How to Price Wedding Services in Australia

The Complete, Step-by-Step Maths, Definitions, and Package Framework, So You Can Price for Profit Without Guessing 

Let’s start with the scene you already know too well. 

You’re booked. Your weekends are gone. Your friends think you “just do pretty weddings”. Meanwhile you’re answering enquiries in a Coles carpark, editing at night, and quietly wondering why your bank account isn’t matching your effort. 

If you’ve ever thought, “I’m busy, so why do I feel broke?”, this post is for you. 

Pricing isn’t hard because you’re bad at business. Pricing is hard because wedding work is emotional, bespoke-ish, and full of invisible labour. Most vendors price based on competitors, vibes, or fear, then wonder why the numbers don’t behave. 

So we’re going to stop guessing. 

We’re going to build pricing the way grown-up businesses do it: with structure, maths, and a bit of psychology. This is the “Profit First” idea in spirit; profit is a decision you design for, not a leftover you hope appears.  

Pour a coffee. This one’s meaty. 

Start Here: The Definitions You Need (Because Pricing Gets Messy When Words Are Vague) 

Before we do the maths, we need language. If you don’t define terms, you’ll accidentally price your labour, not your business. 

Revenue 

Revenue is the total money you bring in before anything comes out. If you charge $6,000 and book 30 weddings, your revenue is $180,000. 

Costs of Goods Sold (COGS) 

COGS are the direct costs required to deliver a wedding. If you don’t do the wedding, these costs don’t happen. 

Examples: 

• second shooter or assistant hours 

• albums you pay for 

• florals you purchase for installation 

• outsourced editing 

• hire equipment specifically for that job 

• travel specific to that wedding (if you include it) 

Gross Profit 

Gross profit is what’s left after COGS. 

Gross Profit = Revenue − COGS 

This is a useful metric because it shows whether the service itself is viable before your general business expenses even enter the chat. 

Operating Expenses (OPEX) 

These are the general costs of running your business, whether or not you have a wedding that week. 

Examples: 

• website, software subscriptions 

• marketing 

• insurance 

• phone and internet 

• bookkeeping/accounting 

• studio rent 

• education 

• gear replacement fund 

• office supplies 

• admin support 

Owner Pay 

This is what you pay yourself for your work in the business, not “whatever’s left”. In many small businesses, owner pay gets muddled with profit. We are un-muddling it. 

Profit 

Profit is what remains after all costs, including paying you fairly for your labour, plus running the business. 

Profit is what allows you to: 

• reinvest 

• build a buffer 

• replace gear without crying 

• take maternity leave without financial panic 

• survive a slow season without discounting yourself into oblivion 

Profit First flips the traditional formula from “Sales − Expenses = Profit” to “Sales − Profit = Expenses”, as a behavioural system for making profit non-negotiable.  

Capacity 

Capacity is how many weddings you can do without hating your life or your clients. Not the most you can physically cram in, the number you can deliver well. 

Capacity must include recovery time. Weddings aren’t just “the day”, they’re a mini production company every weekend. 

Step by Step - The Master Pricing Equation (The One That Actually Makes the Business Work) 

We’re going to start with an example: 

• Desired annual income: $120,000 

• Sustainable capacity: 30 weddings per year 

Now the key question you might be asking: is that $120,000 profit? 

It can be, but it usually shouldn’t be the first number you pick. 

Most people actually mean one of these: 

1. Owner pay (salary): “I want to personally earn $120k before tax.” 

2. Business profit: “I want the business to keep $120k after paying me.” 

3. Total personal benefit: “I want $120k in my pocket and also a healthy business buffer.” 

So we’ll price it properly by separating them. 

Step 1: Choose your target outcome (pick one) 

Option A: $120k Owner Pay 

This is most common. It means you want to pay yourself $120k for your labour. 

Option B: $120k Profit 

This means you’re building something much bigger. Great goal, but be clear you’re talking about profit after paying yourself. 

For this walkthrough, I’m going to assume what most wedding vendors mean: 

✅ $120,000 per year Owner Pay (salary) 

Now we build backwards. 

Now We Work Backwards From “I Want $120k” to “My Package Is $X” 

Step 2: Add your business profit target 

Even if you’re not trying to be a mogul, your business needs profit. Profit is what stops you from being one broken laptop away from a meltdown. 

A common starter target for a small service business is 5–15% profit depending on maturity and stability. Profit First uses predetermined percentages and a “profit first” habit approach. Let’s pick: 10% profit as a simple, healthy baseline. 

Step 3: Estimate your annual operating expenses (OPEX) 

You can’t price if you don’t know what it costs to exist. 

Let’s use an example number to make the math real: 

• Software, website, tools: $3,600 

• Insurance: $1,800 

• Marketing: $6,000 

• Accountant/bookkeeper: $2,400 

• Vehicle/phone/internet portion: $4,800 

• Education: $2,000 

• Gear maintenance fund: $4,000 

• Admin support: $6,000 

• Misc overhead: $4,400 

Example OPEX total: $35,000 per year 

Your number may be higher or lower. The point is: it must be known. 

Step 4: Calculate the revenue you need 

Here’s the structure: 

Revenue needed = Owner Pay + OPEX + Profit + Tax allowance (if applicable) + COGS 

We haven’t added COGS yet, because COGS depends on weddings booked. We’ll handle it in a moment. 

We also need to be careful with tax, because business structures vary. Rather than pretend one tax rate fits everyone, we’ll do this: 

• If you want $120k before tax, we don’t need a tax add-on here. 

• If you want $120k after tax, you’ll need to gross up for tax based on your situation. 

Most vendors mean pre-tax income, so we’ll keep it simple. 

So far: 

• Owner Pay: $120,000 

• OPEX: $35,000 

• Profit: 10% of revenue (unknown yet) 

We can solve profit in two ways: 

1. Quick method: estimate revenue, compute profit, adjust.

2. Cleaner method: treat profit as a percentage of revenue. 

Let’s do the cleaner method. 

If Profit = 10% of Revenue, then: 

Revenue − Profit = 90% of Revenue 

So: 

0.90 × