Prices, Terms, Travel Policies

As soon as I began painting weddings, I found that I’m not charging enough. I have heard of a few people who do this, often at several times what I charge. So I’m gradually adjusting the price, a little bit each year. Posted below are this year’s prices, and the new prices for 2009. As is common in the wedding industry, a non-refundable deposit of 50% is due upon signing a contract to reserve a date. 2009 weddings that are booked before January 1st will be given 2008 prices. Travel fees are discussed below the chart.

  2008 Prices                    2009 Prices

24 x 30     $1850        24 x 30     $2000
24 x 36     $2200       24 x 36      $2300
24 x 40     $2500       24 x 40      $2650
30 x 40     $3500       30 x 40     $3750
36 x 48     $4500       36 x 48      $5000
48 x 60     $5500       48 x 60      $6000

Of course, for any travel requiring an overnight stay, I’ll need to be reimbursed for lodging and airfare. I’ll drive as far as Vancouver, BC, Portland, OR, or Spokane, WA, without asking for gas money.
There are certain logistical hurdles associated with air travel. I can fly with my oil paints (they’re just vegetable oils), but they won’t let me carry solvents on board. So I need a day on the ground in your fair city to procure a few art supplies, or they sometimes they can be shipped to my hotel. Hence, an out of town gig generally books three days on my calendar. I need to charge a fee (currently $500) for those days that I could be booking if I were working locally. So for most North American gigs, I would charge the price of the painting, plus two travel days, plus airfare and lodging.
For Europe, make that six days. Here’s why. At the end of an event, I’m only ninety-five percent done with the painting. I usually take the painting back to my studio and touch up the bride and groom, then ship them the painting. I can do this touch-up at the destination, if I stay and wait 48 hours for the paint to dry enough for me to paint another layer on it. So a client would be paying for (1) travel day + (1) prep day + the painting (no extra travel fee for the day of the event) + (2) days drying time + (1) day painting and preparing painting for delivery +(1) day travel back to the states.
Those two days waiting for paint to dry need not be wasted. I’d be happy to spend them painting additional alle prima paintings of the city or resort of your nuptial memories! Prices for these will be appropriate to size, but can be steeply discounted as part of a negotiated package.