Weddings these days can get very expensive. The national average wedding cost is somewhere north of $25,000. But your wedding doesn't need to cost anything like that.
If you haven't yet committed to expensive options -- expensive location, expensive reception, expensive flowers, etc. -- we'll be happy to talk with you about ways of keeping things affordable. And under some circumstances we will happily reduce our fee -- please see below. Personally, we hate the thought of going into debt to pay for a wedding.
We need to say up front that we make a distinction between (A) an unwillingness to pay for a big wedding -- and (B) an inability to do so.
(A) If you don't want an extravagant wedding (even though you could perhaps afford one), we will gladly work with you to find ways of keeping the costs down, while still putting on a lovely and memorable wedding. But we probably will not reduce our fees for this purpose. (We feel strongly that the price we charge is for hard work, serious effort, and expertise on our part, and we earn every bit of it. If you are spending thousands of dollars on the wedding, it would be a false economy to seek out a "bargain-basement" officiant.) We can suggest a number of wedding locations ("venues") that are available for a few hundred dollars (or even a park location for as little as $35 a day). And we have attended lovely receptions "at home" with food provided by friends and family. We'll be happy to talk with you about all sorts of possibilities for keeping costs down.
(B) If you are in the military or another low-paid occupation, or if there are other circumstances that would make it difficult or impossible for you to pay our normal fee as well as many of the other costs of the "typical" wedding, we will happily work with you to give you a truly memorable and wonderful wedding that fits your limited budget. (If we reduce our fee, we do NOT reduce the quality of our service to you.) At one time we had a standard policy of charging just 10% of the total of all the other costs of your wedding. If the location and the reception and the dress and the flowers, etc., added up to -- say -- $1000, we would gladly give you the benefit of all we can provide for just $100. If you are facing a difficult financial situation, we will consider such an arrangement with you. (We have created and performed weddings for as little as $50.) Tell us your situation. We'll help you present the wedding you want at the price you can afford.
