The Biggest Myth About the Wedding Industry

By Tracey Manailescu, WPIC Co-founder and Vice President

Here we go… Are you ready for it? The biggest myth in the wedding industry is that when weddings are mentioned, the prices double or triple. This is absolute nonsense. Business owners do not sit and dream up ways to charge you more money just because it’s a wedding. There are so many variables as to why it may cost more than a birthday party or small event.

I’m going to tell you why below.

The time of the year affects cost. Wedding season (usually May-October) means things book up sooner and you may not get your 1st, 2nd or even 3rd choice. Venues, churches, florists, planners and musicians are in-demand and they can only take on one client at a time unless they have more staff. You might pay a premium because of this.

Inflation has also affected the cost of everything. You only need to look at your grocery bill, hydro, and gas.

A birthday party or anniversary dinner will probably last approximately three to four hours. A wedding in Canada will last approximately ten to eleven hours, and will probably involve many more hours and staff. Think about the design elements, florals, tables, chairs and all else that goes along with it. Setup can start a day or two before, and then tear down will go into the wee hours of the morning after the event. Ceremony, cocktail hour, reception and strike.

Each business owner operates their business differently. Only they know how much it costs to run their individual business and how much they want to make each year. Therefore, they decide how much to charge.

The more experience and better reputation that a wedding professional has, means it will generally cost you more to work with them.

Putting a business down because it’s not in your price range, or you don’t want those particular services is not only unfair, but unreasonable and unwarranted.

If a couple does not like the price, then they can move along and hire someone that does suit their budget, wants and needs.

I’m going to break it down by wedding professional for you to have a better understanding of why things cost the way that they do. The final decision is yours as to who you hire.

Wedding Planner/Designer

This is who you will be spending the most time working with leading up to your wedding. This should be your most expensive wedding professional aside from the venue and catering, considering on average it takes 250-400 hours of planning for a wedding. You will typically start working with them appoximately one year to eighteen months before the wedding for full wedding planning services.

Prices will vary. Are you hiring them for wedding planning and design services? Destination planning, full wedding planning, partial planning or month of coordination services?

We liason with all of your wedding team, attend and book appointments, assist with your budget, vendor selection, timelines, follow ups, have monthly or even weekly appointments with you, keep track of payments, guest list and food/allergy restrictions, be available to answer questions and give advice. Negotiations, mediate with family members, fight and advocate for you, attend the rehearsal, as well as be on hand for any, and all challenges on the wedding day from start to finish.

Things that may affect the way this business charges:

• What market are they serving? Is is luxury, high-end, mainstream or budget?
• What are their service offerings?
• Experience
• Cost of rent or do they work from home?
• Staff that work full-time, versus part-time or seasonal
• Monthly expenses
• Certifications? Association memberships? Attending conferences
• Advertising and marketing costs vary greatly
• Liability and E & O Insurance

Rentals:

If you are renting tables, chairs, linens and decor items, it’s going to cost you per item. The more you have of a particular item, the more it’s going to cost. If you are in need of upgraded decor such as chargers, specialty glassware, cutlery, upgraded plates, candles, votives, chairs, lounge areas, etc. You will pay for it. Do you need delivery and set up? Well, that’s going to cost more. This service is not included in your rental fees. (Make sure you pre-arrange this, and not just expect it to be done for you). Staff need to be paid to drive, and remove the items from the vehicle at the venue, then paid extra to setup.

Things that may affect the way this business charges:

• Are you picking up the rentals, or are they being delivered?
• Upgraded linen and chair selections
• Furniture design and quality
• Staff that work full-time, versus part-time or seasonal
• Is there easy loading areas at the venue?
• Are the items going to be delivered on another level?
• Is there an elevator or do they need to climb up/down stairs?
• Is the required delivery/pickup time after company business hours?
• Advertising and marketing costs vary greatly
• Liability and E & O Insurance

Catering:

If you are having a party or wedding catered, the cost is determined by certain criteria. The amount of food needed (quantity), the number of guests, the number of staff needed to serve the food and clear the plates. The chef and his/her team need to prep the food, cook the food, plate the food. The hours that the staff are working. The number of bartenders and barbacks needed. Please also consider the sales tax, service fees and gratuities. We have a wonderful article going into much more detail on the blog about this topic.

