"Anonymous Insights: Wedding Industry Professionals Discuss 'Why Wedding Costs are High'"

2018.12.14 published

Wedding costs are said to be high, but...

If you are a bride-to-be, you must have had at least one or two experiences staring at estimations.

"Your sense of money gets distorted during wedding preparations."

"There’s an extra zero!"

This is often said, right? Everything necessary seems expensive, and you might have felt frustrated asking, "Why is a wedding so expensive!?"

But...

Are the costs in the wedding industry high for no reason, simply charging newlyweds excessively?

So this time, we asked people working in the wedding industry about the "actual effort and money involved."

We've gathered anonymous responses regarding reasons we might not know about why weddings are considered expensive, so let me share them!

@keny.wedd

So much effort involved! Behind the scenes of the wedding industry ① Venue

On the day of the wedding reception, more than 50 people are working behind the scenes for one pair of newlyweds.

There are many unseen staff such as planners, guidance staff, serving staff, and kitchen staff.

Some people say, "Can’t a 20,000 yen meal course have more dishes?" or "It’s more expensive than a high-end restaurant," but all the costs of a wedding venue include labor costs unique to weddings.

Unlike a restaurant that can serve meals one by one, to serve freshly made meals to dozens of customers at once, a proper number of staff and labor costs are essential.

So much effort involved! Behind the scenes of the wedding industry ② Venue

I used to work at a wedding venue that unfortunately went bankrupt.

In my venue, it was the responsibility of the assigned planner to arrange name cards and set up the gifts, conducting final checks of the venue.

To ensure that the couple welcoming their good day has a happy feeling overflowing the moment the door opens, I used to stay late preparing, reminiscing various things from our meetings while ensuring everything was perfect.

You might wonder if this effort is worth such a cost, but I hope it conveys that none of the staff involved wish to take advantage of the couple!

So much effort involved! Behind the scenes of the wedding industry ③ Venue

Depending on the venue, but at my workplace, the service manager told me that calculating personnel costs for placing name cards and table settings like knives amounted to 700 yen per person.

Dressing tables with tablecloths, washing and polishing dishes and silverware, folding and setting table napkins...

For 100 guests, that amounts to 70,000 yen. It's surprisingly costly, isn't it?

So much effort involved! Behind the scenes of the wedding industry ④ Venue

At my venue, we hand-polish silverware for the tables one by one with great care.

We want the important guests of the newlyweds to feel that it is a wonderful wedding, and we strive to take care of the details.

Due to such meticulous work, the prices go up, which might lead some to think "it’s a rip-off."

It’s not that things are high for no reason; I hope it becomes apparent that various jobs are conducted behind the scenes!

So much effort involved! Behind the scenes of the wedding industry ⑤ Dress salon

It pains my heart to hear the term "rip-off."

Every item incurs procurement expenses, involving various people and companies in development and manufacturing. Naturally, a business cannot survive without profits.

Our shop also considers pricing when procuring dresses.

However, staff think of the customers’ faces sincerely asking themselves,

"Will this product please them? Would the current brides-to-be like this kind of dress? This color is better... the design is..."

We take this seriously while sourcing.

After all, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. I believe it’s the same for venue planners too.

So much effort involved! Behind the scenes of the wedding industry ⑥ Dress salon

For sold dresses, it’s a straightforward sale, but for rental dresses, we spend costs on cleaning, repairs, reupholstering, and fixing beading, ensuring they remain in pristine condition.

Before delivery, we also invest considerable time for size adjustments and further maintenance and ironing, leading to greater labor and costs.

Particularly, in recent years, popular tulle dresses often return torn or with holes. Typically, they are replaced with new dresses after about 3-4 rentals. It’s not that we are making a profit on dresses that turn over many times.

Additionally, delivery and return shipping costs, garment covers, and large boxes we use are also surprisingly expensive.

So much effort involved! Behind the scenes of the wedding industry ⑦ Florist

For flowers used in weddings, we procure them by the box and select only those in a good condition that can be made into bouquets. Not all are used.

After selecting flowers from the box, we remove thorns, handle the leaves, wire them, tape them, and create bouquets.

To ensure they are in the best condition on the day of the ceremony, we cannot use heating even in cold seasons because warm air will cause the flowers to open.

If you only consider the price, you might think it’s high! But there is a process like this, so the bouquet price includes not only flower costs but also technique fees.

So much effort involved! Behind the scenes of the wedding industry ⑧ Wedding items

The term "high" is used when comparing products with the same model number from the same manufacturer that are sold at different prices in stores.

If each service or product is different, it’s not appropriate to use words like "cheap" or "expensive" for comparison.

Prices have their reasons.

Because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime wedding, we want brides who don’t want to compromise!

The materials, labor, packaging, and time spent—many unseen expenses are invested in creating unique, high-quality items that cannot be achieved with lower-priced products. It’s definitely not expensive.

It breaks my heart when I see brides posting on social media that "〇〇 product is expensive."

Impressions of prices are subjective. If you think something is expensive, I sincerely hope you refrain from purchasing it and from making public statements about it.

A wedding is a significant purchase, but there are reasons for the costs.

I shared the reasons behind the prices according to people in the wedding industry.

Many people are engaged in unseen work behind the scenes that we don’t know about.

A wedding is indeed the largest purchase in one’s life and should be the happiest purchase (?!).

Therefore, it does not feel good to approach your wedding thinking, "I’m being taken advantage of."

As a couple, you might feel “such a significant amount for just one day!”

However, for the wedding venue, labor costs are incurred for a year of interactions and meetings, (which is why it’s cheaper for weddings scheduled within three months!),

they need to pay land lease and utility costs, and there are procurement expenses as well.

Moreover, various invisible costs, including service fees, are included in the price.

If, even after considering this, you still feel dissatisfied, it might be wise to seek out companies that provide services you find acceptable.

"I think this is worth paying 〇 yen for."

"I think this is not worth paying 〇 yen for."

It’s up to you to decide, but when you make that judgment, it’s also essential to consider that "the world operates thanks to various unseen people, and there are costs, expenses, and efforts involved." ✩