How far do you travel to do a wedding?

[LeesaB]

and after that..what do you charge?

[coreypolis]

how far are you talking? if its a drive, I think the IRS allows $0.44 per mile

If its a flight and overnight, they pay all expenses.

[LeesaB]

It's driving..so far the farthest I have been is 45 minutes away...but, I just wondered...what everyone did, just in case I was doing it wrong...

[CyberPet]

Well.... uhm... I often travel to the neighboring town 53 km away. Then I do have a few shoots about 70 km away. But I had one 980 km away last year (they paid for plane fare, overnight stay and food) and this year I have two destination weddings (one once again 980 km away and the other on another continent).

For the shorter trips, I have a set fee for paying for petrol and time as it's neighboring towns and not locally.

[Phil V]

It really depends on whether your location is rural or urban, for some people the nearest city or large town might be a couple of hours away. If that's the case - travel would be part of their lives and that couple of hours would be nothing to them.
I can get loads of places within an hour, but I'd charge beyond the hour, I'd claim for an overnight over 3 hrs, a 4 hr drive home after a 16 hr day (incl the first journey) isn't reasonable.
In the UK the tax allowance is about 40p/mile (roughly twice the US rate- but our fuel is sooo much more expensive).

[LeesaB]

so far these are just 45 minutes...one to the west, one to the east...that is not bad, and we will claim the mileage next year...

tax time...oo joy. This years was good, since we bought so much equipment, we did very well..next year UGH..look out...

[tim]

I travel all the way to the wedding. My packages include 50km, if they go over that they pay $1/km for the entire distance - including the initial 50km.

[mackb]

I flew from Ohio to Philly.....some flights are cheap from a big (or decent size) city...I can fly to Chicago and Philly for about $125.00.........but there is probably pleanty of work within 1 hr of me.....The Columbus Ohio area is 1.8 million people. Id look at your area and determine your area's size compared to how many wedding you want to shoot.

anyway.....I'd charge $.48 per mile plus est hotel and $40 per day food....I feel I should be re-embersed for the cost, but not profit from it.

I can't spell

[tim]

I don't feel that I should make a profit on the travel, but I should be compensated for my travel time - though not at my full shooting rate. An hour to pack, a couple of hours to get to the airport and wait around, the flight, connections, etc. Then again backwards. It takes a bunch of time, and while i'm doing that I can't make a profit from anything else. Just keep that in mind when you set travel fees.

[LeesaB]

Well, the day someone asks me to do a wedding that requires airfare..I will call youall personally!!!

I find that simply amazing...

Although when the girl today said "we want YOU to do our wedding" I felt very proud...

[Tiffany]

I'll travel as far as the couple wants me to travel, anywhere in the world....but I only go 150 miles round trip for free. After 150 miles round trip (which is vaguely an hour one way here in South Dakota with our 75 mph speed limit on the freeway) I quote a basic "per mile round trip" fee of $1 per mile to cover gas, time and lodging, but typically work it out on a case by case basis. For example, I was contacted for a wedding in the Rapid City area recently which is about 780 miles round trip. At my pricing it would have been $660 for travel expenses - so that's making me rethink my pricing. Though I guess that's not TOO bad, I'll probably spend $100-150 on gas (depending on gas prices at the time), hotel will be probably $80-120 per night or more depending on the season and I'd need two nights, that only leaves $200 for time compensation. Guess $1 per mile doesn't seem so bad after all (mind you I've just significantly raised my prices so adding on another $660 to me seems huge!)

If it's more than about a five-six hour drive (which will get me to most of the "big" locations around here, Rapid City, Minneapolis, Omaha, even Kansas City) then I ask for airfare, rental car, and lodging, which I would also figure out and give a custom quote on.

I've never asked for money for food, except I expect to eat at the wedding, because I've always been of the opinion I have to eat anyway.

[entrefoto]

I will travel as far as the client wants me to. Farthest I have done to date is Syracuse, NY from South Bend, IN. about 620 miles or so away. For driving i charge .445 per mile which is set by the IRS. For flying client pays for flight, hotel, etc. I do have a wedding coming up in Naples, FL also for a friend of mine who just moved down there. should be fun.

[LeesaB]

so generally most of us will travel about 45 mnutes to an hour one way..after that we charge/not a profit..a standard milege rate. Air is totally different...in I feel it should all be covered and hotel also...food no..but travel and room yes.

thanks for the great input..you guys are great ;)

[verty]

i travel 2 hours every time i shoot a wedding.
Im 2nd shooter for a guy in Newcastle & im from sydney.
the travel is abit of a b*tch but i want to learn!! weddings in newcastle are more low key than huge sydney weddings so i prerfer them anyway.

Soon ill be 2nd shooter for another guy who is sydney basesd so there wont be much travel with him.

In Dec i have a wedding booked in TASMANIA / HOBART!! thats the most i will have travelled. The couple are paying for my return airfares and im staying with a friend.
:D

so yeah i travel quite abit

[Chris&jess]

We'll travel an hour one way. More than that, we'll consider charging for mileage, and a lot more than that, we'll need to be put up for the night.
Chris