Wedding Photography Spend

[JM Tran]

It used to be so, but these days with the current generation people from where i'm from don't work that way. I've attended loads of wedding and how much we give is dependent on the cost of the wedding, ie if we know the wedding at the particular venue costs $150 we'll give $150 ppx.

For my wedding the most given was from a close friend $800 for 2 people. The rest gave $150 ppx or there abouts. Food cost about $220 per person for 3 days not considering lodging. Imagine the "loss" i made. But it's only monetary loss, memories can't be bought nor friendship . Out of the 50 people 20 were friends from overseas and 10 family members also from overseas. At the end of the day we were down about $15k without family, with family blessings it was getting close to breaking even short by a few grand.

I guess differnt type of Asians? LoL

I know a lot of the Asian caterers for weddings in Adelaide and Sydney - you start seeing the same ones and talking to the same ppl when you shoot them long enough, and it is around $80 to $120 ish roughly per head for an 8 to 10 course meal - this is a very loose figure btw as it really depends on what specialty the client orders too. But Asian etiquette here in Aus, or in VN or China or Malaysia or Cambodia and other places that I have attended - it is generally give at least the same amount that it costed for your catering plus a little bit more on top for good luck and present etc.

Worse family I had seen gave 40 or 50 bucks altogether and rocked up as a family of 4.....needless to say in the ante room where we prepare our gear and the bridal party counts the money - a lot of nasty things were mentioned about the aforesaid family.....

[ricstew]

wow how fascinating........how our cultures are different. I spent just under $1000 on our wedding back in '94......including the dress lol. Self catered.....SIL provided the cake.......other SIL's brother the band....no church ...minister in my parents garden......friends as photographers We celebrated the old boys birthday at the same time........gifts not required
cheers
Jan

[sonofcoco]

I got married back in April and we spent about $2000 on the wedding...am shocked the average is $36k actually. We only wanted something small, and kept it pretty simple. Had a mate who is a wedding photographer take the shots and only for a few hours through the ceremony and start of reception. I guess if you want to spend that much on a wedding though and can afford it good luck to you. Personally would prefer to still spend under 5k and travel around the world for the honeymoon.

[Analog6]

While I'm too old and fat to be bothered with getting married now - we've happily lived in sin since 1997 - no way would I spend all that money. In a garden somewhere with a bring a plate reception would be it. Photography would be the one are I would spend some money.

I had no idea that at Asian weddings they got people to give them money - I knew traditional Italian ones did - I reckon those groups've got their heads screwed on right.

beau - you should take a few at the wedding just to show them what good wedding shots look like! I suspect they are going to get a hell of a reality check!

[SirLozalot]

I got married 10 years ago. A large portion of wedding cost was photography. We ended up with a truly beautiful and professionally made photo album. However, in 10 years since we have only looked at it twice and have mentioned the annoyance of the photographer treating it as a 'photo shoot event' rather 'photography of an event' many, many times.

Each to their own but I have often felt the album, as good as it is, was not worth the cost.

[ProPho]

I did not spend a fortune on my wedding 4 years ago (all up around $10K) but I did put an emphasis on the photography. Apart from a dress that I'll never wear again it's all I have left from the day. Being a pro photographer myself I naturally see the importance of capturing the day - not just for now but for the future as well. How many of us treasure our parents and grandparents wedding photos!? $36K seems quite excessive but having shot a wedding recently where the budget was around $40K in total I must admit it was a fantastic day! The saddest thing I am seeing in the wedding photography industry is the devalueing of our profession. We now work longer and harder than ever - especially in post production these days - how I miss the days of the photo lab sometimes!, yet we seem to be always competing with Uncle Jim and his budget SLR. I don't believe in charging outrageous amounts to my clients but I do need to earn a living - the average worker wants to being home a good $45K+ a year. A cake gets eaten, the dress is put in the cupboard, the wedding band belts out a few off key tunes and takes a break every 30 minutes... photos are forever

[AmPhot]

First wedding in 1997 - $6000 - 50 guests, fully catered reception & photographer/videographer. Lasted 7 years.
2nd wedding in 2006 - $240 at the registry office with 2 close friends as witnesses. I know what I believe was the better investment.

Personally, spending a good chunk of a house deposit / stock investment on one day I think is pretty obscene, but that's just my opinion.

[arthurking83]

No wonder I'm living in sin, 22yrs with my partner , Married twice , First cost $1500 for 15 months in 1973 , Second cost $300 bucks for 10 yrs in 1980, No way I'm getting married again these days

youre certianly gettng better value for money there william as you get better at it

when extrapolated, the numbers add up too ..... this last partnership having, thus far, cost you the equivalent of a Cokin P series grad filter(purchased at a local store ... not a cheapie off ebay!).

That it's cost you nothing is simply a bonus!

(actually! I need a few more new(or at least unscratched) filters too)

Us wogs used to be like the (rich)Asians seem to be now .... it's all passè, and we seem to have toned it all down a lot by comparison to how we used to do it.

There are far more important things in life that the prospect of "losing face" to your family friends peers. It's taken a few generations, but it's finally happened.
I personally never got into the big fat greek wedding syndrome and avoided the ones that were in this vein. FWIW, they used to generally work almost exactly as the movie depicted them too!

My ex and I went a for a more subtle event, as minimalist as we could, and it still cost us about $7 .. but that was more for the Rippon Lea reception(which we both agreed too).

Looking back now.. all I can think of is the stupidity of it.. not because of the break down.. even if the marriage was a going concern, it still seems like such as waste!

