February 17, 2017
I think this blog post may be the hardest I will ever write. This post puts me in an extremely vulnerable state, but it’s one that I think every bride should know.
If I only knew what I know now about the wedding industry, my decisions for planning my own wedding would have looked a bit different. No one told me the things I am about to tell you. I didn’t have the opportunity to make an informed decision. I want each of you to feel confident with the decisions that you make for your wedding day. This day will be the best day of your lives, one that celebrates you both among your families and friends. Your wedding day will be the beginning of the legacy of your lives together. That is why this post is one of the most important posts I may ever write.
Most of you are in the beginning stages of planning. It can be so overwhelming. I remember planning our wedding. I would leave some consultations in tears, because planning for this special day was stressful! I had no idea where to begin. I felt like everything was so expensive!
I wasn’t a photographer when I got married 10 years ago. I knew nothing about this industry or how much things actually cost. Today I want to talk to you about pricing. There’s a reason behind the prices you see from venues, bakers, caterers, florists, planners, DJ’s, videographers and photographers.
When you look at the prices on paper, all of these categories seem expensive. Now I can fully understand both sides of how services are priced. From being a bride 10 years ago and now being a professional wedding photographer, I can fully understand the numbers. I wish someone would have shared this with me when I was planning.
I am going to breakdown each category and explain a little reasoning behind the pricing for each one, so that you have a better idea at the overall number that you see when you inquire about a service for your wedding day.
Venues
One thing that I never thought about when I started planning our wedding was the overall facility that is provided by a venue. How much did it cost to make the venue what it is today? How much is their mortgage, power, and water bill monthly after serving hundreds of people on wedding days? Do they have employees that help provide an experience for you and your guests? How many employees do they have? Let’s say a venue has two employees. Minimum wage in Tennessee is $7.25. Let’s pretend that they work every Friday and Saturday a month for 8 hours per employee. That’s $500 a month and $6,000 per year. That’s just minimum wage, and just figuring two days a week. A venue’s employees could be paid more hourly. Also, every business owner that has an employee pays a portion of social security, Medicare, etc. along with the employees’ withholdings. There are also more fees I could elaborate on, but I think you understand where I’m going with this. Did you know the average insurance policy for a wedding venue is $600 – $1,200 a year? The contracts that you sign to reserve your wedding date were prepared by an attorney with pricing ranging from $500 and up depending on the individual’s needs.
Bakers and Cake Artists
Some of the same things apply from the list above including utility bills, contract preparations, and employees. It’s very expensive to have the proper up to code kitchen appliances based on the Department of Health standards. On average, a professional bakery has anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 in the equipment that they use to create the cakes that you order. Did you know that each bakery is evaluated twice a year from an official from the Department of Health and is given a rating based on the standards set forth by the Department of Health? In order for a business of this kind to obtain this certificate they have to pay $400 a year. There’s also the added fee of sales tax because you are taking home a tangible product. Does your cake artist go to continuing education courses to further their knowledge on creating beautiful wedding cakes? If so, did you know the average price for continuing education ranges from $1,000 – $4,000? Did you know on average it take 15 hours to bake, decorate, and deliver a wedding cake? That’s not even including your consultation, sketching, and Pinterest searching for ideas to create your cake.
Caterers
Like bakers caterers have the same types of expenses including utility bills, employees, contract preparations, equipment, and Health Department codes and fees. Caterers have a bit more expense when it comes to traveling to you on your wedding day. Their equipment cost average $75,000 to $100,000 or more. Did you know that in order to be up to code with The Department of Health a professional catering company cannot work out of their own home? There is also the cost of the food that they prepare for your guests. There’s also the added fee of sales tax because you are taking home a tangible product.
Florists
Like every category listed above florists have the same types of expenses including utility bills, employees, equipment, contract preparation fees, and materials. Flower shop equipment costs can range from $3,000 – $30,000 depending on the size of their store, brand and condition. There’s also the cost of furniture and fixtures to display products ranging in price from $500- $5,000. Computer software to keep track of ordering and your client information expenses average $1,000 – $3,000. Flowers are also expensive to order! Some flowers, if not in season, can range in price from $15 a stem (one flower) depending on the flower you want. There is also the cost of wire, ribbon, foam, etc. Startup fees for this range from $300 to $1,000 and these are items that the florist will have to constantly replenish. There’s also the added fee of sales tax because you are taking home a tangible product.
Planners
Wedding planners have some of the same expenses including utility bills, employees, contract fees, and some equipment. The average cost of expenses for a wedding planner can range from $500 – $5,000 per year. In some cases, this does not include the cost of other employees if your planner has hired as help. On average, your planner will spend 20- 60 hours working on your wedding during your time together. This time is spent helping you find vendors, setting up meetings for you, phone consultations going over the final details of your wedding day, and the
coverage you need on your wedding day to keep everything running smoothly.
DJ Entertainment
Some of the same expenses apply to Disk jockeys as well, including paying employees, contract fees, and equipment. The average DJ has $2,000 – $200,000 invested in equipment, depending on the type of equipment and service they provide. The average setup and take down time for a DJ on your wedding day ranges from 4 to 15 hours, depending on their equipment setup. There’s also the added time of planning your reception timeline, if your DJ provides that service as well.
