What does 'plus plus' mean on a wedding venue quote?

"Plus plus," often written as "++," is venue shorthand meaning the quoted per-head price does not yet include the service charge and tax. It signals that additional charges will be applied on top of the number you see. In practice the plus plus usually covers a service charge of 18 to 24 percent, an admin fee of 5 to 8 percent, and tax calculated on that inflated subtotal. On a 100-person wedding with a $120 per-head minimum, these buried charges can add $4,000 to $7,000. Always ask for a fully loaded quote with every fee applied to your real guest count.

Is the venue service charge the same as a tip?

Not necessarily, and this is where couples get caught. A service charge is a percentage, usually 18 to 24 percent, that the venue adds to your food and bar total. In many contracts it goes to the venue as a house fee rather than to the servers and bartenders. Some venues then expect a separate gratuity on top. Always ask in writing whether any portion of the service charge is distributed to staff as a tip, or whether an additional gratuity is expected. Getting this in the contract prevents a surprise expectation on your wedding day.

Why is tax higher than I expected on my venue bill?

Because tax is calculated on the subtotal after the service charge and admin fee are added, not on your food total alone. On a $12,000 food-and-beverage minimum with a 22 percent service charge and 6 percent admin fee, the subtotal before tax becomes $15,360. Tax applied to that is meaningfully higher than tax on the original $12,000. You end up paying tax on the fees themselves. To avoid surprises, recalculate tax yourself on the post-fee subtotal so your budget reflects the true final number.

How much does bar staffing cost at a wedding venue?

Bar staffing is usually billed separately from your bar package. The standard ratio is one bartender per 50 guests, each charged a flat $150 to $250. A 100-person wedding typically needs two bartenders, so that's up to $500 in staffing before any drinks are poured. Watch for venues that thin the ratio to one bartender per 75 guests to cut labor, which creates longer lines. Also confirm whether the service charge applies to the bar total, since layered fees on top of flat staffing costs add up fast.

Which venue fees are optional and which are mandatory?

It varies by venue, which is exactly why you should ask before signing. Service charges, admin fees, and tax are almost always mandatory. Coat check, billed at $3 to $6 per guest, is often optional and can be declined, especially for warm-weather weddings where guests aren't wearing coats. Bar staffing is required if you have a bar, but the ratio and rate can sometimes be negotiated. Get every optional line spelled out in the contract rather than agreeing verbally, so you're not billed for services you chose to skip.

The 'Plus Plus': 5 Venue Fees Hiding in Your Contract

The plus plus in your wedding venue contract isn't just tax. Here are the 5 line items venues bury after the price per head, and what they add up to.

You're sitting across from a venue coordinator, and the number on the page says $120 per head. You do the quick math in your head: 100 guests, $12,000, done. It feels manageable. Then your eyes drift to the small line at the bottom of the quote. It reads "food and beverage subject to a 22% service charge, 6% administrative fee, and applicable tax." Nobody read that part out loud. That little cluster of symbols at the end of the price, the "plus plus," is where your real wedding number lives.

The quote is always the starting point. The plus plus is where the actual cost hides. On a 100-person wedding with a $120 per-head food-and-beverage minimum, these charges can add $4,000 to $7,000 before you've chosen a single flower. Here are the five line items venues bury after the per-head price, what each one actually costs, and how to catch them before you sign.

01. Service charge: 18 to 24 percent, applied before tax

This is the big one, and it's the one people most often mistake for tax. The service charge is a percentage the venue tacks onto your food and bar total, usually 18 to 24 percent. It is added before tax, not after, which matters more than it sounds.

Here's the thing most couples miss: a service charge is not the same as a gratuity. In many contracts the service charge does not go to the servers and bartenders at all. It goes to the venue as a house fee. Some venues then expect you to tip on top of it. Read the contract language carefully. If it says "service charge," ask directly: does any portion of this go to staff as gratuity, or is a separate tip expected?

On a $12,000 food-and-beverage subtotal, a 22 percent service charge is $2,640. That single line is often larger than your entire flower budget. And because it's applied to your food and bar spend, it grows every time you add a guest or upgrade the bar package.

02. Admin fee: a second charge, 5 to 8 percent

Just when you think you've accounted for the service charge, there's a second one. The administrative fee is a separate charge, typically 5 to 8 percent, stacked on top of the service charge. It's not a typo and it's not the same line billed twice. Venues split these apart deliberately, and the split makes each number look smaller than the combined bite.

Run it out. On that same $12,000 subtotal, a 6 percent admin fee is another $720. Add it to the 22 percent service charge and you're already at $3,360 in percentage-based fees, and you haven't touched tax yet.

