Weddings Are Not Snack Foods

Weddings Are Not Snack Foods
by Shayna Walker

Intentional undercutting is a bane on an industry where quality is critical. You can look for the cheapest possible source of tortilla chips at a mega-store because you know that regardless of price, two bags of the identical brand of snack food will taste the same.
Weddings aren’t tortilla chips. Between geographic markets, there are definitely variations in pricing that result from differences in cost of living and overall affluence. Within a market there are starting points in each vendor category that are established based on experience level, time in business and product quality. These are natural variances and are healthy for any market.

However, if you are presumably comparing apples to apples, there should not be ridiculously dramatic differences in rates, and where there are, someone is losing (be it the client, the wedding pro or both).

Do Not Undervalue Yourself Either
But it’s not okay to so seriously undervalue yourself or your client that you are charging pennies on the hour either. Sure, you may work a lot, but for what? And how long will you last at rates that don’t produce any kind of measurable profit?

It’s appealing to claim that you have booked 40 weddings in a year – but how appealing is it to work 40 weddings in a year and make only a handful of cash (or maybe even lose money) because your prices are impossibly low?

I’m So Proud! They Chose Me Because I’m Cheap!
And how fulfilling is it to be chosen by clients based on your cheap prices rather than your incredible quality of service?

You won’t last long in any industry if you undervalue yourself and teach your consumer base to do the same. Establish fair pricing that rewards your standards and reject the temptation to undercut.

Can you do it? If your prices are intentionally low right night to help you boost your sales, can you revisit your value and re-educate your consumer? Tell us in the comments section of this blog post!

Shayna Walker owns Williamsburg Wedding Design.