What is a vendor fee?
The charge a resort adds for using a supplier who is not on its list, per vendor. Why it exists, and when paying it is still the right call.
Most couples do not find out about a resort's restrictions until after they have booked. Some will not let you speak to their coordinator until three months before the wedding, which is difficult to reconcile with the fact that a wedding takes months to plan.
Resorts are corporations, and they hold agreements with exclusive suppliers. Those suppliers are often good. But if you do not like their photographer's work, or their make-up artist's style, bringing in your own triggers what is called a vendor fee, commonly between $350 and $700 USD, per supplier.
Sometimes it is still worth paying, and hiring the people you actually want. That is a reasonable decision to make with the number in front of you, which is the point of knowing about it before you sign rather than after.
It is also why our own venues charge nothing for outside vendors. Bring the photographer whose work you love.