Spotting Good Wedding Photography - A Public Service Announcement About Budgets And Pricing

We now interrupt your normally scheduled programming for this public service announcement...

Soon-to-be-marrieds please take a moment to think about this...the number one challenge that I and every other wedding vendor I know has when they pick up the phone is that the nice person on the other end of the line has absolutely no clue (or won't say) about how much they are willing to spend for their photography (or flowers, or, or, or) and what they expect as a product. Like most wedding professionals, I have a keen desire to help you have a perfect day. Like many in our industry, I am happy to customize a package that will work for you, but, and it's a big but, you have to tell me what you want and give me an idea of what you are willing to spend to have what you want.

Here are a couple of examples of recent phone conversations...check out the difference in the outcome:

Photographer: Please let me ask you a few questions so that I can understand your needs. How many hours do you think you might need for your day? Bride: I don't know...just for the ceremony and one or two photos after. Photographer: How long is your ceremony? Bride: I don't know yet? Can you just give me a price? Ummm, that's alot more than we wanted to pay...Photographer: Do you have a budget in mind for your photography? Bride: no, we really don't know what we can spend yet but I know it isn't THAT much...I'll have to talk to my fiancé and get back to you...

Now, How about this:

Bride: Hi, I'm getting married and wanted to see about prices??? I'll be getting ready at my mom's house in Tempe, the ceremony will be at St. Mary's Church and the reception will be across town at Mountain Golf Club. Photographer: Congratulations! So let's see, We'll need about 30 minutes for your dressing photos and isn't it about a 15 minute drive to St. Mary's from there? Approximately an hour and a half for photos at the church and then 30 minutes to Mountain...I think we're looking at between 5 and 7 hours coverage, wouldn't you agree? Bride: Oh yes, that should be about right...I was thinking more toward the 7 hours and I'd really like a great album oh, and of course the disc...did I mention I need to keep it around $2500? Photographer: Oh thanks for letting me know...I can put that together for you, now on 7 hours it would be $3500, but I'm wondering, do you think we would be able to accomplish everything for you in 5 hours? Then I could bring it in for $2800...Bride: I really appreciate your flexibility! You know, I would like to talk further and see what we can do, when is the best time to come and meet you?

In the first case, the photographer (in this case, me) has her hands tied...all she can do is throw some numbers and ideas out and hope that something sticks. The bride hangs up frustrated and unfulfilled and the photographer is equally frustrated because she (yeah, you know, me) couldn't help that bride and in fact has now contributed to making her decision making process more frustrating. No Win Situation.

Now, in the second example, we have a win-win. The Bride came to the table prepared. She had such a great experience on the phone that she has now furthered her photographer search immensely and assuming it is a personality match probably go on to hire our friendly photographer (once again, me). She has saved time and aggravation for herself (and, of course, me) by being prepared and open to a little flexibility for herself and her photographer.

So, which would you rather be? Crying in your beer with your co-workers after a slew of frustrating phone calls and no closer to making your wedding day plans or drinking Mimosas with your girlfriends because planning your day has been so easy that you really can celebrate? Hmmm... a little more champagne in the O.J.?

Negotiating Wedding Costs - The Hidden Dangers

Found this on "The Wedding Marketing Blog" and thought it was just to fun not to share...the video, that is, not the message behind it.



While this video makes fun of the way people try to negotiate prices, this is a real issue in the wedding industry from a couple of different viewpoints.

The first and most important, is that many couples are simply not well educated on how to budget their wedding expenses. Reading magazines is just not enough. Investing in a consultation with a professional wedding planner is a first step many never take and the result is a free fall into budget chaos.

On the flip side, wedding price points are not standardized. There is so much that goes into consideration of setting prices, from level of customer service, to quality of product and experience. It makes it very difficult for the consumer to compare costs, so many times they find something they like and try to negotiate the price to something lesser they saw.

Add to this the economy and new people coming into the industry every day who are willing to give away service even to the detriment of the client and you have a disasterous wedding planned. Couples just don't know that service is one of the most important commodities of their wedding day. Here are some examples:

Baker #1: Started baking for friends and 6 months ago started their Wedding Cake business with no business skills but a love of the craft. She offers a 3 tier cake for 100 guests for $500 and will take $50 off if you pick up the cake.


Baker #2 Has been voted Best Wedding Cake of Your City for the past 3 years, educated in Paris and has been in business for 20 years. She offers a 3 tier cake for 100 guests for $800.

Our couple loves Baker #2 but knows they can get "the same cake" for $450 because they plan to pick up themselves. So they tell Baker #2 this and expect a hefty price break. Here's what they don't know.

Included in Baker #2's price is the following:
Consultation to make exactly the right cake (time expense)
The finest ingredients (additional product expense)
Freshly baked (yes, some bakers make layers well in advance and freeze)
Delivery and set up (time expense plus this is a risky venture for the consumer to do)
Education (education $$$)

Included in Baker #1's price is the following:
I can do "some designs" (lack of experience)
Box mixes from Grocery Store (lack of quality, less expense)
Baked previous week (she has a day job, too)
Discount for pick-up (she's sure you can carry that big cake assembled, lack of experience)
Learned from Grandma (no formal education)

Of course Baker #1 can offer a lower price because it is a lesser product. So the couple is considering a possibly dry cake that may fall over in their own car on the way to the reception. But many couples will see this as a standard and then pressure the more experienced vendor to bring their price closer to the substandard. This is a no win situation for both the Bride and Pro. The bride feels ripped off by the higher price and being "forced" to use the less experienced vendor and the experienced vendor loses a possible client. The very time that it is most important to do things just right, the couple makes a decision that ends in possible disaster to save money because they don't know what they were turning down for that lower price. This decision gets made time and time again...with the florist, photographer, DJ, etc, etc. Make the same decisions with all your vendors and you really will have a party they'll talk about for years, and so will you.

A Thump On The Side of The Head moment: You'll make the money again...you won't have that Wedding Day again.

The moral of the story is: Prioritize and Budget. Research your local area's prices and use prices that are fair for the quality you expect for your special day. Be flexible. Know that you get what you pay for in this business. Professionals that have been in the business for years have been for a reason. Their experiences shows it and their prices reflect it. Be reasonable in your requests. Certainly don't overbuy, but make sure you are getting what you pay for and pay a fair price for it.