Remind that them that nothing is booked without that deposit; if it's that important to them, they'll find a way. The verbal commitment is nice to hear, but it's not going to pay your bills. Even if you have to call their bluff and tell them that someone else is interested in their date just to light a fire under their ass, so be it. If they back out at that point, they weren't serious about booking in the first place.
Already doing it. The booking game for venue is really different than DJ or Photography. By the time they get to DJ, the event is pretty much set in stone and budgeted. At the venue level, there are lots more if/buts involved. A friend of mine, who owns a venue in TN, told about a recent tour she did where the girl didn't even have a fiance yet. I've got either 2 or 3 of the current ones who have chosen a date but can't come up with the deposit money because of unexpected outlays (car accidents, sickeness, etc). I have 2 more that said they're trying to get the deposit together now and will book after the holidays (I hope they meant Thanksgiving).
I will tell you this, the building IS working, even better than I really expected. Tonight, we had a rehearsal for our first 150+ wedding that's being held indoors next Saturday. The bride doesn't like cold and it's 50% rain this Saturday so she wisely pulled the plug. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to put it all together, including some of their little custom config stuff. I have 20 tables installed with 8 chairs each and I could squeeze a few more tables if needed. I still do need to buy another 30 chairs to round out my 200 though. If I can just get some decent promo shots off 11/28 and 12/12, I should be in really good shape, promo wise. I also think my pricing is getting more solid; $2950 for single day or $3750 for the entire weekend. However, it's my gut reaction that I can probably raise that another $1k-$2k by next year. If the verbals make I currently have 10 weddings on the books for next year (full rate events). I'm shooting for 25 and think I have a strong chance of making that. I'll likely have another 10-15 cheap dates (birthdays, reunions, etc) as well.
If I can just survive this divorce and get her paying at least some of her own bills then my life will be drastically improved, this time next year. By the way, let me ask for opinions on something. My ceremony site looks like it's going to end up being down by the pond. I want to install benches permanently (using 2 crossties, stacked with a 2"X12"X10' board on top, painted). I'm thinking it would be best to not have grass in between benches but I'm not quite sold on a concrete pad (yet). What would you think if I coated the entire bench area with BB-sized walkway gravel (compacted of course)? Once it's settled, it should be close to pavement consistency and I wouldn't have to worry about grass or moving benches to mow. I'll probably end up with 36 benches (seating for 200). The arbor would still be on grass. Any thoughts? Here's a pic of the current setup: