Do My Wedding Packages Make Sense?

[Roger Gunkel]

I have a clause in my contract which covers late payment situations. I expect final payment on completion of the work, which means when I tell them it has been completed, not when they want me to deliver it. They can delay delivery, but not payment. Any delay in payment, means invoking the late payment clause of 1% per week from the date of completion. In Chris's case, that percentage would have been adding up for many months to the stage where it is worth taking legal action.

In practice, I have only had to use the threat of the clause (by a gentle reminder) on a couple of occasions. One of those a couple of months back when they sold me they had unexpected vets bills for a sick puppy and would not be able to pay me for a while. I pointed out that I was not in a position to make them a loan for their puppy, which was effectively what they were suggesting. In addition, they were contractually obliged to pay the additional late payment fee which ammounted to 40.00 per month, steadily incrementing for each week they didn't pay, plus any legal fees incurred. Within 2 days, they phoned me back to say that a family member would lend them the money.

Sometimes people conveniently forget their obligations and often haven't even read their contract details until you remind them. They also forget that it is your income that they are messing with, not some faceless corporate entity and a gentle reminder with a legal stick as backup is usually sufficient.

Roger

[Chris Harding]

I used to split my cost into 3 parts Roger. 1/3rd on booking, 1/3rd 2 weeks before the wedding and 1/3rd on completion but after a few brides messed me around (apart from my 24 month lady) I changed to 1/3rd on booking and the balance 2 weeks before the wedding. I have had too many brides overspend on the wedding and honeymoon and come back flat broke and ruin my carefully planned cash flow!

[Kyle Root]

Yeah, we've had some people not pay, or have had trouble getting payment after the wedding.

Now, it's $500 to book and the balance due 30 days prior to the wedding... and I'm contemplating moving it to 45 or 60 days prior for 2017.

I'm not a bill collector and the last thing I want to be doing is chasing people for money, and also avoiding the "we are low on budget and need to reduce our package for video" or "We are out of money and can't afford video" kind of thing.

Make the florist or caterer deal with that stuff. lol

[Noa Put]

Where I live you can ask a deposit but no client will ever pay the full amount 1 to 2 months before the wedding so lucky you :) final payment is mainly when all is ready to be delivered. The reasoning behind not wanting to pay the full amount could be that what if the videographer goes bankrupt or gets into a accident, will the couple ever see their money back if no film is delivered? Or what if there is no wedding, couples will accept loosing their deposit but not the risk of loosing the full amount paid.
I did not have any problems with getting payed the past years however, the only strict rule I apply is that as long as there is no final payment there will no video be send to the couple.

[Roger Gunkel]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Where I live you can ask a deposit but no client will ever pay the full amount 1 to 2 months before the wedding so lucky you :) final payment is mainly when all is ready to be delivered. The reasoning behind not wanting to pay the full amount could be that what if the videographer goes bankrupt or gets into a accident, will the couple ever see their money back if no film is delivered? Or what if there is no wedding, couples will accept loosing their deposit but not the risk of loosing the full amount paid.
I did not have any problems with getting payed the past years however, the only strict rule I apply is that as long as there is no final payment there will no video be send to the couple.

Same here Noa, I never let any video out of my hands until it is paid for.

Roger

[Arthur Gannis]

Another good reason why I shoot solo is that "affordable low price" of my package makes it very easy for the client to pay it all before the event, like who doesn't have $500 dollars ( that last 1/3rd payment) a few weeks before the event ? as opposed to a far more expensive multi shooter multi cam shoot that would potentially leave the balance up there in the four figure zone. Harder to collect that before or AFTER the event, I say.

[Chris Harding]

I guess people also aim for a higher package price simply due to the number of weddings available. In some cases based on a workable 9 month season you could have situations where you only have 36 Saturday weddings so you might figure "Let's rather make $5000 per wedding with a team, rather than $1500 per wedding solo" as ones opportunities are limited. Also traditionally brides that have a higher end wedding are more likely to choose a Saturday as their special day whilst the budget bride is quite happy with a Friday, Sunday or even a week day wedding . So shooting multi camera with multi operators you have to charge a bit more as you are unlikely to get the week day/off day weddings.

When it comes to the final costing I wonder if the guy that has two assistants and a massive pile of gear actually puts more money in his pocket than the solo shooter?

[Steve Burkett]

However we wish to justify our Business choices, the fact is there is a market for solo shooters as there is for multi shooters. Some clients will prefer you to have a team of 2 or 3 to film their Wedding and it's not up to us to argue otherwise.

Given that most of us here shoot solo, arguing it's benefits is like preaching to the choir. If I couldn't see the benefits of filming a Wedding as a solo operator, I wouldn't be doing it. However there are clear advantages for filming with a 2nd or 3rd person. Some Weddings just can't be fully covered to a clients satisfaction with a single person, no matter how much we may think otherwise.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Arthur Gannis

Another good reason why I shoot solo is that "affordable low price" of my package makes it very easy for the client to pay it all before the event, like who doesn't have $500 dollars ( that last 1/3rd payment) a few weeks before the event ? as opposed to a far more expensive multi shooter multi cam shoot that would potentially leave the balance up there in the four figure zone. Harder to collect that before or AFTER the event, I say.

I have the opposite experience, big budget clients always have payed without a discussion, it's the low budget ones that sometimes have been causing problems, either with not paying or with complaining afterwards. Ever since I raised my price the complaints or payment issues disappeared.

[Steven Davis]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

All my clients pick my most expensive package, but that could be because I only have one full option package :)

I'm strongly debating on going to one package (day of) after next year. I'm just a little apprehensive since our American culture is all about choice.

[Steven Davis]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

All my clients pick my most expensive package, but that could be because I only have one full option package :)

Originally Posted by Kyle Root

Yeah, we've had some people not pay, or have had trouble getting payment after the wedding.

Now, it's $500 to book and the balance due 30 days prior to the wedding... and I'm contemplating moving it to 45 or 60 days prior for 2017.

I'm not a bill collector and the last thing I want to be doing is chasing people for money, and also avoiding the "we are low on budget and need to reduce our package for video" or "We are out of money and can't afford video" kind of thing.

Make the florist or caterer deal with that stuff. lol

I do 30 days in advance. It's rare I have anyone complain about it. My response when I'm asked why is, so I can concentrate on finalizing the edit. And since I've never failed to deliver, 30 days in advance gives me the mental latitude.

[Chris Harding]

The day we switched from "Booking Deposit, Payment a Month Before and Balance on Delivery" to "Booking Deposit and Balance two weeks before the Wedding", all our non-payment problems vanished and not one bride complained about the new terms. That was years ago and still no complaints. Most others vendors want payment up front any way.

I visited my mate yesterday who is a photographer and he did a wedding in November ...despite his terms (same as mine) the bride didn't pay and came up with various options "I'll pay you when you do Bridal prep" ..he felt sorry for her so relented (and didn't get paid) ..he did the ceremony and on arrival at the reception found the DJ and wedding decor people packing up to go. They hadn't be paid either! Despite her final promise of "I'll pay you when I come down to the reception" she didn't so he also packed up and left. She has been bugging him for her photos ever since but still has not paid him the balance!!

That should convince everyone doing weddings to get paid before you start!!

[Arthur Gannis]

There are many, in fact way too many instances where the bride promises to pay on the day of BUT there are too many variables/excuses/reasons/delays into that payment not being delivered. I can mention one instance, and this is fairly common that I am sure most will agree, is a time way back when the final payment was supposed to be the week before the wedding at the very latest and the bride had too many things to pay that week as usual, perfectly understandable, promised the payment on the end of the wedding day. Time comes, she did not pay. She had to wait for HER guest cheques to clear BEFORE she can pay me as all her guests didn't put cash in their envelopes. She did, however , leave me with a cheque saying that she will call me AFTER HER HONEYMOON and let me know when to deposit it. Seemed her honeymoon lasted a full 2 months.

[D.R. Gates]

The only reason someone should get paid after the wedding would be maybe somebody who is just starting out and is a bit more of a risk for the couple. Once you become established, it doesn't make sense.

When I did weddings in Texas in the mid-nineties, I had a couple pay the remaining balance TWO YEARS after their wedding. I kid you not. I half-expected them to get divorced before I saw my money.

[Noa Put]

The only reason someone should get paid after the wedding would be maybe somebody who is just starting out and is a bit more of a risk for the couple. Once you become established, it doesn't make sense.

Even if you are established you can go out of business leaving the couple with no film and no money. I would also not fully pay for a service that has not even been started, probably it's a culture thing but deposits are considered normal over here, full payment before the wedding not.