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For the ceremony, they’ve rented a local vineyard, where
after they repeat their vows doves will be released skyward.
To get from the vineyard to the reception, a stretch limousine
stuffed with a wet bar and VCR will escort them. And once
they’re at the reception hall, huge gaudy floral centerpieces
will dominate every table.
So
you might be a little surprised when, after you quote your
price for a four-hour wedding, these potential wedding clients
cry despairingly, “But we can’t afford that!”
Of
course, they can. They just don’t know how—and it’s your
job to show them. There are plenty of ways you can nudge
your client into cutting their wedding-day costs so they
can afford what’s really important to their special day—you!
The
Problem
It’s no secret that while planning a wedding, most couples
often book the DJ last. “We’re called after they pick the
site, hire the caterers, the photographers, the videographers,
oftentimes after they’ve bought the flowers and the cake,”
complains Alan McKenzie, owner of Santa Barbara, Calif.-based
Amazing Sounds.
By
the time they finally phone you, your couple may have as
little as 2-percent remaining in their budget to book you—you,
a $750 DJ! This of course prompts their heartbreaking refrain:
“Sorry, but we can only afford a $350 DJ.”
Before you chalk up the call as a lost cause, show your
budget-constricted bride how she, through some minor adjustments
in her wedding-day accouterments, can easily afford the
$400 difference. In fact, use this “Dime Them Down” technique
effectively and your clients will realize they have enough
money to buy lights, another MC, some dancers, glow sticks,
etc.
But
before you start telling the couple how to spend their money,
talk to them about what, in your experience, is essential
to the reception’s success. Says Randy Bartlett of Sacramento,
Calif.-based Premier Entertainment, “I ask my clients, ‘Have
you ever been to a really great wedding reception?’ They
say, ‘Yes.’ I ask them, ‘What was so great about it?’ They
say how fun it was, the DJ was great. I have yet to have
anyone mention food, or the photographer, or the videographer,
or the flowers. And when I ask them about the worst reception
they’ve been to, and what made it so bad, they always say
something about the DJ.”
At
that point, McKenzie tells couples just how important the
entertainment is to their event. “I tell them that the entertainment
will be 80-percent of the success of their event and by
spending a little bit more on it, maybe 10-percent of the
overall budget, and decreasing the money spent on the food
and flowers, it will pay off better for them in having a
good time.”
The
Solution
First, you need to gauge the size of your clients’ budget—without
asking. By familiarizing yourself with local hotels, banquet
halls, restaurants (and vineyards!) and what they charge,
and computing that a couple will spend about 12-percent
of their total budget on the rental of a hall, you’ll immediately
gather a rough estimate of their budget.
But
before you start slashing your clients’ budget, first ask
if they’re agreeable to adjusting it. “I ask them how much
they plan to spend on a DJ,” says McKenzie. “Usually they’ll
tell me $700 or $800 or something like that. So I then ask,
‘Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? Maybe I can help
you save some money in other areas.’”
Where
To Trim
By making some simple modifications to their dinner menu,
your clients can tighten their budget without sacrificing
quality. Suggest small adjustments first, like changing
from waitress-service hors d’oeuvres to stationary appetizers
of cheese and crackers, or bread and spinach dip, none of
which require a paid waitstaff.
“They can save generally $1 to $2 per person on hors d’oeuvres
at the cocktail hour by serving only cold appetizers,” says
McKenzie. “By saving $1 a person, that’s $200 right there.”
Ask your couple if they’re planning a cocktail hour and
hors d-oeuvres. If so, are they dead set on having both?
“Say, for example, the couple was planning to have a very
basic hors d-oeuvres package, for when guests first arrive,
of imported cheese with grapes and baguettes,” says Bartlett.
“Say it includes a choice of two skewers, beef or pork.
And say all of that will only cost the couple $30 per person.
For a small reception of 100 people, that’s $3,000 right
there. And don’t forget the 18-percent gratuity and 8.25-percent
sales tax—both are standard in the industry, everywhere,
and that adds up to another $750.”
If, however, your couple can’t fathom their wedding without
the imported cheese and crackers, see if they’re open to
choosing more moderately priced entrees, like chicken instead
of beef, or broccoli in place of asparagus.
“Here’s an example,” says Bartlett. “Stuffed Chicken Lorenzo.
$33.75 per person—and don’t forget tax and gratuity—or Chicken
Marsala for $30.50. The difference between the two is the
sauce they put on the chicken. So the couple can save $3.25
per plate if they just switch the sauce for the chicken.
Save $3 a plate and with 175 guests you save, including
of course tax and gratuity, $475 dollars just for switching
the sauce.”
Certain
ingredients are expensive, like truffles, and will increase
the entree price. Are truffles essential? If not, skip them.
