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How To Price A Wedding

How To Save Money On Your Wedding Cake

A Wedding Planner Salary – Pricing Your Services as a Flat Fee

When it comes to your wedding dreams versus your wedding budget, compromises always have to be made to keep the cost of your wedding reasonable. Luckily there are some easy ways to save money on your wedding cake without sacrificing much in the way of style or presentation. Here are our best money-saving cake tips:

Opt for buttercream frosting:Buttercream not only tastes better to most people than fondant, but its cheapersometimes up to a $1.00 less per slice. If youre trimming dollars, buttercream is a win-win for both taste and price point.

Serve half-servings instead of full slices:Since guests often only eat a few bites of their cake, opt to serve half-servings . Thus if youre having 200 guests, youll only need to order a cake that serves 100. This is an especially great option if youre serving an additional dessert alongside the wedding cake.

Combine a display cake + sheet cake:Display a petite version of your dream cake, complete with metallic paint and fondant roses, for your guests to ooh and ahh over. This will be your cake for photographing and cutting. Then order sheet cakes in the same flavor to be cut and served from the kitchen, which will save you big bucks.

Simplify your flavors:Check with your local baker, but often basic flavors like vanilla and chocolate will cost less than complex flavors like carrot cake or espresso.

How Much Does An Average Wedding Cost

Theres a lot to think about when it comes to planning a wedding photographer, catering, flowers, dress, to name a few. But what does the average wedding cost in the UK?

Well, the latest figures show that the average person is going to end up spending £31,974 on their big day. A survey of 2,800 couples, by Hitched and You and Your Wedding, also showed that its venue hire that comes out as one of the biggest costs, closely followed by the honeymoon.

Budget For Equipment And Marketing

Time isnt the only thing wedding photographers invest in a wedding. Dont forget to leave room in your pricing for photo gear and other expenses. Even if you already own a great wedding camera and lenses, camera bodies age. In a few years, that camera body wont be so new anymore.

You may want a better lens, may break a lens or need to service your gear just for upkeep.

Along with budgeting for gear updates and repairs, consider the other costs of running a business, such as:

  • Other software, like for budgeting and client management
  • A computer and printer
  • Website hosting costs for an online portfolio
  • Saving for retirements and vacations
  • Paying an assistant or second shooter, if you use one
  • Covering taxes
  • Paying for an office space or studio, if you opt not to work out of your home.

Recommended Reading: Which Ring Goes On First Engagement Or Wedding

Estimate The Time Involved

Measuring the value of a wedding photograph is tough. The wedding photos will decorate the walls of the familys house for decades. Their emotional value is priceless.

But you need to charge your clients somehow. To guide your decisions, estimate how much time youll invest in each wedding.

Yes, youll spend several hours actually photographing the wedding. But many new photographers dont realise how much more time is involved than just that actual wedding day. If you charge $1,000, youre not earning $1,000 in a single day.

When estimating the amount of work, in addition to the hours spent shooting, dont forget to include:

  • Meeting with the bride and groom before the wedding
  • Creating and filing contracts and other paperwork
  • Shooting engagement photos, if included in the price
  • Travelling to the location
  • Editing images
  • Creating any deliverables such as prints or digital copies along with album design.

Wedding photography doesnt end up being a single days work once you put everything together. The answer varies a bit from photographer to photographer. For me, a full wedding package is closer to 30-40 hours of work than the 10 spent on the actual wedding day.

Overtime Costs For All Venues

Average Wedding Costs

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Lets be honest, most receptions run into overtime as the guests, and bridal party, are so having so much fun that no one wants to leave. Most hotels charge you by the hour so overtime charges will occur. Also, cleanup crews and garbage removal, which may be included in your contract, book their services for the same day so if your reception goes past midnight, you will once again be faced with additional charges.

