What 'upcharge' would you put on this request?

[djtaso]

I'm kind of surprised by that...Knowing your starting rate I would have thought your OT would be much higher

It's a fair assumption, and while my base price is VERY high, everything else is designed to be convenient to add on... why... because my business model is based on maximizing revenue. If I charged $500/hr for overtime lets say... then chances are they'd be required to add it, but may sacrifice a monogram and photo booth to make it possible... whereas by having it at $150/hr, it seems minimal and doesn't affect their overall perception of how much they're spending, and for me it's just bonus money. Again, I operate based on maximizing single day revenue. Also some venues here don't charge for that extra hour if you are paying for a viennese display (desserts)... so again when the impression is that a venue is including something at no cost (even though u paid for it through something else), I don't want it to affect their overall perception by having to pay a lot for a non-tangible item.

 

[djcrazychris]

The barn i reserved in New York was set up to be rented Friday through Sunday ... with a beautiful home on site that slept 20 to 30 people... u had Friday for decorations.... Rehearsal ....Rehearsal dinner(i guess these arent a thing where you are at) Then Wedding Saturday....then You had til 5pm on Sunday for clean up

Many weddings and even standard parties around here hire out the place the night before for decoration (probably because our venues dont have a staff that does it for you) .... and i normally am happy to set up on a friday night for a Saturday gig if allowed... its great to just walk into the venue fully suited up and fresh on the day of the event...

cc

 

[djtaso]

The barn i reserved in New York was set up to be rented Friday through Sunday ... with a beautiful home on site that slept 20 to 30 people... u had Friday for decorations.... Rehearsal ....Rehearsal dinner(i guess these arent a thing where you are at) Then Wedding Saturday....then You had til 5pm on Sunday for clean up

Many weddings and even standard parties around here hire out the place the night before for decoration (probably because our venues dont have a staff that does it for you) .... and i normally am happy to set up on a friday night for a Saturday gig if allowed... its great to just walk into the venue fully suited up and fresh on the day of the event...

cc

I don't know if you're referring to me or not... but yeah our venues here definitely don't operate like that... 1 event a weekend would be unheard of. We do have rehearsal dinners for the bridal party... but that's for those that get married at churches... they go to the church on a Wednesday or Thursday, run through everything with the priest or church secretary and then go to dinner. Again, no need for the dj at those. No cleanup responsibility... venues have their staff clean up, and an overnight crew in some cases getting the venue ready for the next days event. Normally you hire outside vendors for decor who have to come back at end of the night and take down anything that doesn't get thrown out... can't come back the next day.

 

[djcrazychris]

I gotta admit...i love the laid back south... and less population.

We ended up having our reception in an old train station in Kentucky....i rented it the night before to decorate... we hung a 14 foot curtain up to create an archway and seperate the dancefloor from the tables. Did dozens of 3 foot lanterns... and a few other things... turned out pretty nice...

 

[djtaso]

I love the photos! I guess it only matters if you're doing the decor yourself. Many venues here require extensive decor, especially stuff from cielings to be done by insured companies, so there wouldn't be a need to come in the night before. If the decor is so involved that coming in that morning won't provide enough time, venues allow them to work overnight after the previous night's event is over. I mean I know things in the south are more laidback, but I also know there are popular venues there too that follow the same protocals as up here. If you wanted to get married at a Hotel's Ballroom like at a hilton... I doubt they'd rent it to you for the weekend.

 

[djcrazychris]

I love the photos! I guess it only matters if you're doing the decor yourself. Many venues here require extensive decor, especially stuff from cielings to be done by insured companies, so there wouldn't be a need to come in the night before. If the decor is so involved that coming in that morning won't provide enough time, venues allow them to work overnight after the previous night's event is over. I mean I know things in the south are more laidback, but I also know there are popular venues there too that follow the same protocals as up here. If you wanted to get married at a Hotel's Ballroom like at a hilton... I doubt they'd rent it to you for the weekend.

Its odd....we do have some gorgeous hotel banquet areas here... years ago i worked them constantly... but lately people seem to be heading in different directions... i have yet to work a ballroom since unretiring ...lol....i would actually like to... for some nice photo ops...

but yeah... they would certainly charge for the entire time the room was occupied...

The train station we used charged the entire time we were there... but did not charge us for the overnight storage between decoration and wedding... very kind of them..

cc

 

[Albatross]

Its odd....we do have some gorgeous hotel banquet areas here... years ago i worked them constantly... but lately people seem to be heading in different directions... i have yet to work a ballroom since unretiring ...lol....i would actually like to... for some nice photo ops...

but yeah... they would certainly charge for the entire time the room was occupied...

The train station we used charged the entire time we were there... but did not charge us for the overnight storage between decoration and wedding... very kind of them..

cc

I'm ready for the rustic barn thing to start fading (sorry Rick!). I still do some upscale feeling DC wedding venues, but it seems like I spend so much time on concrete floors and in venues using some version of inconvenient toilets. It's been a fairly long trend around here, I'm not sure how much longer it can last.

I think part of it is that with people living in such a busy city, the barn weddings seem like such a peaceful departure. But I'm certain there are other cool trends that people could be exploring in wedding vibe.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Usually the clients who hire me usually hire entertainment from out of town so they already know it’s going to cost more than someone local. My philosophy is I seek out clients in a certain price range I can reach. I said before if she wasn’t referred or seen his services before she likely had no idea the costs involved. It’s really not a compliment when people call when people call that don’t have the budget, it’s a time waster. You want your referrals, advertising and social media to be funneling people that are in your price range.

