Since I’ve never been much of a small talker, I’m going to get right to business in my first full length post. I want to take a moment to talk about your wedding budget and photography. Somewhere along the line, the common budgeting practice has become something like this: Input your overall wedding budget into this spreadsheet and it will tell you how much you can spend on “_______.” Even scarier, there are the spreadsheets that lump photography and videography into one tiny category together.
While I am not an expert in personal finance, I am fairly aware of costs of the wedding industry from both the professional side of things and the consumer side of things (I got married once, too!). Today I’m sharing the way I navigated my wedding budget in hopes that it helps you. Although I am talking specifically about photography, this can be applied to any aspect. Here is the thought process that I followed when I made my budget:
Rittenhouse Square is a gorgeous backdrop for your Philadelphia bridal party Portraits.
1. Starting Point: What is my starting budget range for photography? It is always good to start with a range rather than a set price.
Light and Airy Sweetheart Table Design Inspiration for a Summer Wedding
2. Priority: I’m going to start this with a little bit of an emotional moment. Think about your parents, your grandparents, or another older couple that you love and cherish. Do you have photos from their wedding? If you do (you’re lucky), how much value would you place on the memories that these photos contain? If you don’t, how much would it be worth to see your parents locked in an embrace during their first dance? Keep these thoughts in mind. . .
Now, write down all of the things that matter to you. When the dancing is over (bye bye, DJ), the dinner is eaten (thanks, catering staff), and the cake has been cut and only partially eaten (adios, baker), what will live on from your wedding? Ideally, you will have your awesome spouse, fantastic memories, beautiful photography and an emotional video to recount the day, right? By setting priorities, you can determine what aspects of your budget have flexibility and what aspects of your budget can be cut.
Lace wedding dress displayed in the window with summery coral bridesmaids dresses.
3. Flexibility: Think of budgeting this way: Have you ever, walked into a store and spent a random $50/$75/$100 that you didn’t explicitly plan? Was any of that stuff you may not have really needed? How often does this happen? Could you cut back a little to make a stretch in your wedding budget if it means you can get what you really want? In what wedding categories are you willing to save with something that is just nice enough?
Pearl statement earrings from a red and gold Chinese-American wedding
4: Compromise: What compromises are you willing to make to honor your budget? How important are a second photographer, wedding album, or digital files to you? What do you NEED in a wedding collection and what do you WANT in a collection? What are the costs associated with adding on products after the wedding versus building them into your initial collection.
When I was planning my wedding, I didn’t hesitate to spend money on wedding photography. Despite whatever the trending recommendation from The Knot was at that time, I very happily and willing spent significantly more on my wedding photography than these budget worksheets recommended. We did not have a humongous wedding. We prioritized the two things that matter most to us, the venue/food and the photography. Most of the other expenses were very tightly managed to stay with in our budget.
Although we understand that not all couples will be able to fit Ashley Gerrity Photography into their wedding budget, I have worked with many different couples to ensure that we are providing excellent value for every dollar spent with us. Some of the ways that we are happy to be flexible with your budget include:
* Couples booking with our associate photography team can save hundreds of dollars on comparable collections. You will still work directly with me on an engagement session, post-production, wedding planning, and interaction through the wedding process.
* Each of our clients receives a customized wedding collection. Although our base collection includes the most requested items, we can include any albums, prints, parent albums, coverage inclusions, and additional sessions. We want to give you exactly what you are looking for without having you pay for extra products that don’t interest you.
* One of the biggest benefits I offer my clients is a price freeze on albums. My clients have the ability to order an album up to six months after the wedding at the price from when they signed their contract. This helps to spread payments out over longer time frames. Plus, many couples use wedding gift money towards their album.
* We accept Credit Cards. NO, I am not suggesting that you just put your wedding on a credit card and pay interest. If you are diligent in paying your balance off monthly, you can use the credit card points towards something that you really want after the wedding. We save up our credit card points and are able to purchase all of our Christmas presents with gift cards from our rewards. (This can be a big bonus if you are just finishing up with wedding bills from an autumn wedding.)
* We can offer payment plans to help break up costs over time. Sometimes spending a large chunk of money is much scarier when you have to hand it over all at once.
* Our initial retainer is just $500 to hold your date. This gives you time to plan and adjust your budget while locking us in for your date.
If you are in love with a photographer and their work and stuck on your wedding budget, don’t hesitate to be honest from the beginning. Most photographers that I know aren’t afraid to dig into your budget and find a way to work with you. Another great resource is a wedding planner. Every wedding planner that I know has a clear goal–to help negotiate and save you more on your wedding than you spend with them.
Here’s to a fabulous Valentine’s Day weekend! Go attack your wedding budgets, but don’t forget to leave a few dollars behind for the discounted chocolates that will hit the shelves next week!
Lead Photographer Ashley Gerrity photographing a New Year’s Eve Wedding in Wilmington, DE
xo Ashley
