The cake costs more than the wedding tog?

[Ephemeral]

I really don't get it. How is it that some couples can spend more money on a wedding cake than they are prepared to spend on a wedding tog?

I just got an email from someone who enquired about hiring me, through a friend of a friend, who politely said that my services were out of their budget. Fair enough really. However, I know through out mutual friend, that their wedding cake is over £1000 ($2000). They could have almost hired me twice for the cost of that cake.

I mean, the cake gets eaten and that's it. It's gone. Pictures, however, could last a life time.

*sigh*

Maybe I should sell wedding cakes and throw in the wedding photography for free? :D

[th3r0m]

Lots of posts covering this...I put it down to lack of future planning and the need for instant gratification that people are all about nowadays. They aren't thinking about wanting photos from their wedding in 20 years, why should they, its 20 years from now, whereas the cake is only a couple months away.

[liza]

Maybe I should sell wedding cakes and throw in the wedding photography for free? :D

It's certainly been a consideration lately. ;)

[Jim G]

Whoever runs the local wedding cake business must be cheering :p

[jptsr1]

for my wedding neither was worth what i paid. the cake wasn't all that good and we have looked at the pictures maybe twice in 8 years. my guess is that its just one of those things, like tipping. if you stay at a hotel you might give the guy responsible for your bag $10 and the guy you give your car $2. or how about the person teaching your kids third grade class making 40k and the guy who cleans your teeth making 80k? stuff seems to be worth whatever people will pay these days.

J.

[LeesaB]

Think about it, you eat the cake, and then where does it go?

But the pictures last forever?

Very strange.

[jptsr1]

They aren't thinking about wanting photos from their wedding in 20 years, why should they, its 20 years from now, whereas the cake is only a couple months away.

most marriages don't last 20 years. they will probably still have some cake left when they are going through the divorce.

J.

[Yeoer]

It's all about image i guess... Image on the day...

Oh look at that cake... that must have cost a fortune..! People thinking and saying... How many of us could bake and decorate a cake that looks like that? answer very few if any...

Ask the same question about the photographs... How many guest think they can take top quality wedding photo's like a top paid pro... answer... most...!!! you can here it now... who needs all that kit...! I've got a 5MP camera in my phone... you can get great A4 prints off it... its even got it's own flash!!! bet you couldn't tell the difference... :lol:

All the uncle bob stories just back this up...

Maybe the B & G's think the same...!!!

Sounds like i should scrap my plans to buy a new camera body etc and buy the new ICE-Pipematic MK V Turbo DX IS icing gun... (currently only available in white...) and learn how to pipe icing... LMAO

[italianfemmy]

This is quite sad actually. Ecspecially since all the guidelines out there tell you to budget 10-15 percent for your photographer and only 3 percent for your cake.

Looks like that would make sense.

And every single wedding planner book I have and have looked at/read elsewhere places great value with the photographer and says the photographer should be 10-15 percent of your budget. Guess nobody reads those things but me.. or they just plain don't care.

[liza]

And every single wedding planner book I have and have looked at/read elsewhere places great value with the photographer and says the photographer should be 10-15 percent of your budget. Guess nobody reads those things but me.. or they just plain don't care.

Trouble is, a lot of these brides have a budget of 2 grand total. If we're supposed to be only 10 to 15% of that...well...you see what I mean. :(

[italianfemmy]

2 grand total? lol.. then they weren't the ones we are speaking of here that spent 2 grand on the cake! I am trying to think of a 10 thousand dollar wedding budget for my girl and I.. going to florida, doing the beach thing.. but reception places are expensive and then the caterer.. it adds up!

[liza]

Brides in this area just don't spend that much but the proportions are just as distorted.

[shannyD]

my cake was great.. dont get me wrong. but i really wish my wedding pictures would have ben better. i didnt keep one lousy picture from my wedding because the guy was horrible. the family pictures sucked, he used a point and shoot camera. i should have known better but that was three years ago. i didnt know any better. i would have loved to have had a nice slbum or some framed shots in my house from our wedding. but we dont because they were that bad..

[shannyD]

would have rather of had a great photog. instead of a cake that i only had one peice of. and he didnt even get a picture of my cake!

[motogeno]

Don't sweat it - would you really want to work for someone who values cake more than the photographer? There is plenty of work out there, so don't go chasing leads that turn out to be more trouble than they are worth!

[motogeno]

Sorry, posted twice

[P51Mstg]

Don't take it the wrong way guys, but I ejoyed the cake more than anyother part of the wedding. I looked at the PICS once, the XWIFE showed them to everyone who came over to our house for months and then people STOPPED COMING OVER. We got a divorce (took 17 years to do it) and she kept the PICS. More power to her.

