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Part II ✦ Shooting Weddings on Location
How to Calculate a Fee
The following rates are based on arriving at the destination one extra day before the wedding. This extra
day is a security against the times when you have to deal with getting stranded in the airport. Hopefully
this won’t happen, and you can spend the extra day scouting locations or just lounging on the beach.
The total time necessary to complete a destination wedding includes one full day of traveling, the extra
day, the wedding day, and the full day of the trip home. This makes each job a four-day affair at the bare
minimum. Although prices listed here are estimated, they are based on my experience and they are typi-
cal for most locations. This information gives you some basic guidelines for figuring your own price.
A typical Destination Wedding fee should include:
✦ $1000: This covers the airline ticket including two hours to research and book the ticket. (Ticket
prices vary widely depending on the season and the location. This arbitrary price is just provided
as a sample rate).
✦ $160: Food at $40 per day for four days.
✦ $140: Car rental at $35 per day for four days.
✦ $240: Hotel at $80 per day for four days.
✦ $400: Fee for two travel days at $200 per day.
✦ $150: Fee for extra day.
The total for travel is approximately $2,090, plus the normal fee you would charge for a wedding at home.
The national average for wedding photography ...