsource, but the estimate will change and all discounts will be forfeited.

<Case 4>

We do not support gift delivery.

If using an external service, there will be a fee based on the number of guests.

<Case 5>

Our venue is free of additional fees, so nothing changes whether you use gift delivery or not.

<Case 6>

No specific arrangements were made regarding gift delivery in the contract, so we allow it this time as an exception without changing the contract details.

However, we may consider establishing rules regarding this in the future.

<Case 7>

This venue does not offer gift delivery.

However, we understand the concerns of couples who feel it burdens guests traveling from afar to take gifts home.

Therefore, we can take care of postal arrangements afterwards. The actual shipping costs will be billed to you.

<Case 8>

This venue does not offer gift delivery.

However, we understand the concerns of couples regarding the burden on distant guests to carry gifts.

Therefore, regarding a certain number of distant guests, you may freely outsource gift delivery.

Lucky if Gift Delivery Can Be Done Without Fees!

What kind of response can you expect from the wedding venue if you say you want to use a gift delivery service?

Here are some anticipated answers.

There may be fees for additional services, but that’s not the venue's fault.

It’s just because “it’s a package plan, so that’s the arrangement,” and “the service was set up with that premise in mind.”

Therefore, when deciding on a wedding venue, it’s crucial to thoroughly research, consider, and negotiate what you want to do and finalize the contract details.

Some companies that provide gift delivery services might even cover the additional fees or have lower prices with discounts, so even if you pay fees at the venue, you may still end up saving money...

But!!

If you focus only on money, it can become stressful, so take a breath.

Ultimately, what you want to cherish is whether or not you want to deliver gifts.

Prioritizing that will help you decide what style you want to use for giving gifts to your guests.