This is definitely not the first time this topic has come up on my page, but somehow, making this a Wednesday Wisdom topic makes it more “official”.

For the sake of time and focus, I wasn’t able to give a more diverse list of examples of where the costs don’t scale equally. But hey, I hope this perspective can go beyond this page:

For couples, I hope this gives you a better perspective as you continue to make decisions towards your wedding day.

For my fellow wedding professionals, I hope this helps to give you the words to educate your audience and clients alike.

With couples downsizing their guest lists and the scale of their productions, I think it’s important to state something that has been a source of frustration for different kinds of vendors:

🗣 Not all wedding costs scale down the same way 

For example, you might be downsizing from 250 guests to 50 guests, which might allow you to pay for 20% of the meals, tablescapes, stationery, and other items. 

However, the cost of experience-providing vendors, like planners, videographers, designers and photographers, doesn’t scale down the same way. Most of the time and behind-the-scenes work decreases slightly (if any at all) when you scale down your wedding. 

Many couples are getting sticker shock when they see the price for microweddings, and I suspect that it’s because they expect the same kind of cost difference for more “numbers-based” expenses. 👀

Believe it or not: many of the tasks – before, during and after the wedding – are built-in regardless of how many guests you have. Photographers and videographers still have to pre-plan, shoot and post-process regardless of your guest count. Coverage doesn’t even affect many standard costs for servicing a wedding.

At the end of the day, your planners help you navigate the wave of regulations during COVID and your photo and video pros help you save this super important time in your life. Don’t let the pandemic distract you from that perspective. Invest accordingly

P.S. –
After I posted these thoughts on Instagram, the post received an overwhelming response from the wedding community. Tens of people saved the post and it was shared over 100 times. Regardless of your perception of the scale of those numbers, if your post is shared 100+ times, it means you hit a nerve (in a good way).

I hope this post offers some more wisdom for brides and it encourages fellow vendors that stumble upon it with the thought that they are not alone. We’re all navigating this pandemic and we can get through it together!

As we narrate together,
– Ryan