I was thinking of offering 10% (or something) to party halls that allow me to advertise/recommend me on any cake I do at their venue as an incentive to choose me over the next bakery (and there are TONS here). First off, is that legal?...seems like it would be, but I just want to make sure...Second, is it common practice? Does anyone have any thoughts as to why/why not

NO, it is not common practice. I'm not saying it is not done, I'm saying it is not common practice. Your work & your service will speak for itself & you will get recommendations based off that. If I was a bride/client I would not be happy to find out the recommendation I got was based of the fact that the vendor who gave the reccomendation did so, cause they recieved a kick back!

I think it may be more commonly done than we really know. My husband used to work for a venue that had a lot of weddings and other big parties. His boss was the one who booked the events and he had a binder full of caterers, dj's, etc...which he recommended to the people who were booking events there. He got kickbacks from the different vendors. The caterers would fix him a certain number of frozen meals, for example. He said it worked well for him because he only recommended the ones that were careful of the facility, that is, didn't scrape walls with their carts, etc.

I know that my work speaks for itself but I'm pretty new and there is a LOT of competition. I'm just trying to figure out ways to get my foot in the door...I'm up for suggestions

If you use the term "kickback", then no it's not legal in most places.

Many venues charge me a "Kitchen Access Fee". Some charge a flat fee. Some charge a percentage of the catering bill. One venue I know charges $450 PLUS 10% of the catering bill. None of them charge me if I'm just dropping off a cake, only if I'm staying and using their kitchen.

I bill my clients this amount and refer to it as "XYZ Access Fees". I explain in detail to the client WHY they are being billed this amount; that it's not ME charging this line item, it's the venue who is charging it ... they're not charging it thru me.

But "kickbacks"? No way, babycakes! It may be just semantics, but I work to keep a very clear line between the terms!

Find (or form one!) a wedding networking group in your area where you can meet and get to know lots of other wedding vendors. I belong to one and it's great! I've gotten to know lots of folks that I otherwise would never have met!