When pricing for traveling I don’t set my rates on by what others rates are in the area or what fuel cost are. Rates are basically the same for same type of event. Only when I approach the extreme limits of how far I travel do things change mainly because it could effect what happens the next day. I do admit when I was on the road when gas went over $4 to fill up the was around $125 and you are getting gas just about everyday it’s a kick in the gut. Manageable, we let the client feed us & went from sit down meals to fast food. I am just so glad I Decided to go with a regular van as opposed to a diesel truck or box truck.
the gut. And with regular plates as opposed to commercial plates. Although when I had two vans I had one with commercial plates for when I was doing events in NYC Where having commercial plates is a must to use loading zones.

You made an interesting point. People should know what your prices are when it comes to doing a wedding like this. Especially since they know the distance for you to get there to do the wedding. For her to know that, she had to know something about him. Some people are looking for a bargain wherever they can get it. It's up to this DJ what he wants to charge and if it's not what she wants to pay, for him to decide if he wants to lower the price to come close to what she wants to pay. Of course if you go too low it will make you look cheap and desperate. It's really about how bad do you need the work. If the price isn't right move on.

 

[TwinSpinDJ]

You only charge them for an hour of your time (plus travel)? In my book, that's not a full day's pay.

My Ceremony fee includes the charge for up to 1-hr rehearsal. If they don't need a rehearsal, then they arrive early at the Ceremony site the day of. It doesn't matter to me if they don't need Rehearsal the day before. I still get paid.

 

[Jeff Romard]

It's a fair assumption, and while my base price is VERY high, everything else is designed to be convenient to add on... why... because my business model is based on maximizing revenue. If I charged $500/hr for overtime lets say... then chances are they'd be required to add it, but may sacrifice a monogram and photo booth to make it possible... whereas by having it at $150/hr, it seems minimal and doesn't affect their overall perception of how much they're spending, and for me it's just bonus money. Again, I operate based on maximizing single day revenue. Also some venues here don't charge for that extra hour if you are paying for a viennese display (desserts)... so again when the impression is that a venue is including something at no cost (even though u paid for it through something else), I don't want it to affect their overall perception by having to pay a lot for a non-tangible item.

Fair enough that makes sense...Makes me feel good that my OT rate is the same as yours LOL

 

[DJ Ricky B]

I'm ready for the rustic barn thing to start fading (sorry Rick!). I still do some upscale feeling DC wedding venues, but it seems like I spend so much time on concrete floors and in venues using some version of inconvenient toilets. It's been a fairly long trend around here, I'm not sure how much longer it can last.

I think part of it is that with people living in such a busy city, the barn weddings seem like such a peaceful departure. But I'm certain there are other cool trends that people could be exploring in wedding vibe.

...I agree with you 1000%

That trend needs to change! I have been working that particular trend since I dunno...2007/2008 now? ...I have been trying HARD to work weddings closer to where I live because I have grown so tired of driving out to these rural venues (mostly in VA). I'm also tired of downtown D.C. venues with tough load ins. I only work them because they fetch good money. ...I think this younger generation under age 29 will finally end the rustic barn/rural venue trend...at least in our area.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

Fair enough that makes sense...Makes me feel good that my OT rate is the same as yours LOL

I believe that hefty over time rates don't work any more.

Mine is $200 per hour for time past what the package is booked for.....Except with the Gold Package. I charge $350 for additional time with that package, and the reason I do is because with that package, there is an assistant involved, and I make sure they are paid well for a long day.

 

[ittigger]

I think part of it is that with people living in such a busy city, the barn weddings seem like such a peaceful departure.

I think this is a big part of it.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

The title of this thread is someone else. What is an upcharge? Just give the bride a price quote and either they agree to the quote or they don't. Now what may need to happen is explaining in detail why you are charging that price. Now with the clarity they can be better informed about the price quote you gave them, so they don't feel like you are gouging them.

 

[rickryan.com]

My Ceremony fee includes the charge for up to 1-hr rehearsal. If they don't need a rehearsal, then they arrive early at the Ceremony site the day of. It doesn't matter to me if they don't need Rehearsal the day before. I still get paid.

that may be fine for things close to home but you’re getting hosed on travel dates. You also are losing a night’s potential booking.

 

[rickryan.com]

I think this is a big part of it.

What I keep hearing are brides trying to escape the higher prices in the metro areas.

 

[Albatross]

The title of this thread is someone else. What is an upcharge? Just give the bride a price quote and either they agree to the quote or they don't. Now what may need to happen is explaining in detail why you are charging that price. Now with the clarity they can be better informed about the price quote you gave them, so they don't feel like you are gouging them.

I have a standard pricing system that I use (and like). So for me, I would have to treat it as an upcharge for travel.

 

[Albatross]

What I keep hearing are brides trying to escape the higher prices in the metro areas.

Out here the rustic venues aren't really any cheaper. We've got wineries charging $15,000 just for the space and tables during prime time. No catering included with that.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Out here the rustic venues aren't really any cheaper. We've got wineries charging $15,000 just for the space and tables during prime time. No catering included with that.

What he's talking about is what the bride wants to pay the DJ or someone else having another type of event. Some will spend a ton of money on so many other things and want to pay the DJ peanuts. That's because some see what we do as no big deal. At least until they book a DJ that turns things into a hot mess. Too late then the event is going on. So no looking to book another DJ while the event is going on.

Sometimes it's not about just a price but finding the right DJ to do the event.

 

[Albatross]

What he's talking about is what the bride wants to pay the DJ or someone else having another type of event. Some will spend a ton of money on so many other things and want to pay the DJ peanuts. That's because some see what we do as no big deal. At least until they book a DJ that turns things into a hot mess. Too late then the event is going on. So no looking to book another DJ while the event is going on.

Sometimes it's not about just a price but finding the right DJ to do the event.

No he's not. He's talking about why brides are choosing barn venues in Alabama.