Destination wedding pricing

I received a call from the friend of a former client today who loved my work and was wondering if I did destination weddings as well. I was caught somewhat flat-footed because I actually haven't thought about doing destination weddings and so obviously don't have pricing in place.

For those who do these (this one is a 5-day trip to Jamaica), what should I be thinking about when structuring my fee ?

My current disposition is to charge my normal fee + airfare + hotel + food + expenses. But I suppose my wedding fee is generally so low that the extra hassle and risk of DWs isn't really accounted for.

Thoughts ?

Look into all the fees and paperwork you will need to pay/complete to work in another country.

I charge for days I am away from the office, though at a smaller rate. Those are days you cannot book any other work.

I would think a big factor would be how much you want to go to Jamaica. Personally, I would jump at the opportunity.

I thin you are on the right track with normal fee + all expenses but you may also want to consider the lost opportunity cost of being away for the week. Would you miss out on other paying jobs during the 5 days you are gone?

It depends on the relationship... I had a friend ask me to shoot a Costa Rica wedding, and I did it for travel costs. I had a client I didn't know ask me to shoot her Riviera Maya wedding, and I did it for travel + normal wedding cost. If she had turned my quote down, I wouldn't have cared.

I don't think I would charge the client for food costs, unless its the day-of.

Shoot cost, visa costs, local licenses costs (if required), all travel costs (including travel insurance and extra baggage if required), accommodation costs and sustenance costs should be the minimum. You are also going to want to check if you need a carnet for your equipment (another cost).

You will also want to make sure your liability and equipment insurance is valid for the trip too.

Whether or not you charge a set rate for the additional days would be up to you and what benefit the wedding would be to you. Sometimes you can extend the trip into a holiday which is always nice.

Destination weddings can be great but they can also be a huge time drain. The one thing you don't want to do is have it not be worth your while. I travelled over 80,000 kms last wedding season (or thereabouts) all up and lost a lot of time to travel and recovery. I'm much more picky now about when and where I'll go.

Another thing worth noting, and Thomas kind of hit on it, is you need to check with the resort to see if they allow outside photographers, or if there is a penalty for using one. I showed up to a wedding in Mexico a while back only to find out that the resort charged $500... which was the first and last time I will ever pay that.

Trent Gillespie wrote in post #16392993
Another thing worth noting, and Thomas kind of hit on it, is you need to check with the resort to see if they allow outside photographers, or if there is a penalty for using one. I showed up to a wedding in Mexico a while back only to find out that the resort charged $500... which was the first and last time I will ever pay that.

Also, I know in Cabo, Mexico there is a Cartel of sorts of local photographers that get photographers arrested for shooting weddings locally. If you go to a dozen Mexican consulates, you may get a dozen answers on what paperwork you need to shoot locally. I know I got 3 different answers in two calls and one visit to the Mexican Consul in Houston.

I flat our refuse all weddings in Mexico for this reason. Someone else can take the risk. A wedding commission isn't worth the hassle and danger.

Hey Trent--why wouldn't the couple have paid for that ?

The bride who contacted me has mentioned that she is fully aware of the penalty--it's $250 in this case. I think if there was any ambiguity about who was going to pay this fee, my conversation with her would probably be just about over !

Trent Gillespie wrote in post #16392993
Another thing worth noting, and Thomas kind of hit on it, is you need to check with the resort to see if they allow outside photographers, or if there is a penalty for using one. I showed up to a wedding in Mexico a while back only to find out that the resort charged $500... which was the first and last time I will ever pay that.

Sheisse--I don't know how to do the multi quote thing even after 5 years on POTN !

@Blaster6: Personally I'm not terribly interested in going to Jamaica at this time. My girlfriend and I have been joking about going to a resort (neither of us have ever gone to one, and we considered going to one for sociological reasons ie. with a kind of ironic distance). The wedding takes place in a very unbusy portion of my season (april) so I can afford to book the week off without worry.

@Thomas: thanks. Yeah, I think about the paperwork and the hassle and the risk and my gut tells me it's not really worth it for me. I'll definitely do the informational legwork on this one, though, if only to really acquaint myself with what is involved.

@Peter: Thanks a lot. Are you able to fully list out your expenses for the couple or do you just give them a fee that you know compensates you well, knowing approximately what those fees will be ?

I know Canada wouldn't let Jeremy Cowart in last week with his gear. Now imagine if that happened with a less civilized country.

I do multiple quotes by opening multiple tabs and copying and pasting.

Christopher Steven b wrote in post #16398806
@Peter: Thanks a lot. Are you able to fully list out your expenses for the couple or do you just give them a fee that you know compensates you well, knowing approximately what those fees will be ?

My contract covers what is required to be paid for and what isn't. I don't list those prices (things like flights etc) as the they are variable and beyond my control.

I had a wedding which I was going to be doing a few years back in Kenya. At the time of the enquiry the rough costs of a flight were x. By the time the couple got around to being at the point of finalising things and being ready to pay for them the flights had gone up in price. They wanted me to wear that cost increase. The answer was a straightforward "No". Costs which are beyond my reasonable control I never give a definite figure for. They are what they are and the client has to cover them.

Cost the wedding package
Cost for each day away (my time) if applicable
Expenses as they occur.

Anything that can be paid for upfront (like flights) is done so and the clients are invoiced immediately for these (often before I book them).

Incidental costs the only costs billed for after the wedding. No photos are handed over without full payment of all invoices.

I think most photogs meet in the middle. A nice moderate/high package but basically you're not openly stinging them for full travel expenses. We are addicted to travel so we try to work with people.

Christopher Steven b wrote in post #16398776
Hey Trent--why wouldn't the couple have paid for that ?

The bride who contacted me has mentioned that she is fully aware of the penalty--it's $250 in this case. I think if there was any ambiguity about who was going to pay this fee, my conversation with her would probably be just about over !

It ended up working itself out to about a 50/50 split. She was probably more on the hook for having should have known that, but if I would have done a bit more research, I would have discovered it too. Moving forward I am fully aware of those types of penalties and require that brides pay them 100%.

rondiggity wrote in post #16401311
I think most photogs meet in the middle. A nice moderate/high package but basically you're not openly stinging them for full travel expenses. We are addicted to travel so we try to work with people.

I'm addicted to travel as well, but I would rather book a real wedding and use the money to travel on my own terms rather than discount so I can go with someone I don't know on their vacation while I work the entire time.

rondiggity wrote in post #16401311
I think most photogs meet in the middle. A nice moderate/high package but basically you're not openly stinging them for full travel expenses. We are addicted to travel so we try to work with people.

It isn't stinging people to charge them the real costs of doing the job.