We recently had the opportunity to be the Wedding Photographers taking part in the NBC Rossen Reports story on "the Wedding markup" in regards to pricing Weddings in relation to other events. This is the story of the experience as told by our main photographer Scott Roth. View the NBC Rossen Report here:
http://www.today.com/money/wedding-markup-real-see-costs-compared-hidden-camera-t102098
His rebuttal if you will
"A few weeks before the airing I had a potential Mistletoe Bride reach out to me regarding photography for her Wedding in April. We did an in-person meeting as I normally do. After going through some of her details, we discussed how she was not looking for getting ready shots such as the dress, shoes, rings and/or doing hair and makeup. She was also not interested in any ceremony coverage or bridal portraits with the groom and bridal party (she was definitely NOT a Mistletoe Bride IMO lol)
The more we talked the more we realized she was not actually looking for Wedding Photography at all but more just Event Photography coverage of the Cocktail Hour and Reception. So I gave her Event Photography pricing.
I then had the opportunity to meet with someone (Jeff)who was planning a 40th birthday party for his wife. At the onset of the meeting, in walks Jeff Rossen. I recognized him instantly and generally like his show. However I have had the opportunity to cover private events for celebrities in the past and carried on as if all was routine
I charged him Event Photography pricing as well.
What the report doesn't discuss but is worth mentioning:
- I met with the bride (who was Lindsey Brownin the producer) BEFORE I met with Jeff Rossen.
- The bride was not looking for all the things 99% of brides are looking for so its not a good setup to begin with to compare.
- My pricing had a $50 difference for travel since her venue was going to be Central NJ, his was gonna be North NJ. This was not a misunderstanding lol. Notice how we hear Jeff mention" this area" but Lindsay discussing locations was edited out with Jeff speaking instead
Final thoughts:
Wedding Photography will generally almost always cost more. Not just because its a Wedding but that Weddings require much longer days and multiple locations that have a variety of lighting. That's a lot of on the fly changes of camera settings a photographer will have to know and be ready for. There is more lenses needed , such as for Churches that don't allow flash. There is more and better equipment needed to handle the changing elements (such as sand during Beach Weddings). There is more education needed in regards to making sure that detail is not lost when shooting a Wedding as metering for a Mistletoe Brides white dress will make a Groom's black tux darker.
All of these things are factored into why Weddings cost more but also ......because its A WEDDING lol. Weddings are days that are dreamed about by our Mistletoe Bride's from the time they are 5 years old. Its one of life's major moments. There is a TON of pressure to get it right. There are no do-overs. The DJ in the report is right in that regard. His mistake was only that his package had the same name.
I do not know who the DJ was. The venue was Elan Catering who I covered Kristi & Lewis' Wedding last year "