How Much Does The Average Wedding Cost Across The Us
Where you live can have a major impact on how much you spend to say “I do” to your beloved.
In fact, weddings cost a whopping $33,700 more in New Jersey — where couples have the honor of hosting the nation’s most expensive weddings at an average price of $53,400 — than in Utah, the cheapest place in the U.S. to get married .
The extra $33,700 that Garden State residents spend would be enough to cover the full cost of an average wedding in 36 states!
Surprisingly, though, there are just three states in the country where the average cost of a wedding comes in at under $20,000 — Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.
The table below shows the average price throughout the country:
| State | Average wedding cost in 2019 |
|---|---|
| Alabama | |
| $19,800 |
Factors That Can Impact A Wedding Photographers Price
In what city do you live? The cost of living is higher in some areas and photographers there will cost more.
How much travel will be involved to get to your wedding? Remote locations may mean youre booking a wedding photographer from a bigger city and paying them to travel to your wedding.
How much experience does your photographer have? A photographer with 10-20 years of experience will charge more than someone just starting out.
What equipment does your photographer use? High-end equipment and lenses can result in clearer, better images in skilled hands.
Does your photographer shoot film? If the dreamy, classic look of film makes your heart happy, be prepared to pay a higher rate. The added expenses of purchasing film stock, shipping, developing, and scanning the film mean that the film and hybrid photographer will cost more to cover these added expenses.
Is your photographer in demand? Because there are only so many weekends available in a year, these dates would fill up right away with a high-demand photographer. So really popular wedding photographers will charge more.
Has your photographer been published on wedding blogs or magazines? This notoriety usually helps make them more in demand, and they may charge more.
How much education has your photographer had? Photographers who have invested a lot of time and money into perfecting their skill will charge more than those who are still figuring things out.
How The Data Was Collected
Jotform was used to conduct the survey.
I was keen to keep the survey as simple as possible, to ensure a) the maximum number of respondents and b) the minimum amount of confusion.
The questions I chose to ask were as follows:
This obviously ignores a lot of variables, but nevertheless, it still gives a broad representation on what the average photographer earns to photograph a wedding in 2021.
The number of weddings question helped weed out responses that didnt meet the criteria of photographers who were shooting at least 10 weddings a year.
This number is rather arbitrary, but the assumption here is that if a photographer only shoots 5 weddings a year for example, theyre probably not doing the job full time, so have the ability to charge significantly more than a full-time wedding photographer.
Also, if a photographer is shooting less than 10 weddings a year, one could assume they are just starting out in the industry, and thus are more likely to charge less than average.
Finally, this survey obviously doesnt take into account the wedding photographers expenses.
With the questions sorted, the next goal was to get as many respondents as possible.
I also paid for some Facebook ads to extend the reach of the survey a little further, and encouraged sharing of the survey as much as possible.
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Hire Someone Who Matches With Your Family And Your Guests
When you invite your families and all the people you love, you want to make sure your Rochesters based photographer matches with your expectation.Internet if full of stories of the wedding ruined by rude vendors. You not only want to make sure he would match with your guests and he would know how to interact with them in order to catch stunning photos.
Indeed, if you hire a very nice person but shy, who is not able to engage in a short exchange with strangers, then you might not have a lot of pics of your guests.
What Is The Average Price
Over 60% of people dont plan their wedding budget properly and are taken aback when they see a for the first time. Hiring a wedding photographer is one of the most crucial things to do, which is why many experts advise couples to set aside at least 10-15% of their budget to hire a true professional.
On average, it will cost you around $1000-3000 to hire a good photographer. The price might range depending on the area you live in.
While it might seem to be overly expensive at first, you need to understand that a wedding photographer spends between 30-40 hours on each wedding on average. Photographers take part in planning sessions and often need to travel to your location unless you hire a local professional.
After a wedding is over, a photographer still needs to spend hours on photos post-processing. If you need to have a beautiful wedding album, keep in mind that it will also cost extra.
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What Are The Different Wedding Photography Styles
As you start researching wedding photographers by checking out their work and reading their online reviews, be sure to pinpoint the wedding photography style you like best. There are a few wedding photography styles to choose from, including:
- Traditional: A more formal, classic photography style, traditional wedding photography includes lots of posed shots.
- Fine Art: This style is all about dramatic compositions and stylized images. Its a more modern approach that creates frame-worthy images.
- Fashion: If you want images that focus on your attire and look like they belong in a magazine, this is the wedding photography style for you. Think creative backdrops and unique poses.
- Vintage: This photography style uses filters and other techniques to give your wedding photos an old-school feel.
How Much Does A Videographer Cost For A Wedding
Just like wedding photography, wedding videography can vary quite a bit in price. However, to give an idea, starting prices are very similar to the starting prices of photography. You may be thinking, is a videographer worth it if it doubles my cost? It is my personal opinion that videography is extremely underrated. A highlight film brings a whole different way to remember your wedding day. Below you can watch a sneak peek video I created of Verity and Brians first look. Theres just something a video captures that photos do not. One way to save a little money is to find a company that bundles Photography and Videography in one! Many times these bundles can save you up to 50% on the videography side.
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What’s Included In A Wedding Photographers Pricing
Under this $4,250 investment, Millay offers 10 to 12 hours of wedding day coverage with a second shooter, an online gallery with digital downloads, and an engagement photo session. It also includes travel within about four hours and photo editing. Millays $4,250 is just the base level for coverage. She charges $200 per additional hour of wedding day coverage. Add-ons like albums and prints, which Millay offers a la carte, vary from $300 to $1,200 depending on the couples selection. She caps her pricing for prints because she doesnt want to price clients out of the products that matter most.
