How far to travel???

[Matt Brady]

I was wondering...... How far from home base do you guys regularly travel to shoot weddings?

Do you get the client to pay the fuel cost if its over a certain distance? Or how about accommodation?

If its a job was over 200 miles away would you travel down on the day, and come back the same day?

Then there is the abroad location shoots: how do you deal with them?

[Chris Harding]

Hi Matt

My working area is basically 60km South and North of where I am (that's under 40 miles to you) ..I include those costs in my package ....I will go up to maybe 60 miles (100km) but that costs them extra but I would drive back afterwards.

I also do weddings in our South West which is 250kms from home (I guess still under your 200mile limit) and with those the bride pays for both travel costs and overnight accommodation!! There is no way I want to leave a venue at 10:30pm and still have a 2.5 hour drive home so I sleep over and take a slow drive back in the morning ..I treat these ones as a sorta mini weekend break and take the wife too so we will spend the Sunday being tourists and then drive home.

Chris

[Dave Partington]

50-60 miles radius is my normal operating area. Up to 100 miles is Ok if it's a late start and/or early finish, but if it's a full day I'd charge for accommodation or decline the job. It's not worth risking driving tired. I've done it once and it was not a very pleasant experience.

In terms of shooting abroad, unless you know it's going to be really awesome for the portfolio and it happens to coincide with your holidays to the same destination then travel and accommodation need to be covered. In addition, you need to check on insurance for working abroad (not just theft, but also public liability etc), if any work permits are required and/or any customs problems for gear you are taking/bringing back.

[Roger Gunkel]

My distance would be more down to time than mileage, with up to 90 minutes being a probable limit. Over that, I would ask for the additional cost of cheap overnight accommodation and a meal plus a small additional fuel cost, relative to real fuel cost. Fo much longer distances involving perhaps several hundred miles, I would expect a return air ticket and accommodation and food in addition to my normal fee.

I have in the past filmed several weddings where the couple got a better deal by flying and accommodating me, than they would have by booking someone locally.

Roger

[Nigel Barker]

We will travel anywhere but like to have a balance between small very local weddings (no more than 30-45 minutes drive) & further away. I now have a pretty low threshold for booking overnight accommodation as a couple of times driving back late I found myself nodding off at the wheel & that is a very scary experience. Any further than about 60-90 minutes drive then I will book a hotel at least for the night before the event if not the night after too. Prices quoted get adjusted accordingly but I don't explicitly call out travel & accommodation as separate items.

I love occasionally going down to London & doing a big wedding & getting paid accordingly but wouldn't want to do it every week.

[Steve Bleasdale]

Matty this one was filmed in Marbella last year, I charged them £1495, they paid all inclusive for me at the same resort £795 for 5 nights, so food and drink all in. They paid for flights from Liverpool at £190 return. I hired a car which was only £70 so I paid for that. I have three in Ibiza next year and I have charged them £1495 plus accommodation and flights, none are all inclusive so I will pay for chicken and chips for three nights at each of them. They are harder than our usual weddings on your own in 80 degree heat, you will have to put up with there local photo guys attached to the hotel?? I will hire a car and pay for the juice.

Daniel + Katy on Vimeo

[Danny O'Neill]

What you do is more of a business decision. Do your prices include the cost of travel and accommodation? If not then you have your answer.

Our prices include travel upto 90 miles from home. Any weddings past that get a different price list which includes additional fuel and accommodation.

Abroard weddings are the same, we charge our basic package plus flights, car, food and a contingency. We do them so rarely that we dont do what the regulars do and add on more for the extra days you are out. We can still edit and work while away so its not so bad.

[Matt Brady]

Nice vid Steve.

Do you find you have to travel more, the higher price bracket you service?

[Robert Benda]

For us, once it's more than an hour, door-to-door, we'll charge some mileage, though not too much. Really the issue becomes early morning or late night. For instance, we were taken to lake resorts three times this summer, about a two, 2.5 hour drive. That meant being there first thing in the morning and filming for 10 hours was unreasonable when you add in the drive, so we added a hotel. Same goes if we'll be there after 9pm or so.

At a wedding later this year, it's 240 miles for us, so they got us a hotel for both Friday and Saturday, and pay mileage.

[Steve Bleasdale]

Originally Posted by Matt Brady

Nice vid Steve.

Do you find you have to travel more, the higher price bracket you service?

Not really.. But I did a film in York the other week and charged them mileage at £1.00 per mile but it was still the £1495 package...I filmed Formby Hall and met the top package Liverpool clients but then did Crown Plaza and was cheaper package, swings and roundabouts but Liverpool is cheap cheap cheap, just took orders at Sheffield Leeds and York again for 2014 and they where top package so maybe your right further you go better prices..