For many couples getting married, it can be confusing why wedding vendors cost so much? Aren’t they just working 5 or 6 hours? Where does all the cost come from?
Whether it’s your wedding photographer, wedding film maker, florist, wedding disc jockey or lighting designer – there is a cost just in being in business.
You’ve got your website, blog, social media campaigns, advertising, office supplies, insurance and so much more. For us wedding disc jockeys and lighting designers – there is the gear, repair costs, travel/car, and don’t forget the music. There are many other smaller expenses too – like postage, clothing, training, conferences and expendables. It all adds up.
Did you know that we spend over $500/month just on advertising on websites like The Knot and Wedding Wire? I personally put on over 35,000 miles last year on my truck – between meeting clients, doing site inspections, and traveling to and from events. It cost me nearly $200/month just in accepting credit card payments (paypal fees, Amex, Visa/MC fees).
My collection of music (over 100,000 songs) even at a cost of 99 cents per track adds up to a huge expense each year to maintain a current library of music tracks for your wedding. Just one of our sets of up-lights costs around $10,000 (and we have 5 sets). Did you know we spend nearly $1,000/year just on replacement photo booth props?
My standard sound setup at a wedding consists of at least 4 – $800 speakers. Don’t forget to count the other $6,000 worth of gear and back-up gear that go with me to every event.
In order to make a living being a wedding disc jockey, lighting designer or renting photo booths – you have to remember that we also have to cover health insurance, self-employment tax, sales tax and on top of all that – put money away for retirement.
There are only 24 prime wedding dates per year in New England. Why do wedding vendors charge so much? It’s because the have to in order to cover their expenses. I believe it was Wedding Wire that did a survey of wedding vendors and the average annual income (Take home pay) is about $23,000/ year. I don’t know about you – but I can’t live on that low of salary.
There are those that question why we are so expensive for just a 5 hour work day. There is no such thing as a 5 hour wedding for me. Between the calls, emails, meeting, site visits, music preparation and gear prep – I put in nearly 30 hour per wedding before I even leave the office on your wedding day.
On your wedding day, I travel about an hour each way, arrive 2 hour before the first guest arrives and leave an hour after your last song plays. After my hour drive home, I have to unload and put all the gear away. Lights have to be recharged, digital recordings edited and mailed out to you, photo booth images uploaded to facebook, thank you notes written, social media posts created and then I have to do it all over again for tomorrow’s wedding client.
Let’s not forget that I meet clients in the evenings, work every weekend – a totally opposite schedule from my family and friends. Do you know how many BBQ’s, or family events that I have had to miss because I was working a wedding? So – how does one put a price on their time and dedication to making your wedding a success? Did I mention that there are no sick days or calling out because of family emergencies?
For wedding vendors, we have to consider our skill level v. the industry standard. A better wedding photographer should be paid more than an average photographer, who’s images are not as good. The same goes for a disc jockey with more experience in mixing or who is a better master of ceremonies than the next. We figure in what we have for living and business expenses, our salary and divide by the number of weddings we are doing each year.
That becomes the basis for our standard fee for your wedding. None of us are involved in weddings to become rich, drive fancy sports cars or purchasing a yacht. We just want to put food on the table for our families. The wedding industry – consider it a calling. We love the idea of weddings and working with wonderful couples like you to create amazing memories for your once-in-a-lifetime event. We just need to charge enough so we can maintain our lifestyle and so we can stay in business. Makes sense, right? For most wedding vendors, if you consider the average annual salary is near at the poverty level – it can be said that most of us are UNDERCHARGING for our time and services. Remember the last time you visited your doctor and they spent maybe 10 minutes with you and charged you $150 for the visit? We in the wedding industry, are pretty much a bargain compared to that.
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