When you pull out old photos, youre not looking at the quality. Youre looking at the memory, she said. Sadly, if prints are $75 or more per photo, people just arent going to print them. Thats why I try to keep them reasonable. Another extra her clients have been interested in recently is rehearsal dinner coverage. This is priced at $400. I encourage this as much as I can, she said. Its great to meet the family beforehand so everyones comfortable with me and knows me on the wedding day.
We Charge What We Need To So We Can Actually Stay In Business
With each and every booking we get, we are very grateful and passionate about serving our customers right. Most photographers that actually depend on that money and are in it for the long haul will give you an out-of-this-world service and amazing value. Thats simply what it takes to compete in this saturated market.
Cheap photographers out there do they disprove everything I just said? No! And you can find out exactly why here:
Are we raking it in? No. Do we do what we do because were absolutely obsessed with capturing the stories of those wonderful, special couples who trust us enough to document their special day? Do we LOVE photography? YES! Thats why we do it
For many of us, this will never be a route to riches. But this career makes us happy. Being a business owner makes us happy. Not having a boss and being able to work in our pajamas and get wedding cake and steak dinners every Saturday, makes us happy.
Sure, maybe some wedding photographers will tell me I have this completely wrong and they are hundred-thousandaires at least once over, but I doubt it. We could have been richer working in a cubicle getting paid sick leave, great benefits and free granola. This is just a funner ride. I dont even like granola.
Youll be able to check out articles on subjects that you didnt know about before and get a head start on optimizing your wedding photography experience and investment : )
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Would You Miss Out On Enjoying Your Wedding Day For 400 Euros In Savings Hmmmmm
Believe it or not, it happens very often! Recently I shot a wedding where the brides sister told me that at her own wedding, she had had absolutely no time with her guests as the photographer took ages taking their photographs. As well as that, she felt her whole day was spent posing for him she was understandably very disappointed!
Do I Pay The Wedding Photographer Upfront
While every photographer uses a different payment schedule, most of them prefer to receive payment in 2-3 installments. After and signing a contract, you need to pay a deposit. It could be from 10% to 50% of the total amount, depending on your agreement with a photographer.
If you opt for 2 payments, you will need to pay the rest before your wedding. When people select a three-payment schedule, it usually means that couples pay the rest of the sum after receiving edited wedding photos.
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Whats The Average Cost Of A Wedding Photographer In Dublin Ireland In 2021
Preparing for a wedding and choosing the best photographer possible for your special day can be pretty stressful I know, Ive been there myself!
As a professional wedding photographer, I know that the whole process can bring a whirlwind of questions to mind. So, if youve found yourself asking yourself any of the questions below, I can help!
- Whats the typical or average cost for a wedding photographer in Dublin and Ireland?
- Where can I find full Wedding Photography Packages and a reasonably priced photographer?
- How do I avoid losing half of my wedding day getting my wedding photographs taken?
- Whats the difference between a photographer that costs 400 and one that costs 4000?!
Detail Exactly Whats Included
Do your clients know exactly what they are getting and what they will pay for it? One couple recently ruined a photographers business by claiming she was holding the photos hostage until they paid a $150 fee for the album. The photographer won the lawsuit because the fee was in her contract.
The lesson here? Include absolutely every fee in the contract. But you should also be sure to go over each fee. If theres more than one package fee, highlight it in case the couple skimmed through the legalese of the wedding contract.
List everything thats included in the contract, even if its something small. Make sure to state whether or not digital files and reprint rights are included as well.
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Your Photographers Talent And Experience
Experience counts a long way with choosing your wedding photographer in Calgary. On your wedding day, there are many ever-changing variables that can make or break a photograph. Clouds suddenly block the sun creating shadows, the bridal party stands at slightly different angles, or there is a malfunction with a piece of equipment. Having the experience allows the photographer to quickly adapt to the new situation.
Rapid adjustments to aperture, shutter speed, white balance, focus points, and a long list of other factors all go into creating that perfect image. Quite often, the photographer only has 2 or 3 seconds to adapt to the changing light conditions. The first kiss typically only lasts 1 or 2 seconds, so if you have to stop and figure out settings, the moment is lost forever.
In saying that, talent also plays a major factor. Just because someone has photographed 500 weddings, does not necessarily make them talented. Likewise, having only photographed ten weddings does not mean someone isnt talented. A photographer should always be learning new techniques, and creating new images. Ask your photographer about their progression into their current style and ensure that they are trying new techniques and locations.
Use Our Average Cost Of A Wedding Photographer Calculator
Note: If you dont see the calculator displayed below, be sure to click See this content in the original post.
To get straight to the point, we created this handy calculator to help you guesstimate how much you may need to invest to get a photographer that aligns with your vision. Be sure to still read the rest of this post on average wedding photography cost where we explain in-depth the factors that influence the cost of wedding photograhers.
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Does The Bride Pay For Makeup And Hair
If you want your party to get their hair and makeup done professionally, its a thoughtful gesture to treat your bridesmaids. The bride should cover the cost of her wedding partys hair and makeup, especially if shes requesting or encouraging them to have it done, says Jove Meyer of Jove Meyer Events.
