Updated 22 October 2026

Wedding venue minimum spend: compare the full quote

A lower price per guest can still produce the higher venue bill. Compare the same guest count, minimum-spend rules and mandatory extras before treating two quotes as equivalent.

A fictional comparison for 120 guests

Venue A quotes $150 per guest for food and drinks, with a $20,000 food-and-drink minimum and $4,000 venue hire. Guest charges total $18,000, so the minimum raises the food-and-drink charge to $20,000. With hire, the total is $24,000.

Venue B quotes $160 per guest, has no minimum, and charges $3,000 hire. Its total is $19,200 + $3,000 = $22,200. Although Venue B’s per-person price is higher, its entered total is $1,800 lower.

For this example, all figures include GST and all other mandatory charges have been explicitly confirmed as zero. These are made-up examples, not quotes or market prices. If the ceremony, furniture or staffing is still unknown, the comparison is incomplete.

Know which charges count towards the minimum

SomethingPretty applies the minimum to food and drinks only. Its calculation is max(guest count × food-and-drink rate, minimum spend), then it adds hire and other mandatory fees. If your venue counts different items towards its minimum, ask for an itemised written total that fits the actual contract before relying on this model.

Keep unknown different from zero

A blank furniture field means the charge has not been confirmed. A zero means you have checked and no extra furniture charge applies. The tool shows a known subtotal and withholds the lower-total result while required amounts or GST treatment remain unconfirmed. This prevents a less complete quote from appearing cheaper merely because it omits charges.

Check GST and deposits separately

Use a consistent tax basis across venues. The “prices exclude GST” option applies 10% to all entered amounts, so it is unsuitable when a quote mixes included, excluded or differently treated items. Ask the venue for a consistent itemised quote in that case. A deposit that forms part of the total is deducted to show the remaining balance; it is not added to the overall cost again.

Questions to settle before paying

• Which items count towards minimum spend, and what happens if guest numbers fall?
• Are ceremony fees, furniture, staff, cleaning and security included?
• Are the quoted amounts GST inclusive and are there mandatory extra charges?
• Does the deposit count towards the final total, and what are the cancellation and rescheduling conditions?

The comparison does not decide which contract is best or interpret cancellation terms. It checks the entered numbers. Text import recognises explicit labels only; it does not read PDFs or infer hidden conditions. Verify every imported figure against the original written quote.