How To Avoid ‘Wedding Markup’ When Planning Your Big Day

How To Avoid ‘Wedding Markup’ When Planning Your Big Day

If you’ve ever planned a wedding, you’ve probably heard that using the word “wedding” can be costly. In this video, a wedding videographer explains why vendors charge more for the same services on your big day. They also offer some insight on how to get around it.

It’s called wedding markup. In the video, for example, subjects get two quotes from the same venue, one for a “family gathering” and the other specifically for a wedding. The cost is $15,000 versus $17,000. Wedding markup is nothing new, but the video points to a few reasons why it exists. For one, people are unfamiliar with the market, so they’re more willing to pay higher prices. There’s also “once in a lifetime” mentality: It’s a big day, so it’s worth the splurge.

On the flip side, wedding customers are also usually more demanding and expect more out of vendors, so this is reflected in the cost, too. Here’s what they have to say about it:

The upshot of this is that the emotional weight of weddings usually means more work for vendors. And thus, higher prices. And the most demanding clients are the ones that set the prices for everyone. So the best thing you can do to avoid being swindled is to demand a price range before hearing a sales pitch. We vendors might hate it but it’s the fair thing to do.

This way, before assuming your demands, vendors give you an idea of what you can expect. In short, they suggest asking for a little transparency. For more on this topic, check out the full video.

Why are weddings so damn expensive? [Vox (YouTube)]


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