Why Is It SOOOO “Expensive”?

Boldly Going Where Few Have Gone

First, we want to start by saying that we are in no form or fashion trying to disrespect anyone here. We respect every person’s budget and what they want to spend on any service. The following blog post can be related to any vendor for any service. With that being said, let’s jump into this touchy topic!

I belong to a few groups on social media that cater to parties & weddings. Many times, people will say, “how much for DJ/Photography/Videography/etc. services?! That’s insane! Why is it so expensive?!” Well, we are about to break it down for you into five different sections on why these prices aren’t as “expensive” as you may think.

Uncle Sam Wants His Cut!

Well first, the vendor as a business doesn’t receive a large portion of that money. Uncle Sam automatically takes 33% of that amount including “self-employment tax”. So just for example, if you pay one of your vendors $1,000, they really only going to get 2/3 of it to start. This doesn’t include the cost of overhead expenses, employee expenses, or any other expenses that come with running a business.

Equipment Cost

Secondly, imagine how much money it took to invest in the vendors equipment? For example, us a DJ company have invested just over $10K in each of our equipment rigs. For photographers, cameras can cost $1,300+ easily. Same goes for videography. The software needed to edit the footage/images doesn’t come cheap either.

Amount of Time Spent

Third, most vendors don’t just work with you for one day. Think about all of the time spent preparing for your big day. Countless hours go into making a playlist, rehearsing what to say, meeting with you to see the venue, travel time, setting up, tearing down, editing footage, etc. All of this time adds up. Just because you see the vendor for that one day doesn’t mean they’re not working hard behind the scenes at home preparing for your event.

Training

Fourth, many vendors spend years training and honing their craft. We all know schooling isn’t cheap! Even if the vendor didn’t get a formal education in their craft, there’s a good chance that they spent countless months, possibly even years to get to the point that they’re at now. Whether it be by interning for free, shadowing someone, or just performing the service for free in exchange for experience, they’ve spent a good amount of time doing things for free or extremely cheap. You wouldn’t expect to get paid the same amount at your job that you did 5 years ago, right? Vendors are no different. Remember that this is their job as much as it is their passion. Like any passion, people put an unthinkable amount of time and effort into their craft to perfect it.

“You Get What You Pay For”

Fifth and final reason. The saying holds true – “you get what you pay for”. If you want the benefit of working with a professional, you’re going to pay a bit extra. If you don’t mind having a DJ show up with wires hanging everywhere, a less than mediocre sound system, a disengaged/lethargic MC, and a wired microphone that works when it wants to, more power to ya! Same goes for photography. You’re going to want a photographer/videographer who does a stellar job. Imagine if you got your pictures back and they were extremely dark, grainy, or even blurry. You’d be very upset. 9/10 times, this is what happens when you opt to go for the vendor who is charging $300 for their services rather than going with a vendor who has invested everything they have into their business/craft.

Conclusion

In closing, know that you will spend a bit extra for quality and dedication. Remember that you only get to celebrate the special day once and there are no do-overs. People who take their business serious and always aim for customer satisfaction may be a tad pricier, but usually they are worth it! After all, you wouldn’t expect to get a Mercedes Benz with a Kia budget, right? Most small business vendors are willing to work with you either way, just ask. What’s the worst that could happen?

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

-The 3ME Team