Why the two-fee split matters

When a venue lists "22% + 6%" instead of "28%," it's easier to skim past. Twenty-two percent feels like an industry norm. Six percent feels like rounding. Together they're closing in on a third of your food and bar spend. Whenever you see two separate percentage lines, add them together and treat that combined number as the real markup on everything edible or drinkable at your wedding.

03. Coat check: 3 to 6 dollars per guest

This one surprises people because it feels like a small, optional convenience. It's not always optional, and it's not always small. Coat check is frequently billed at $3 to $6 per guest, charged to you, and it is not a gratuity line. That means it's a real cost, not a tip you can adjust.

At $5 per guest across 100 guests, that's $500 for somewhere to hang coats. For a summer wedding, that might be pure waste. For a December wedding where every guest arrives in a heavy coat, it might be genuinely useful. Either way, the point is that you should be deciding, not discovering it on the final invoice.

Ask two questions:

Is coat check mandatory or can we decline it?
Is it billed per guest or per coat actually checked?

The difference between "per guest" and "per coat" can be hundreds of dollars, because not every guest checks a coat.

04. Bar staffing: 150 to 250 dollars per bartender

Your bar package pays for the drinks. It usually does not pay for the people pouring them. Bar staffing is billed separately, and the standard staffing ratio is one bartender per 50 guests, each at a flat $150 to $250.

For a 100-person wedding, that's two bartenders. At the top of the range, that's $500 in staffing before a single cocktail is poured. Watch for how the ratio is written. Some venues staff one bartender per 50 guests, others push to one per 75 to save on labor, which means longer lines at your reception. If you're paying for an open bar, thin staffing quietly downgrades the guest experience you're paying premium prices for.

If the venue quotes bar staffing separately from the bar package, ask whether the service charge also applies to the bar total. In some contracts, it does, which means you're paying a percentage fee on top of a flat staffing fee. Layered charges like this are exactly where the plus plus does its damage.

05. Venue tax: calculated on the inflated subtotal

Here's the part that feels almost unfair. Tax is not calculated on your food total. It's calculated on the subtotal after the service charge and admin fee have been added. You're paying tax on the fees, not just on the food and drink.

Walk through the math on a $12,000 food-and-beverage minimum:

Food and beverage: $12,000
Service charge at 22 percent: $2,640
Admin fee at 6 percent: $720
Subtotal before tax: $15,360
Tax (say 8 percent) applied to $15,360: $1,228.80

If tax had been applied to your original $12,000 food total, it would have been $960. Instead it's $1,228.80, because it's calculated on the inflated subtotal. That's an extra $268 you're paying in tax purely because the fees came first. Add coat check and bar staffing on top, and you can see how the total climbs $4,000 to $7,000 above the number that first caught your eye.

Red flags to watch for on your venue quote

You don't need to be an accountant to catch these. You need to know where to look. Watch for:

"Plus plus" or "++" at the end of a per-head price. This is shorthand for service charge and tax not yet included. It's a signal the quoted number is not the real number.
Two separate percentage lines. A service charge and an admin fee listed apart from each other. Always add them together.
"Service charge" with no gratuity clarification. Ask in writing whether staff are tipped from it or whether an additional gratuity is expected.
Per-guest fees on things guests don't all use, like coat check billed per head instead of per coat.
Bar staffing quoted separately from the bar package, especially if the service charge also applies to the bar subtotal.
Tax listed before the fees on the quote, which can trick you into assuming it's calculated on food alone.

If a coordinator gets vague or defensive when you ask how each line is calculated, that's a red flag of its own. A good venue will walk you through the math without flinching, because they've had this conversation before. For more on reading the fine print, our contracts guide breaks down clause by clause what to flag before you sign.

How to catch the plus plus before you sign

Do this at your venue walkthrough, not after. Once the deposit clears, your leverage is gone.

Ask for a fully loaded quote in writing, with every fee applied to your actual guest count.
Add the service charge and admin fee together and treat that as the true markup on food and bar.
Confirm whether the service charge is gratuity or a house fee, and whether tipping is expected on top.
Check the bar staffing ratio and the flat per-bartender rate, and confirm whether the service charge applies to the bar too.
Ask which lines are optional (coat check often is) and get the answer in the contract, not just verbally.
Recalculate tax yourself on the post-fee subtotal so the final number holds no surprises.

The venue quote is a marketing number. Your job is to convert it into the real number before you commit. On a $120 per-head, 100-person wedding, that difference is $4,000 to $7,000, which is a photographer, a band, or a meaningful chunk of your catering upgrade.

Save this for your next walkthrough, and send it to anyone still venue shopping. If you want the fees flagged for you, you can drop your own venue quote into Altared and we'll break down every plus-plus charge line by line, so the number you budget around is the number you actually pay.