Things that may affect the way this business charges:

• Deluxe bar vs standard bar
• Food choice selection (Example: Beef tenderloin versus short ribs)
• Quality of food offered. (This varies greatly. My husband owns a restaurant and they pay so much more because of the quality of food and wines that they offer)
• Serving style (plated, family style, butlered or french)
• Advertising and marketing costs vary greatly
• Liability and E & O Insurance

Photography and Videography:

Consultation, day of covereage and then post production editing and deliverance. Once the wedding is over, the photographer’s job continues. Editing thousands of photos down to the chosen selects, then offer these selects for the couples to make their choices, and then photo retouching takes several days. 

Things that may affect the way this business charges:

• What market are they serving? Is is luxury, high-end, mainstream or budget?
• What are their service offerings? Engagement shoot included, hours covered, second shooters?
• Cost of rent for studio space, or do they work from home?
• Staff that work full-time, versus part-time or seasonal for editing and/or second shooters
• Equipment expenses (I recently discovered that professional cameras can cost $40,000-120,000)
• Association memberships?
• Advertising and marketing costs vary greatly
• Liability and E & O Insurance
• Equipment insurance

Florals:

There is a lot that goes into your floral decor. The main components that dictate the cost of wedding flowers are the actual cost of the flowers themselves whether locally grown or shipped from elesewhere, and the labour involved by ordering, cleaning, prepping, the design, delivery, setup and teardown services. There is still a high-demand low supply due to factors including climate conditions from Covid.

Things that may affect the way this business charges:

• What market are they serving? Is is luxury, high-end, mainstream or budget?
• Experience
• What are their service offerings?
• Cost of rent of unit or studio space
• Staff that work full-time, versus part-time or seasonal
• Monthly expenses
• Seasonal selections versus out of season
• Association memberships?
• Advertising and marketing costs vary greatly
• Intricate designs like ceiling installations, arches, amount of florals used
• Liability and E & O Insurance

Cake Designer

The cost of a wedding cake is going to depend on what is involved in the process. It will also depend on the experience and skill of the cake designer. Is it design heavy and will be labour intensive? Consultations, design sketches, purchasing ingredients, baking, preparation, transportation, set up. How many tiers will it have? The mechanics involved to hold up the tiers. How many people does the cake need to feed (how many slices?) are all factors that need to be considered.

Things that may affect the way this business charges:

• Experience
• What market are they serving? Is is luxury, high-end, mainstream or budget?
• Certifications and training
• Cost of rent
• Cost of ingredients (such as real butter versus margerine)
• Staff that work full-time, versus part-time or seasonal
• Monthly expenses How many layers?
• Labour intensive
• Add-on details such as gum-paste flowers, piping, design
• Rising costs of ingredients
• Advertising and marketing costs vary greatly
• Liability and E & O Insurance
• Food and safety compliance courses

Venue:

Getting married at a private estate, winery or exclusive hotel will cost you more than a banquet hall or in a barn. How many staff are needed? Is it an in-demand venue, what is the time period (a Saturday during the peak of summer, which is wedding season is going to cost more than a winter wedding). The quality of amenities, and what else is factored in. Consider insurance requirements, SOCAN, equipment rentals, bar packages, in-house catering fees, corkage, security or valet services,

Things that may affect the way this business charges:

• What market are they serving? Is is luxury, high-end, mainstream or budget?
• What are their service offerings?
• Cost of rent or mortgage
• Staff that work full-time, versus part-time or seasonal
• Monthly expenses
• Advertising and marketing costs vary greatly
• Liability and E & O Insurance

Wedding Gown Designer versus Boutique

A cuustom-made gown invloves many things. The gown will take many hours of labour. It will be hand-stitched, and will involve sewing appliques and embellishments. Your custom-made gown also involves consultations, sketches, designs, countless hours to create the gown, fittings, etc. and will definitely cost more than an off-the-rack gown. Salons carrying designer gowns are also going to cost more. Location of salon, size of the salon, and the reputation will also affect the price.

Things that may affect the way this business charges:

• What market are they serving? Is is luxury, high-end, mainstream or budget?
• What are their service offerings?
• Hours needed to design your gown. Beading. Lacework. Alterations. Type and cost of fabric.
• Cost of rent
• Staff that work full-time, versus part-time or seasonal
• Monthly expenses
• Advertising and marketing costs vary greatly
• Custom-made gown versus off-the-rack
• Liability and E & O Insurance

As you can see from the breakdown above, there are many variables that go into the pricing that businesses choose to charge. You also need to remember that these businesses need to survive, and make a profit. They each offer various price points, and services differ from one to the next. If quality is important to you, than your cost may be different than someone who cares more about the cost. Hopefully this article has provided some context and makes some sense of why things cost what they do.