Vendor Pricing Rant (specifically DOCs)

I felt that way with venues although, I have never heard of a venue that required a DOC. Ugh, hope you find someone. If you are looking for inexpensive you probably might want to check out craigslist. DOC can be pretty price 1K and up.

I think they don't list their prices because they change it depending on the season and if they are traveling far. I would take it as an opportunity to negotiate. Or I'd ask one of your other vendors for a referral.

My venue comes with one, thank god.

pricing is a competitive thing. all the photographers i emailed, none of them had their prices on their sites. goes up and down according to season, also every year they raise prices.

I guess I never noticed any people saying prices vary depending on the season except for venues. Maybe that's because I'm looking in southern California and with that weather wedding season is pretty much year round.

I've asked some vendors already for referrals but the ones they refer me to are all above $1k. Probably because the vendors I've asked are already pretty pricey (the vendors we're putting most of our budget toward). I'm trying to stay between $500 and $900 if possible.

Thanks for the suggestion about Craigslist, it looks like there are a few on there that are just trying to get their business started and are charging a lot less. But I'm hesitant to go with someone just starting, and maybe this is better for a separate post, but how do I trust someone if they don't have much experience yet?

I just typed up a blanket "My wedding is on x date and I need x. Please advise of a quote" that I copied & pasted and emailed 5-10 vendors. It really didn't take that long. Most vendors got back to me within a day.

Make sure you make a "wedding email" though. The volume of junk mail I get in mine is kind of crazy. It's not a huge deal though since I'm more of less dumping it after the wedding and it is not clogging up my "real" email.

I second what Stellar said, make a message that you can copy and paste to each vendor you're interested in, and hit send.

They want to keep their prices under wraps because of their competitors. It probably can also hinder them from even getting interest from people.

Also, a lot of the times the packages can be customized (the price can actually go down this way if you eliminate things you know you won't need), so they don't want there to be a lot of sticker shocks. That scares people away at times.

Its annoying and its deceptive. It's called "differential pricing" and its a way for them to charge one fee for one person, and a different fee for another.

I hate it. It's really annoying and difficult to try and find vendors when they don't even give you an idea of their costs.

Caterers were what finally got to me - what's the point of listing out full menus without pricing it? I work full-time with a wonky schedule, I don't have the time to make an appointment for a tasting just to find out how much it'll cost. The whole thing just made me give up and decide I'd rather go with restaurant catering. They're upfront with their costs, at least!

Happy, I was a bride once, so I understand your frustration. However, since I'm a vendor and it's my business and livelihood, let me explain. I do NOT change my prices though they are not publicly listed. The reason is that price points can vary from vendor to vendor even when it's the same basic "package" provided. However, often brides make decisions based not on the vendor, but on their price. I want to make sure that the client and I both "click" before any contract comes into play. After all, it's a singular event and you should certainly trust (& hopefully really like) the person you choose to entrust with your wedding. If prices are readily available, then it's likely you will not even give the vendor that chance if you don't see the value in what we offer. I hope that makes a bit more sense to you now. I'm sure you will find someone who meets your needs. Don't give up hope. If it doesn't have to be a professional, consider a friend who you trust with all the details!

Magical Moments-- I never, ever see a bride post about how she is so glad that a vendor didn't have their pricing information posted, yet threads like this one pop up every few weeks. Regardless of how a vendor prices their services, its a sales tactic that primarily benefits the vendor.

I am actually using a friend that is very good at coordinating and planning parties. I will just give her a card with something in it.

@Magical Moments, the only problem I have with your response is although it may make sense to a vendor for a client to choose you solely based on your price, people just can't afford to waste time these days. There's no point in getting wrapped up in a particular vendor, and then you come to find out you can't afford their services. Price is always going to be a factor.. and in a lot of cases, it's usually the BIGGEST factor.

Other than that, I appreciate a vendor's perspective when I could only speculate myself.

