In preparation for next year's wedding season, now is the busiest time to choose and reserve your wedding venue. It's not uncommon to hear that venues will tell you one amount, but in the end, without the new couple asking and clarifying in advance, the amount can turn out to be much higher.

Therefore, if you are currently looking for a place to celebrate your wedding, take into account the questions that must be asked and the advice shared by the festival organizer Inga Bērziņa/ Bannte .

Is it really deliberate silence of guesthouses?

Wedding organizer Inga Bērziņa states that in her experience there have also been unpleasant surprises when the guest house seems self-evident to invoice the additional costs without explaining it to the couple in advance. "I would even say that often it's not even the young couple's fault that they don't ask the guest house if that's really all, but the guest house's deliberate omission. I really don't like it when the guest house makes the young couple feel uncomfortable at the moment when they realize that they are solvent and could be billed for something else. You have to understand that people are not stupid. There are a couple of guest houses that I don't understand from a business point of view - why are a potential client should be intimidated by showing an immeasurably long estimate, which contains, I would even say, minute costs. It would be better to give a person one number and explain what it includes, rather than drawing up an endless table of costs, as a result of which the client gets confused," says Inga.

Vases for extra payment?

Inga shares her experience that it often seems that the rent of a guest house is for the floor and all the rest are additional costs - a terrace to smoke on, a lawn where you can light a bonfire, and some antique props placed in the guest house and called a photo area. "These are all questions that should be clarified in the guest house. If, for example, tables and chairs are included in the price (but this is not always the case), then additional things - tablecloths, cloth napkins, chair covers could be for an additional fee, which, in my opinion, is logical, because the costs of dry cleaners for textiles are very high. You should also find out whether there are vases for the flowers that are given on the spot and, if so, whether you have to pay extra for them," says Inga. She advises to be safe, it is better to ask if all visible props and small decorations that can be seen in the premises can be used for free, or if they are not paid for, they will be taken, for example, to the basement.

What is included in cork money? 

When evaluating a potential wedding venue, you need to understand what is included in the corkage fee - whether it is only the rental of glasses and permission to take your own alcohol, and whether the guest house provides ice, straws, napkins, bar settings. "It is also necessary to find out whether there will be enough ice, because it is often concluded that the guest house says that there will be both glasses and ice as much as I have sent, but the real situation on the spot is that the glasses are of a completely different volume, which is not suitable for the intended cocktails, and only one machine is entitled to ice, and the rest must be paid for due to the electricity consumed. In addition, this machine produces ice in two hours, which, of course, is completely unsuitable for the event." says Inga. If we talk about electricity, then you must find out whether it will be in sufficient quantity, and how much consumption is included in the rent of the premises and how much you will have to pay additionally if you need more.

Will there be a proper fridge for the cake?

If the guest house does not offer the wedding cake, then you should find out whether it will be possible to store the cake in a refrigerator of a suitable size and whether it could be for an additional fee. As Inga says, there are guesthouses where you can be charged up to 100 euros for it. "Also, I want to find out if the cutting and serving of the cake is included in the rental price, because the guest house can make you pay extra both for the small plates and forks for the cake, and separately for the work of the waitress, serving the wedding cake," says Inga.