Why are weddings so expensive?
January 16, 2008
I read bridal magazines obsessive compulsively. I tell Andy that I do it to stay up on the wedding industry trends, but really I just like looking at the pictures. Like most girls in the world, I loved feeling beautiful on my wedding day – like a princess who was being swept away by her prince charming. It is also the reason why we spent, what I thought at the time, was SOOOO much on photography. I didn’t want just anyone to capture our wedding, but someone who would really capture our love for each other and the way I looked in my wedding dress. But I’m getting off course now. Recently, I’ve been hearing a lot about the wedding industry being inflated, how vendors can charge ridiculous amounts for their services because it is a wedding, etc. Before Andy and I began our photography business, I completely agreed with these sentiments. It is always so much easier to pass judgment when you don’t know the particulars.
As I was thinking about it, I realized that most people who are not in the wedding industry probably hold those views as well. In light of that, I think it is only fair to let brides know where their money is going and why wedding services are “so expensive.”
First, say you are going to spend $20,000 on a wedding and approximately $2,500 on photography. Let’s analyze where your $2,500 is going.
Let’s start by stating that weddings are seasonal. We do most of our business between the months of May – September. This means that we need to earn enough during these months to support us during the year. An average photographer books between 15-40 weddings per year. If each of these photographers charged $2,500, and out of that, put aside money for taxes leaving them with $2,000, photographers would be getting around $30,000 – $80,000 off the top. Then subtract health insurance because photographers usually pay for that themselves which is approximately $3,600 per year. Then subtract equipment insurance and liability insurance which ranges around $3,000 per year. After that, there are general equipment maintenance costs and upgrades which total about $10,000 per year. Photographers then spend approximately 10-25% of each wedding towards advertising. On average, photographers spend around $3,000-$15,000 per year on advertising alone. Not to mention, many photographers invest money into continued education. After all these costs, photographers are then left with an amount between $9,000 and $45,000.
This amount does not include the cost of leasing or owning a studio which runs anywhere from $12,000 to $30,000 per year. It also does not include initial start up costs of camera gear, software, computer gear, and other miscellaneous costs which run around $30,000-$50,000.
Honestly, most photographers don’t make enough to support themselves on the photography income alone. Usually, in cases where the couple is married and shooting together, at least one person maintains a day job; often times, both. They spend their days working, their evenings editing photos and desiging albums, and their weekends shooting weddings.
So this isn’t supposed to be a pity party for the poor photographer. We do it because we love it! It is what we’re passionate about and what we want to do all the time. How many people can say that about their jobs? Not many, and that’s what makes it amazing. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m lucky that I get paid to do what I love. I walk away from every wedding and feel so grateful to have been a part of the couple’s day and to have captured their love in a way they cherish forever. Now that makes me feel good!
This is to help you not feel guilty about spending your hard earned money on your wedding. Remember, your feeding starving artists! 
Your wedding combines the talent and beauty of wedding industry related vendors together. It is for the beauty of your location, the talent of your photographer to create beautiful images, the talent to design floral arrangements, the ability to coordinate a wedding, the cost for stunning centerpieces and aisle decor, the impressive ability to get people on the dance floor, and every little beautiful detail of your wedding.
When I look back at planning my wedding, I was loathe to spend so much for one day. When I look back at my wedding day, I don’t regret spending a single dime. It was, in fairytale words, happily ever after.
October 5, 2008 at 3:16 pm
thanks so much for this article! it has helped me so much with my oratory speech topic!