Wedding Vendors Are Running Businesses

There is a conversation happening constantly in wedding groups.  “Why does this cost so much?”  “She's only going to be there for eight hours.”  “It's just flowers.”  “Why would a planner charge that much?”  “I could probably do this myself.”  Sometimes those are perfectly reasonable questions.  Wedding costs can be shocking, particularly if you've never planned an event of this size before.  But I think there's something important missing from the conversation.

Your wedding vendors are running businesses.  They are not doing favors.  When you hire a photographer for eight hours, you aren't simply paying someone to stand beside you for eight hours holding a camera.  When you hire a florist, you're not paying for a pile of flowers with a markup attached.  And when you hire a wedding planner, you're certainly not paying only for the hours you see a person standing at your wedding.  You're paying for everything required to make those hours possible.  The consultations, the preparation, the emails, the proposals, the revisions, the sourcing, the equipment, the staff, the transportation, the insurance, the software, the bookkeeping, the taxes, the time spent communicating with other professionals, the hours before your wedding when someone is making sure everything is ready so you don't have to.

And yes…  You're paying for that business to make a profit.  Somehow, "profit" has become an uncomfortable word in parts of the wedding conversation.  It shouldn't be.  Your photographer needs to earn a living.  Your florist needs to earn a living.  Your caterer needs to earn a living.  Your planner needs to earn a living.  These aren't people who appear on Saturday morning, work your wedding and disappear until the next one.  They are professionals operating businesses.  And businesses have to be financially sustainable if they're going to continue serving clients well. 

Respecting Your Budget Doesn't Require Disrespecting Someone's Price

This is where I think we've lost our way a little.  You are absolutely entitled to have a budget.  In fact, you should.  You are entitled to look at a proposal and say:  “That's more than we're comfortable spending.”  What you aren't entitled to assume is:  “Therefore, they're charging too much.”  Those are not the same statement.  A professional can simply be outside your budget.  There is nothing insulting about that.  Not every vendor is right for every couple, and not every couple is right for every vendor.  Price is one of the factors that determines that fit.  

You're Also Paying for What You Don't See

Some of the most valuable work your wedding professionals do may be work you never knew happened.  The florist who realizes a particular flower isn't going to survive the weather and changes course.  The photographer who notices the timeline won't provide enough light for the photographs you want.  The caterer who identifies a service problem before 150 guests ever notice it.  The planner who catches a scheduling conflict three months before the wedding instead of three minutes before the ceremony.  You didn't see the problem.  That's the point. You hired someone who did.  

Professional Expertise Has Value

There will always be someone willing to do something for less.  That's true in almost every profession.  But comparing prices without comparing experience, scope, responsibility and service tells you very little.  Two proposals that appear to offer “the same thing” may not be offering the same thing at all.  Ask questions.  Understand the scope.  Find out what's included.  Learn who will actually be doing the work.  Then decide whether the value makes sense for you.  But please don't reduce someone's professional work to the few hours you happen to see them doing it.  A wedding may last one day.  The work behind it doesn't.  And the people you've entrusted with that day aren't asking you to do them a favor by hiring them.  They're offering you a professional service.

It's perfectly reasonable to decide you can't afford that service. It's very different to decide the professional shouldn't be paid appropriately for providing it.