Only the couple will know that they gave their guests a
choice of chicken in balsamic sauce over a white truffle
sauce. “Nobody will ever say that an event was successful
based on the glaze on the chicken,” continues Bartlett.
I’ll Toast to That
Alcohol is another area where your couple can save big,
especially if they opt for an open bar that serves only
wine, beer and soft drinks—and not hard liquor. If the couple
wants a cocktail hour, suggest wine served in glasses by
a waitress instead of an open bar. Also, inform them that
they can ditch the champagne for the toast and instead serve
wedding punch; it serves the same purpose, since guests
are concentrating on the toast itself and not what’s inside
their glasses.
“Buy alcohol by the head, where there’s one flat fee for
every person of drinking age for four or five hours,” advises
Deb McCoy, author of “The Elegant Wedding and the Budget
Savvy Bride (How To Have the Wedding of Your Dreams for
Half the Price).” “If you pay for it by consumption—that’s
per drink—I guarantee 99-percent of the time you’ll be taken
to the cleaners because there’s no way for you to prove
how much liquor was consumed. You can wind up paying as
much as $10,000.”
Ornaments
Ornamentation is another area that offers plenty of ways
to save money. Many couples somehow become convinced that
they need a 30-foot ice sculpture for their reception or
all is lost. Instead of buying place cards, which can cost
$100 for 200 people, suggest to your couple they post seating
assignments on a beautiful easel. If they’re planning to
have personalized cocktail napkins and matches, they can
skip it, saving—depending on whether the napkins are beverage
or luncheon size and how many matches the couple wants in
a book—about $125 for a 200-person wedding. And of course,
no wedding was ever a disappointment because it lacked flying
doves and thousands of balloons.
Everyone
loves flowers, but how important is it to decorate every
table with a centerpiece? Eliminating just five centerpieces,
according to Deb McCoy, can save your couple $250. Suggest
replacing the floral centerpieces with candles and maybe
some scattered rose pedals; they’ll look just as beautiful.
Why not, tell them, re-use the flowers that will decorate
the church altar as decorations for the cake and gift tables,
thus saving the expense of buying separate arrangements
for the church and the reception. And dimming the lights
in the reception area gives automatic (and free!) ambiance
to the room and decreases the need for lots of decorations.
Or if your couple must, must have fresh flowers for the
ceremony, and a separate flower arrangement for their reception,
tell them where the cheapest places are. “I tell them that
oftentimes they can have a friend pick up flowers that morning,
or the day before, at a local Flowermart, that can save
them a couple of hundred dollars,” says McKenzie. “Flowers
are very inexpensive if you can get them at a Flowermart
or farmer’s market, which are often open on Saturday mornings.”
Invitation Only
Don’t forget invitations. Your couple can save $130 if they
exclude the envelope lining and another $300 if they skip
the calligraphy and address the envelopes themselves. Postage
will also cost less if the invites only need one stamp for
mailing. If the couple includes postcards instead of formal
reply cards, they could save an extra $150.
Transport
Transportation is another area where you can help your couple
save money. Instead of the entire bridal party riding in
limos, why not ride in town cars? Town cars, depending on
your region, cost $20 less per hour than limos, which can
cost $60 per hour. If they’re willing, the entire party
can ride in a limo bus for $100 an hour, rather than multiple
cars. Another idea is to just pay for the service you need,
instead of four-hour blocks.
Find What the Average Wedding Costs
“I’d say the first thing would be to find out how much brides
in their areas are spending on all of the various items,”
says McKenzie. “The easiest way is to call around and ask,
to pretend like you are a customer and ask questions. Become
a client. Start asking how much things are. Ask if they
give a discount if they do one thing or another. Usually
they’ll find out that the average bride is spending $15,000-$20,000
on the wedding.”
What
Not to Suggest
While there’s plenty of places to trim budgets, there are
some that you should avoid. “You don’t want to suggest anything
that’s going to hurt their guest list, decrease it or anything
like that,” says McKenzie. “You can infer that by asking
how many guests they have and say something like, ‘Oh, that’s
quite a few.’ Or something like that. You don’t want to
say they should reduce that. DJs like a lot of people. The
more the merrier. Stick instead to questions like if they’re
having a cash bar or a paid bar, flowers, food and other
table decorations. Try to find out where their major expenses
are. Those are the places that can usually be trimmed.”
And remember, your couple is not really trimming back on
anything; instead, they’re upgrading the quality of their
special day by employing somebody that can really make a
difference—you!
If
you have any questions for TCB, please write to
DJ
Times c/o TCB,
25 Willowdale Ave.
Port Washington, N.Y., 11050
fax 516-944-8372
e-mail djtimes@testa.com.
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