A few years later my sis got married and did the registry thing, with about 20 very close family members present, and the party at home thing with about 50 or so guests .... 1/2 catered and 1/2 barby, and it seemed to make so much more sense!

Photos were of and from whoever took them and it was all fun.
I asked her one day a while back... did she regret not having formal photos done .. and her attitude is like mine .. a resounding no!(or as she put it.. Nah!)

I look at all the faded memories of my folks wedding.. I think of how my other sis now places very little importance on the wedding photos, my brother and his wife have never gone back to their weddign photo album.. viewed once or twice in the immediate timeframe after the wedding, but never gone back to again in the last 10 years either.

My ex now has out wedding album, and to be honest, I don't miss them, and remember only reviewing them once since the wedding and that was basically immediately after we got the images from the tog!


I think people place too much emphasis on the importance of wedding photos.. not saying that they aren't important, but they aren't the only important aspect of the relationship .. the marriage itself is more important and the reasons of why you both decided to tie the knot is .. not some catalogue of pictures as seen from someone else's perspective of an event that may not represent the reality of it.

My priority since marriage has been more on the rest of life .. especially kids and capturing those moments in life. Watching them grow and progress. These are images that are important to me.

[ricstew]

That was very nicely written Arthur........a fancy wedding means diddly squat and as we grow older we realise it more and more.....

[camerasnoop]

That was very nicely written Arthur........a fancy wedding means diddly squat and as we grow older we realise it more and more.....

G

Geez! Don't go spreading that around Jan. I still have to eat. More big weddings and more often please.

[ricstew]

Bwahahah I promise I wont tell.........it is something the parties involved will have to work out for themselves

[Analog6]

I do agree with Arthur. If it were me the album would not mean much. One good shot to frame of the couple, and a group shot showing everyone there. For the rest, if the tog can sell 'em to the rest of the wedding party goof for them! I think the huge spend on weddings is wrong and actually devalues the relationship as it is more about face & status than about how much the couple care for each other.

[JohnRA]

Not just your opinion AmPhot .... Mine also.

[kiwi]

Wedding fantasy checklist

Big white dress
Big rich cake
Pro Photos
100 person reception
traditional church service

Just a western ritual.

[JM Tran]

Wedding fantasy checklist

Big white dress
Big rich cake
Pro Photos
100 person reception
traditional church service

Just a western ritual.

you forgot the typical tropical island or European honeymoon that is also synonymous with Westerners

[AutumnCurl]

We got married in 2009 and it cost around $32K mark, we paid for it on our own.
I was 23 husband was 22.
we had 100 guests.
we paid $3300ish for photography and all day was covered and i have about 900 photos - which i am very happy.
my dress was $1700 and my shoes were $1500
Church was $2200
we had all the bells and whistles horse carriage etc...
We paid for all the Bridemaids dresses and suit hire as none of our friend ever have any money lol

We had want we wanted and had a great day, and i would go back and do it all over again

I think its depends on your lifestyle we had been engaged for 5 years and saved up for the wedding and a house.

[stoogest]

$1500 for shoes??!! I hope there was at least a diamond or two hidden in there somewhere

[KeeFy]

We got married in 2009 and it cost around $32K mark, we paid for it on our own.
I was 23 husband was 22.
we had 100 guests.
we paid $3300ish for photography and all day was covered and i have about 900 photos - which i am very happy.
my dress was $1700 and my shoes were $1500
Church was $2200
we had all the bells and whistles horse carriage etc...
We paid for all the Bridemaids dresses and suit hire as none of our friend ever have any money lol

We had want we wanted and had a great day, and i would go back and do it all over again

I think its depends on your lifestyle we had been engaged for 5 years and saved up for the wedding and a house.

$1500 for shoes????? It'd better have some precious metals as well.

My 2 shoes cost $5 + $30, My wife's cost $5 + $50. $5 shoes cause I was posted to ChengDu, China and was working there for 4 months with my wife (then fiance) tagging along prior to the wedding day. Things are just so cheap there! I found an area where they sold wedding dresses + accessories and photographic equipment cheap. Vera Wang replicas for like $600 with top notch quality cloth. The sub quality cloth costs like $200 for the exact same design. My wife was quite unhappy as we got her dresses tailored prior to the overseas asignment for $1500 bucks and it was not not that great in comparison. As for camera accessories, it's cheaper than ebay... considering how cheap ebay was. Sadly due to work commitments we couldn't go for a honeymoon . Flew straight back to China few days after the wedding for more work :/.

As long as i blended in, i got local prices. Let them know you're not local and the prices multiply by 3 fold minimum instantly!

What i feel about weddings is what matters most is that it suits the couple. A church couple i know had their main wedding in Bali, and then wedding dinners in Perth, Singapore and Malaysia. From what i understand they spent close to $60k on everything. As long as they are happy, we should be for them as well

[reaction]

you know the most surprising cost for me was the church. I mean, sure they're here to make a profit (?) but the compulsory donation for the church (which is not closed to public during that time) + compulsory donation for the priest who works at that church (you can't bring your own) is often quite expensive

[JM Tran]

I dont see the big fuss on a pair of $1500 shoes, I have shot Manolo Blahniks that have been more than twice that. Do enough commercial and fashion stuff and $1500 seems trivial.

regarding wedding costs, in hindsight most people would have done something differently or cheaper, but the smart ones are the ones who get it right in the first place.

if people want to spend 37k or 50k or 100k on their wedding, they can do so as long as it makes them feel happy and with memories to boot. More money for people like me to make from them too. Win win for both parties.