The Venue Journey
How Bidwell works for wedding venues
Real budgets and dates. Locked rates and inclusions. You get paid in chunks as couples pay — not one check years later.
$0 upfront. Commission only when you win a booking.
TL;DR
- Join free. Open requests show budget, date, and fit — before you bid.
- Send structured bids with your rates locked in. Win weddings that match your space.
- Get paid as they pay — usually within 3 business days per installment. We take commission from each slice.
To join
$0
Standard commission
10%
Founding Partner rate
8%
First payout
3 days
Register your venue
About 15 minutes. No credit card, no listing fee.
Four guided steps: venue details, photos, verification. Once approved, you can bid on live requests right away.
Step 1 — Account
- Contact name
- Password
Step 2 — Essentials
- Name + type (barn, ballroom, estate…)
- Address
- Capacity min/max
- Price band
- Website
Step 3 — Story & photos
- 50+ chars about the space
- 3+ real venue photos
- Amenities (catering, bar, parking, lodging…)
- Vendor rules (food, bar, music, cake, decor)
Step 4 — Verify
- EIN / Tax ID
- Liability insurance
- E-sign Venue Platform Agreement
Venue Platform Agreement: Your ops contract with Bidwell: locked rates and inclusions, commission, confirm windows, anti-circumvention. E-sign via Dropbox Sign.
Browse qualified requests
Couples come to you. No more cold outreach.
Your dashboard lists live requests in your market. Each card has what you need to decide fast — date, budget, fit — so you skip bad leads.
What a couple request looks like
Request #247
Posted 2 days ago
What you see in each request
Privacy both ways: No couple name or contact until they shortlist you. They don't see your brand on the bid round either.
Requests last 30 days. Bid where type, capacity, and market actually match.
Submit a structured bid
Your offer is real. That's what makes Bidwell work.
Like a request? Send a bid. It's a binding offer — if they accept, you deliver the rates and package you quoted. Fixed items stay fixed; per-guest rates lock at the agreed headcount.
Flat-rate pricing
One total — headcount doesn't move the number
- Line-item every charge
- Service + tax in the total
- Locks on accept
Per-person pricing
Per guest — total follows final count
- Per-guest rate locked
- Min/max headcount band
- Total = rate × final count
Your bid includes
Bid templates
Save a bid as a template. Similar request next week? One click loads your lines, inclusions, and policies — tweak totals and send.
Bid validity: 14 days from send.
Revisions: Up to 2 edits (3 versions total).
Get shortlisted and negotiate
Your identity is revealed. Direct communication begins.
Shortlisted? They now see your name, photos, reviews, and city. Chat opens; they may book a tour.
What a shortlist notification looks like
You've been shortlisted!
Request #247 · Oct 18, 2026 · 150 guests
They see your full profile. Messaging is on.
Counter-offers
They may counter with a new number and a note. You pick one of three moves:
No reply in 72 hours? The counter expires.
Confirm the booking
You have 48 hours to review and countersign.
They accept your bid (or an agreed counter)? You get a booking alert and a contract snapshot to review.
The contract includes
- Couple + venue names
- Date(s), place, guest count
- Total + line items
- Everything your accepted bid included
- Payment milestones
- Commission % and dollars
- Cancel rules
- Add-ons can increase total only
48-hour window: Countersign in Dropbox Sign within 48 hours. Miss it? Booking voids; couple gets a full refund.
Get paid \u2014 progressively
You don't wait until after the wedding. Cash flows as the couple pays.
You get paid when they pay — not one lump after the wedding. We take commission from each slice. Cash hits before most vendor due dates.
Payout timing
Deposit + mid payments
Fee taken from each
Final payment
Brief hold before event
Commission structure
Commission only on wins. No listing fee, no monthly plan, no startup cost.
Founding PartnerBest rate
First 15 per market. That rate is yours for good.
Standard
Everyone else. Charged per confirmed booking only.
High Volume
25+ weddings/year — auto tier.
Deliver the wedding
Exactly what you quoted. No more, no less.
Before the wedding you've been paid on every installment except the final chunk — that releases 7 days out. Deliver what your bid promised — rates, inclusions, and fixed items as quoted.
Locked rates and inclusions
Fixed items stay fixed. Per-guest and consumption rates stay locked. Deliver what you quoted.
Amendments during planning
Adds (brunch, bar upgrade, etc.) can raise the total only. The signed amount is a floor.
Guest count adjustments
Per-person: rate locked; total follows final headcount. Flat: total stays put even if guests change.
Tax reporting
1099 at year-end if payouts top $600.
Platform rules
Short rules — fair to couples and venues.
Locked rates
Each bid locks your rates and inclusions. They accept? You deliver what you quoted.
48-hour confirmation
Booked couples need your countersign within 48 hours. Silence = cancel + full refund to them.
Anti-circumvention
Bidwell-introduced couples stay on-platform 24 months. Skipping that can mean a 20% fee (2× standard).
No bait-and-switch
Skip promised inclusions? Account can be closed; Founding Partner status can be lost.
Cancellation
You cancel a confirmed wedding? They get a full refund. Repeat issues get reviewed.
Common questions
Commission, payouts, counters, and off-platform rules — tap for short answers.
Start receiving qualified leads today
Couples bring real dates and budgets to you. No cold DMs — just requests you can bid on or skip.