Wedding Wednesday Discussions – People Are Funny About Money

‘People are funny about Money’ so said Carrie in Sex in the City! And you know what, she’s right! In every aspect of our lives money is often the route of our problems! And it’s true with weddings.

How much people spend on their weddings is often a subject we don’t like to discuss, their budget, who is paying for what…….it’s a topic we don’t like to bring up. One of the questions I ask my real brides in the morning feature is ‘how did you spend/allocate your budget’ and only on a handful of occasions has anyone actually told me how much they spent!

It seems to be  a common myth that suppliers add-on extra money to their quotes as soon as someone mentions a wedding, and something that I hear too often. Kirsten our Boho Bride wrote about it on Friday and it was reading her article that made me think I wanted to broach the subject today. As a supplier, I know how hard wedding suppliers work and to be tarnished with the whole ‘They added on extra because it was a wedding’ can often cause upset and is altogether troublesome. I have tried to broach the subject on occasions on the blog with articles such as The Big Wedding Rip Off? A DJ’s Perspective On Why Suppliers Charge More For Weddings Than For Parties and  The True Cost of a Wedding Make-Up Artist but feel there is still a long way to go!

(Phot by Reid Photography – Full wedding HERE)

Don’t get me wrong; I am well aware that there are suppliers out there doing a bad job who often give good suppliers a bad name. Some people who will add-on extra for a substandard job, leaving those who go that extra mile bearing the brunt. However, the majority of wedding suppliers out there are either small businesses or self-employed people, who really care about your wedding day, not massive blue chip companies! All of which will go that extra mile to make sure you have the day you dreamed of.

Often, as a wedding planner, I would get calls at 11pm at night, 7am in the morning for things that quite frankly weren’t my problem or in my ‘job description’. Did this stop me? No! I got on with whatever was asked of me and made sure my couples got the first class service that they expected. Why? Because I care, same as pretty much every supplier you will be hiring for your own wedding day. They will all go that extra mile for you. Why? Because it’s your wedding! And that does mean a lot!

When a supplier takes on your wedding, it’s not just a job, they won’t be thinking ‘this will do.’ That supplier is aware that this is the most important day of your life and they will carry out work that will reflect this. In a past life I used to make wedding dresses. Now the amount of stress that one dress could bring as a supplier is astonishing. Knowing that you are responsible for the most important dress that customer will ever wear is a pretty hefty pressure, much more than any evening dress I would have made for a graduate ball or the like! So yes the price had to reflect that responsibility………..same as any supplier.

(Photo by Jess Petrie )

Wedding suppliers have to make a living, the same as any trade! And there is only a certain amount of work supplier can take on a year, after all there are only so many weekends in a year! For this reason and many more, wedding suppliers have to charge for what they do. It isn’t a case of plucking a number out of the sky because the W word is used. Just like any other business, these suppliers will have sat down worked out their costings, worked out how many jobs they can take on a year and from there, the final price will be worked out.

So please, before you think suppliers are adding on extra money because you have mentioned the W word, have a think about it. Are you expecting a different level of service? Is that supplier going the extra mile for you? How many jobs of such a high level do you think that supplier can take on a year? Is that supplier professional and trustworthy? Is that supplier taking on  a lot more added pressure because they are involved in your wedding, not just a normal job? If the answer is yes then you have lots of very valid reasons a wedding supplier may need to add-on more because the W word has been used.

(Photo by Paul Joseph Photography – Full wedding HERE)

To be honest I could go on all day about this but I’d really like to hear from you, so this afternoon I am opening up the blog to you.

• Brides and Grooms: I’d like to hear your side of the story, how do you feel? Do you feel like you are being ripped off? Or do you feel the pricing structure from your suppliers is a fair one?
• Wedding suppliers: What is your point of view? Do you have experience of customers haggling you down on price? Do you feel that you are all tarnished with the same brush when it comes to added costs?

Feel free to have your say, no matter what your opinion is.

Big Boho Love

Kelly xx