Is Wedding Tax real or is it all in our minds? The answer might surprise you! When asked, Wedding Florists say there is no such thing as Wedding tax BUT wedding flowers DO cost more than other event flowers. So, what's the deal? Because that sounds like Wedding tax to me! Let's explain.
First, let's be clear on what we mean by "Wedding Tax". Wedding Tax is the concept that vendors charge more money than necessary if the label "wedding" is attached to the order.
This goes for Venues as well as Vendor services, but today we're going to focus on florals specifically, as this is where the most questions come into play.
To best understand the facts, here's a real-life situation that tested the theory of Wedding Tax.
A handful of years ago, a blind study was done to challenge this concept. A corporate event was booked at a banquet hall on a Saturday during tourist season. The event was for 200 guests and included a 3-course dinner, open bar, full decor, and hired entertainment. At the very same banquet hall, another Saturday event was booked requesting the EXACT same specifics except it was for a Wedding. Guess what happened?
In the end, the Wedding ended up costing 42% more than the corporate event. This obviously raised some concern and after these events ended, the Venue and Vendors were each questioned. This was their response...
"While the services appear to be identical, they are not." Here's why: The corporate event was given certain options such as chair styles, linen color, charger style, etc. These decisions were very quickly made without hesitation; meaning the coordinator on the receiving end of that conversation, could move on to the next task and little time was invested in these choices. Whereas for the Wedding, the same options were given but this took 5-10 emails, several phone calls, a walk through, samplings of color swatches, measurements, and a large amount of time spent on the indecisiveness. Time, which means billable hours.
"There are higher stakes at a Wedding. More stress and pressure to get everything perfect. There's higher risk of lawsuits or negative reviews, which greatly impact our reputation and future bookings." Says one Wedding Vendor. "Simply put, Weddings are a lot more work, even the laid back, chill couples. They just are."
When it comes down to it, a Vendor will spend 45-65% more time on a Wedding than they would on any other event.
No, Wedding tax isn't real, but Weddings do cost more because they require and demand more. More labor, more staff, more time, more detail, and a lot more care. Experienced Vendors understand this, and they simply charge accordingly.
Remember, when you spot a labor fee in the quotes from your vendors, it's all about making your dream Wedding a reality! Your special day deserves the very best.
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