We dont want to deter you from having your dream wedding. Quite the contrary, we want you to have the wedding you always imagined, whether its a chateau in France, a beach in Hawaii, Marthas Vineyard or a simple yet elegant wedding in your local park, or even your own backyard. The purpose of this article is to simply warn you of additional or hidden wedding venue costs so you wont be caught off guard as you are planning your special day. Do your research beforehand and always have a Plan B. Factor in unexpected costs and issues that always seem to arise last minute. Have extra money set aside for unforeseen expenses and your wedding will be everything you dreamed ofand more!

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Average Cost Of A Wedding Photographer

Much like the dress, this isnt an area where lots of people are going to want to scrimp. The average price is around £1500, although can greatly vary depending on the package and level of experience you select.

For example, those who do this as a full-time career, and therefore more experienced, will charge more than those who do photography for a second income. You might pay more for this greater level of experience but you want a photographer to capture your day perfectly and be happy to look back at the photos in years to come.

You could cut costs by only having the photographer turn up for the wedding service itself, rather than the whole day.

The general consensus is that your photographer should be about 10% of your overall budget.

How Much Do Photographers Charge Per Photo

Photographers typically charge $25 to $250 per photo or about $75 per edited shot on average depending on their experience. A per photo pricing model includes meeting with the client, setting up, doing the photo shoot, traveling, editing, and delivering the final product in the client’s preferred medium.

Learn more about how photographers charge for a photo and understand how much time went into creating that photo. Using image-based costs creates the best pricing model when clients are expecting high-quality work reflected in just a few images.

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Strategies Forfriends And Family

Now you know how to price a cake for clients, but what do you do when friends and family ask for cakes??

There is no right answer to this, and its a personal decision. Ive heard of bakers doing a variety of different things, including:

  • Setting a specific discount
  • Just charging for ingredients
  • Making cakes for free, but only for immediate family members
  • Charging full price

Whatever strategy you choose, make it very clear in the beginning. When you explain how much money and time go into making a cake, most people are very understanding.

I enjoyed making my friends birthday cakes for free, and always looked at it as my gift to them! They never asked or expected me to bake for them, so I never felt any pressure around it.

But I also didnt have my extended family asking for baptism and anniversary cakes.

However, a lot of people are in a different situation. If you have demanding relatives or friends who expect you to drop everything and make elaborate cakes for them, I recommend setting ground rules upfront.

This will help temper expectations, and prevent future conflict.

Do Wedding Reception Venue Prices Include Rentals Like Tables And Chairs

How to Cost a Wedding Cake

69 percent of venues do include tables and chairs, but with others, youll have to hire an outside rentals company to provide tables, chairs, china, flatware, linens, and more. Also, if you would like a wider range of rentals to choose from, consulting with a rentals company can be a good idea. On average, youll spend about $650 on event rentals.

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How Much Money Can You Earn As A Wedding Photographer

How much should a wedding photographer charge for a wedding? The answer will depend on a lot of factors.

Your region, gear, travel expenses and extra services influence your prices. We discuss these in details in our list below.

The average cost of a wedding photographer is around $2000 in the US. In general, wedding photographer prices range between $1150 and $3000. Wedding photographers in big cities tend to charge higher prices than the ones in other areas.

In the UK, wedding photographers average cost is around £1,590. This is almost the same price as in the US. Meanwhile, in Eastern European countries, wedding photographer prices are lower. The average cost of a wedding photographer is between $900 and $1130.

Why are we listing these rates? To give you a general idea about the prices wedding photographers ask for. And to make you realize that the worth of your wedding photos can vary.

Not sure where to start? Here are 13 tips to help you to determine how much to charge for wedding photography.

Pricing Tip 3 Do Some Friendly Stalking

Another part of your research should include looking at your local and national competitors to gauge where you need to pitch your prices for the services youre offering in your location.

Do not, and I repeat NOT, get tempted to undercut everyone who is local to you.

Whilst this might seem a great idea to start off with what youre doing is devaluing your own services and those of others.

