Shocking Prices!!

Yellowbug

we are in wiltshire

i dont think it helped that i didnt get inspiration for anything, it was all a bit poo

glad im not the only one to be shocked at one of these things....i like a good negotiation to get a decent price...but some of the starting points were just silly

frankly im glad i already have just about everything organised and didnt actually need to find anyone there lol

Tigerlilley1980

frannyann wrote: »

Been to a wedding fair today, having been on MSE for a while now I knew that there is always a bargain to be had, but gobsmacked at all these young couples blinding accepting the mad prices quoted at these things!!

Had to gag myself from saying 'HOW MUCH???' more than once LOL

I think it is so awful how people just accept the prices these people give them for wedding stuff!! When people have asked me about our budget they are shocked that we are just spending £1500. And we are having the wedding of our dreams with the only compromise being the price we are paying is a lot less than other places because I am happy to spend all day trawling the net to find things cheaper! Tiger xx

lindaatno9

student_advisor wrote: »

We went to one last week and were looking at a dress on a stand, the dressmaker said prices started at £1500:eek:

It wasn't even that nice:rotfl:

I went to a wedding fair back in Feb and came across this guy http://www.adrianthorntonbridalcouture.co.uk/index.htm Of course it is interesting to see your competition (but he's very good) and I think his prices start at around £1500. Ok, he has a studio, I don't, I have a work room at home. He will design a gown from the off. Most of my clients come armed with images and ideas and we work from those.
My most recent wedding (the Vintage one in the gallery) the client had a quote from Adrian and it came in around the £1500 pound mark. She had a portfolio of stuff he'd sent but at the end of the day, she wasn't prepared to spend that much. I got the job for under £500.
It grates when people assume couples will spend because it's a once in a lifetime event.

Yellowbug

i think part of the problem is you know there are some poor saps out there that wont think to look in other places or try alternatives out, they just assume thats how much stuff costs so they go along with it

and although thats kind of their own problem for not looking harder I still feel bad for them lol i think im just too nice


i did however think I might start showing at wedding fairs, with wedding stationery, as I could do a lot nicer stuff at much lower prices (and id put on a better display too...i was shocked at the crap presentation of some of these people)

lindaatno9

Yellowbug wrote: »

i did however think I might start showing at wedding fairs, with wedding stationery, as I could do a lot nicer stuff at much lower prices (and id put on a better display too...i was shocked at the crap presentation of some of these people)

I think because you have been involved due to planning your own wedding, you know what realistic budgets are wanted by people. Wedding fairs are ok, but I haven't needed (luckily) to spend out to advertise apart from business cards. These fairs can require £300 per pitch! I think if you really think you could make this work yellow then go for it. You know your market. The problem I have is many people consider home dressmaking that fuddy duddy falicy that they can't possibly get a "proper wedding dress" from someone who works from home. They'd rather go to a shop or a studio. At the same fair I spoke of there was another dressmaker. She had some ok stuff on her rail but I believe you need to get the customer interested in your product if they are going to have the made to measure route. If you can't tempt them with something great and offer a realistic price to go with it, you really are paddling up the wrong way with one oar!

Yellowbug

lindaatno9 wrote: »

I think because you have been involved due to planning your own wedding, you know what realistic budgets are wanted by people. Wedding fairs are ok, but I haven't needed (luckily) to spend out to advertise apart from business cards. These fairs can require £300 per pitch! I think if you really think you could make this work yellow then go for it. You know your market. The problem I have is many people consider home dressmaking that fuddy duddy falicy that they can't possibly get a "proper wedding dress" from someone who works from home. They'd rather go to a shop or a studio. At the same fair I spoke of there was another dressmaker. She had some ok stuff on her rail but I believe you need to get the customer interested in your product if they are going to have the made to measure route. If you can't tempt them with something great and offer a realistic price to go with it, you really are paddling up the wrong way with one oar!

lol
good advice

it will be a little while away yet as i need to get a good portfolio of non vw stuff done first (i have a load of designs done for people involving vws...but realise that only a small percentage of the world are as insane as me and want vws on their wedding stationery lol)

id have to have a good think about what shows to do at £300 a go!!!!!
the vw shows i do are usually £50 - £100 but I go there with tees, baby stuff, gifts, cards as well as wedding stuff
i know how to put a good display together and how to draw people in




now you have said how much these places charge for a space I am shocked at the pathetic displays that most of them had put on at the fair at the weekend
None of them had put that much effort in, nothing grabbed your attention, and frankly it was all a bit boring
If I paid £300 for a space Id make sure I was making the most of it and getting as many people to come and have a look as possible lol

Private_and_Confidential

I suppose I'm giving too much away here (buy hay-ho).

I'm a photographer and whilst £2k is a lot of money, you need to put it into perspective in terms of what you are buying.

For example, on my £1400 packages, I'd be spending around 12-14 hrs working on the day (bridal prep through to first dance including travelling), then perhaps another 8 - 10 hours back in the studio working on the images and putting albums together.

If I take off my costs for materials and tax, I reckon my net profit would only be £720 and that works out between £30 and £36 / hr. For a professional service I think that's an okay hourly rate.

I suggest trying for a discount though, you'll almost always get a 10% discount (which is £140 off) and I have been known to give 25% discount.

Good luck.

karen_newcastle

I have to agree with Private and confidential...althought I would as I am a photographer too (my top package includes pre-wedding shoot, all day cover, large album, 2 parents albums, thank you cards and a framed enlargement for £1200)

£2000 is not 'shocking' for a professional photographer who probably has £10k+ worth of kit and who has been on many training courses and can capture you and your wedding in a beautiful way forever. The albums do cost up photographer hundreds of pounds (they certainly dont come cheap) and editing the wedding and designing the album takes many hours. I have seen myself work for 30 hours on a 10 hour wedding. So it's not like we shoot your wedding then upload them onto our website. There is a hell of a lot of work involved.

Of course there is a whole spectrum of talent out there and you generally get what you pay for. There are some exceptions of course and there are always people who will work for peanuts to get some images for their portfolio. So it's work asking around and doing a bit more research.

lindaatno9

I agree with both photographers about costs. I think many people also price themselves on experience. I can and have made a gown similar to a Candy Anthony but, I cannot put the same price tag as she. She has earned her right to charge her fee and people will pay. Much like people pay £10 -£15 for thorntons chocs and £5 for milk tray!! I guess at the mo i'm in the milk tray bracket. This doesn't mean that I don't produce a top quality product, I do, but it would be arrogant of me price myself alongside Candy as an unknown.

Tigerlilley1980

I think 2000 grand is shocking but I'm not a photographer and could never afford that sort of price! I think it pays to look around, I did and now have an amazing photgrapher who is going to be at the venue from 2pm until 9pm, includes 50 prints and alll images on a cd for £440. He spends ages editing them and all this for £440. I have seen all his other weddings and the pics are brilliant!