I'm going to be blunt. I have a budget. I need to stick to that budget. So yes, I'm going to pass over vendors due to price. Offer all the value you want, if I cannot afford the price I cannot afford it. Value doesn't add extra money to my bank account to spend, after all.

@Magical Moments, I may not be the clientele that most vendors are looking for because staying within my fairly tight budget is my main priority, but I would generally not contact vendors that don't list their pricing. Occasionally I would and they still wouldn't be upfront about it and I felt it was because they wanted to 'suck me in' before I knew I couldn't afford it. This happened with a DJ company, but when I told them what his competitor was offering us he told us we were "playing roulette with our wedding". Considering the DJ we chose has been #1 in the area for a long time and a 'preferred vendor' for our venue I really didn't feel that was the case. He may not be the trendiest option but I don't need a lot of flashing lights and have been happy with his service so far!

@Brianna-- I've made it a point to try to stick to vendors who at least have *some* pricing info listed *somewhere*. Not all necessarily on their website, but for instance, my DJ had her company's starting prices listed in NY Magazine (rater than just putting "Pricing Available Upon Request).

And guess what-- I haven't been going with *just* the cheapest person! There is a limited amount of money for each category, and I am willing to spend up to that amount, but I can't spend more just b/c I like one vendor a lot more than another (then we'd all have David Tutera planning our weddings!) I understand you get what you pay for, and that people who are worth more cost more. I think its a little narrow-sighted (and false) to assume that all brides and grooms will just choose the cheapest option that they come across.

And please don't hate me, Buffee-- you're one of my favorite ladies on the boards and obviously I have a chip on my shoulder about this topic! I hope you realize this not about you personally and how you do business, but I do wish more vendors would be open about pricing.

@ Magical Moments I'm going to have to agree with the other ladies here! I once fell in COMPLETE love with a venue and when I inquired about pricing they wouldn't release anything until I met wtih them and toured the space. FH and I finally did that, and a 3 hour tour later it was almost $200 p/p. Wayyyy over our budget and a waste of 3 hours! I would LOVE for vendors to have their prices listed right then and there. It would make life so much easier.

@Barbara Yeah, I just want it to be accessible. Not have to email a bunch of different people that won't give you the price until you meet with them or tour their facility. And it is more value, than necessarily cheapest, but like you said doesn't have a whole lot to do with necessarily liking them.

We toured a LOT of venues and ultimately went with the one that wasn't necessarily the cheapest, but was very upfront about pricing/what they provided. We didn't necessarily "click" with the DOC (his response time takes forever) but they provided china, linens, food, etc all in one price making it ultimately the cheapest. Anywhere else we would have had to spend a lot more on rentals and been a lot more hands on. Same with DJ, photographer, and florist... I went with who was in my budget but could provide me with the most/best service. The photographer I LOVED was 3 times my budget and I just couldn't see spending that.

I need to know 3 things before I can quote you a price:

1. Date/time -- if date/time is firm, and if I'm not available then, we can end discussion right there

2. Location -- my fee depends on how far I have to travel

3. Will you need a rehearsal -- that fee is not included in my base fee because most of my couples don't need a rehearsal and it varies on how far I have to travel

So, in order to quote every location with and without a rehearsal would take a lot of space!

Items 1 and 2 are covered in my website's contact form.

Ladies, I don't take anything personally. I have been through this process myself. ;-)

Here's what I really didn't understand until I started charging for services (did over 20 weddings before I started charging a penny): no matter what you charge --from expensive to budget-- you will be judged at first glance by your price.

It's true for any vendor, right? Photographer. Venue. Caterer, etc. If they're expensive, you automatically think, "wow, they must be great!" while if it's on the lower end, the common thought is "why is it so cheap?". Also, if I bride contacts me and can tell me which package they want I have no problem telling them the likely cost.

I certainly see your point. And I appreciate all the feedback. I will consider adding a base price; though no promises! :-)