Photographers
I’ll be more elaborate on this category, because I am a photographer. Some of the same expenses apply to photographers as mentioned above, including employees, contract fees, utilities, and equipment, software, film, and film development fees. On average, a professional wedding photographer has $30,000 – $60,000 invested in equipment. Did you know that some professional camera bodies alone without a lens can range from $2,000 to $7,000? Lenses alone range anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 depending on the type of lens. A professional wedding photographer will have at least two professional camera bodies and several lenses with them on your wedding day. This is necessary to ensure that if one camera fails we have a backup to continue coverage. On average, a wedding photographer has 20-40 memory cards. One 32 GB CF professional card is $40; for just one! One 32 GB SD professional card is $15. Say your photographer has fifteen 32 GB SD cards. That’s $225, and fifteen 32 GB CF cards would be $600, totaling $825 in just memory cards alone. Those cards need to be replaced every 18 months on average to ensure they don’t get corrupted. Professional photographers shoot every wedding with 2 memory cards, thus needing an SD card and a CF card. I have 15 memory cards of each type because after every wedding I upload files and I place the memory cards in a fire proof safe at a different location. I don’t clear those cards until after I’ve edited a wedding and uploaded it to a USB and an online gallery for download. I also need more cards to provide my second photographer, and she shoots with two cards as well. As a professional photographer we shoot with two cards to ensure your images are being recorded. Having two cards record the same images at the same time is a backup in case one card was to fail. Backup external drives to store your wedding images range from $150 – $2,000 depending on the system the photographer uses. On average a wedding photographer will spend $60 – $150 a year on cloud online storage as an extra backup in case an external drive fails to ensure your wedding images are safe. Client management software ranges from $300 to $700 a year depending on the system the photographer uses to keep track of expenses, contracts, client sessions, and client management. The liability and equipment insurance costs range from $500 to $1200 per year, depending on the policy and the individual business needs. Film photographers have a little more expense because we are paying for every picture that we take. One roll of 120 Fuji 400 H is $7.69, and on that one roll of Fuji you have 16 pictures. On average, a hybrid film photographer will shoot 10 to 30 rolls of film ranging in price from $76.90 to $230.70 and that’s not including development fees. The cost to overnight film to the lab for development is $24.00. Development cost for film averages out to be about $20 per roll. So, if a photographer shoots 30 rolls of film on a wedding day the cost to develop that film is $600, plus the cost to buy the film which was $230.70. The grand total of $830.70 plus shipping equals $854.70. If your photographer also shoots 35mm film, that is an added cost as well. One roll of Fuji 400 H 35mm is $9.96 and it has 36 pictures on the roll. On average, a wedding photographer will shoot up to ten rolls of this film on your wedding day, that’s not even including the film used for your engagement, bridal, or boudoir session if your package includes those. If your photographer provides an extra photographer or assistant on your wedding day that is another added expense ranging from $200 to $600 depending on the photographers assistant and photography ability that the assistant provides. If your photographer uses a system like Adobe Cs6 or Lightroom to edit your wedding photos, the cost per year to use this service from Adobe is $120 a year. This doesn’t include design software like InDesign to create magazines and marketing materials. That is an added expense of $240 a year. If the photographer chooses to further their education to keep up with the evolving wedding industry, that cost can range from $1,000 – $5,000 or more, depending on the workshop. On average from the time you submit your initial inquiry up until your wedding images are delivered, the amount of time your wedding photographer will spend working with you ranges from 50 to 100 hours, depending on the service and the type of experience they provide.
Videographers
Videographers and photographers have a lot of the same expenses with equipment cost ranging from $30,000 to $60,000. Memory cards cost range from $15 to $40 per card. Online storage and software fees as mentioned above, along with client management and accounting software fees also apply, along with the continuing education to keep up with new video techniques. The time spent working with you before, on, and after your wedding day ranges from client to client. Keep in mind, employees, insurance, utilities, and equipment maintenance fees.
Every category pays 20 to 30% in personal federal tax along with CPA fees ranging from $500 and up a year, depending on the business and tax needs of the individual and the type of business they have. On average, a wedding industry professional will spend $6,000 or more on marketing, and that number includes website fees, online resources, promotional ads, business cards, and information flyers etc. All of these things factor into the price that you see when you inquire for a service on your wedding day, and prices vary depending on equipment, education, and experience.
I remember being where you are in planning. I remember feeling overwhelmed with everything! I hope by providing this information, it will help you better understand what it takes for a wedding professional to provide the services you receive on your wedding day. I remember 10 years ago when I was planning. I was just seeing a number, because no one told me what it took to get to that number. I think I just saw the cost because I was so used to getting a W2 with my job, that I didn’t realize that wedding professionals had expenses and taxes they pay as well.
As a wedding professional I can tell you this, I can speak for most us and say that we chose this career because we love serving you. We love our jobs and the experience we provide you brings joy to our hearts. We take great pride in the service we provide for you. I know as a wedding photographer, I want to give you things that I didn’t have with my own experience on my wedding day. I know now what it takes to run a professional business that pays taxes and insurance the right way.
I hope this helps you as you continue to plan for your wedding day. Thank you so much for reading this little blog of mine. For more tips on planning your wedding day click here. For more information about your wedding contact me by clicking here!
With love,
Michelle
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I absolutely adore the heart with which you shared this information, Michelle. Perfectly composed and helpful!!
Thank you so much dear!