HOWVER on a more professional level.......... The spending on the cake is wayyyyyy ttoooooo mucccchhhhhhh.

Mark H

[Grace]

I got lucky, my great aunt made mine! AND it was beautiful and YUMMY! super lucky - know!

[liza]

I got lucky, my great aunt made mine! AND it was beautiful and YUMMY! super lucky - know!

I was a total cheapskate and had my cake made at Kroger's of all places. :lol:

It was good, though.

[strmrdr]

I was a total cheapskate and had my cake made at Kroger's of all places. :lol:

It was good, though.
I was at a wedding a while back and the cake was from walmart and one of the best tasting cakes iv had at a wedding and looked kewl too.

[th3r0m]

most marriages don't last 20 years. they will probably still have some cake left when they are going through the divorce.

J.

Let's try and think happy thoughts :) ....although multiple weddings does create more business ;)

[jjmucker]

It's all about image i guess... Image on the day...

Oh look at that cake... that must have cost a fortune..! People thinking and saying... How many of us could bake and decorate a cake that looks like that? answer very few if any...

Ask the same question about the photographs... How many guest think they can take top quality wedding photo's like a top paid pro... answer... most...!!! you can here it now... who needs all that kit...! I've got a 5MP camera in my phone... you can get great A4 prints off it... its even got it's own flash!!! bet you couldn't tell the difference... :lol:

All the uncle bob stories just back this up...

Maybe the B & G's think the same...!!!

Sounds like i should scrap my plans to buy a new camera body etc and buy the new ICE-Pipematic MK V Turbo DX IS icing gun... (currently only available in white...) and learn how to pipe icing... LMAO



i think you nailed it on the head mate.

lol @ the buying an icing gun too. :D

maybe the 1Ds mark IIII should come with a piping nozzle. :rolleyes:

[liza]

I think a lot of it boils down to the fact that we're becoming a disposable society. People used to pay more for quality things because they knew they would stand the test of time. Now they just toss whatever it is and go out to get a new one. Things just don't endure as they once did, and that includes marriages.

[motogeno]

I think a lot of it boils down to the fact that we're becoming a disposable society. People used to pay more for quality things because they knew they would stand the test of time. Now they just toss whatever it is and go out to get a new one. Things just don't endure as they once did, and that includes marriages.
I doubt that Dennis Reggie finds that to be true, as he's sure finding people willing to pay $30,000 for his services at their wedding.......this is only one person who obviously values her cake more than her photography. Your not going to find me chasing after anyone who feels this way, and I'm not in short supply of people in my area who feel differently(although not $30,000 differently).

[restech]

I think you should make the cake picture to be 60% of total pics.
I think you got hired to take pic of the cake.

[RobKirkwood]

Just wondering if they said you were 'out' of their budget, or 'above' their budget? 'Out' could mean too low.

Friends of our son and daughter-in-law spent 2,500 GBP (thats 5k US) on wedding photography because they were absolutely convinced it was impossible to get classy wedding photographs for anything less than that.

We're hoping to track down some of these people ourselves! :)

Rob

[Phil V]

I'm left wondering what kind of service you provide for less than £500? Maybe you should be upping your prices and heading for clients that value the service. Don't worry about the ones that got away.

Or it could be as Rob suspects, and they were looking for a £2000 photographer rather than a £500 one.

[kbyrd8455]

Most people dont think a Photographer should be expensive at all. They dont understand what you have to do or deal with to get a great picture. I bet you if you ask some one what do a wedding photographer do at a wedding. They'll say just walk around and snap shots. They dont understand the technical part of it and feel it should not that much money to take quality pictures.A cake they can see before it's baked (sample). So people are willing to pay more because they know what they are gettting. I bet it there was a way that you can pull out some pictures of the bride and groom and be like this is what your pictures look like. They will pay more money because they can see the results up front. Before they pay you.

[sblais]

To each their own, I say.

You want to have a more expensive cake, fine. Pay my fee and I'll even take a photo of it! Try to bargain and you can start looking somewhere else.

[GertS]

I bet you if you ask some one what do a wedding photographer do at a wedding. They'll say just walk around and snap shots.

Your message reminded me to another message in a German photo forum. One wrote that he will become a wedding photographer for following 3 reasons:
- good food available
- well paid
- he takes some snap shots

PS: there was only laughter after his message.

[cosworth]

Parents in North America are shirking the wedding costs of their children. Rightly so? I don't want to get in on that. but it's true that more people (children) are paying for their wedding now as opposed to dad taking 40 grand out of the bank.

%10-15 equates to a $20,000 wedding for most of the shooters here.