Youre helping to lower the expectations of future clients and in turn bringing the overall level of the industry down.

Youll also find yourself labelled by both brides and other wedding professionals as a budget wedding planner.

Now if that is your target market then thats fine, but if its not, and usually it isnt, then this will be harmful to your reputation.

Read Also: Wedding Guest Gift Bags For Hotels

What Factors Impact Wedding Venue Costs

There are many factors that go into a wedding venues cost. In some instances, venues can cover and handle logistics like catering, rentals, and event providing an event coordinator or planner. Additionally, your desired wedding arrangements and details can all impact the price. Here are some common factors that influence wedding venue cost:

Choose A Less Popular Wedding Season

Average wedding cost infographics

Having trouble setting your wedding date? While many factors come into play when making a decision – like major life events, your work schedule and your budget – you should also look at when booking venues and vendors is most popular. For Canada, thats September . Suppliers tend to be busier and hike up their prices during this season, so you may want to book during the off season. Winter weddings and spring weddings can be just as lovely, so you should have no trouble putting together a dreamy celebration. Pro tip: weekday weddings can also help you spend less than the average wedding cost in Canada.

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What Is The Average Cost Of A Wedding In Canada

Congratulations, youre getting married! But now youve got to plan the damn thing. The first thing you need to figure out is your budget and what youve got to work with. From the big costs to the smaller items, everything adds up but with the right financial planning, youll be able to make your big day perfect.

A poll conducted for Global News found that Canadians believe a realistic price tag for a wedding should be just under $9,000. But Jodi Gagné, wedding planner and founder of Simply Perfect, believes thats a serious low-ball. A more realistic number? $40,000 to $50,000. Thats based on 100 guests at $200 a person. A bit of a blow to the bank account? Maybe. But realistic nonetheless.

Read on for a breakdown of the average cost in Canada for what you can expect. Keep in mind, Gagné works out of Toronto, and while you may find similar costs in other popular metropolitan areas like Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary, the costs will differ slightly from province to province.

How Can You Save Money On Your Wedding Venue

Yes, your wedding venue will likely be one of the most expensive things you pay for during your wedding planning journeyso every bit of money you can save on your wedding venue cost is a good thing! Here are a few ways to save money on your wedding venue:

  • Cut the guest list: As mentioned, the more guests you invite, the more youll pay. Cutting even just 10 guests from your list can save you major bucks!
  • Be smart about setting a date: Saturday night weddings during peak season will cost more than weekday weddings during the off-peak season.
  • Look for tax-deductible sites: Certain venues that are affiliated with nonprofit organizations may have tax-deductible site fees.
  • Read all contracts closely: Be open and honest with your venue about your budget, and be sure you completely understand your venue contract. There may be some fees that your venue can waive if you ask politely.

Also Check: How To Make A Wedding Spreadsheet

Basic Formula To Price A Cake

I like use the formula below to calculate the price of a custom cake. I use this for smaller custom cakes, rather than wedding cakes .

Cake Price = Labor + Cost of Ingredients +Overhead

It comes down to basic cost accounting, factoring in your direct and indirect costs. And of course, valuing your time!

I want to highlight that this concept also applies to homemade cookies and cupcakes. It really works for any baked good that a home baker can make.

A Comprehensive Guide To Pricing Your Wedding Photography

Wedding Flower Pricing

If you’ve ever thought about shooting a wedding, you have probably wondered: “How much should I charge to shoot a wedding?” In this free excerpt from the wedding photography tutorial, “How to Become a Professional Commercial Wedding Photographer,” we are going to talk about pricing your wedding photography. In addition to this free lesson, we are offering a limited time discount if you’d like to purchase the full tutorial. Simply use code WED75 at checkout before April 30th, 2017.

In this post, I am going to touch on only a few things that are in the video. Please watch the video above if you want to learn as much as possible about how wedding photography rates work.

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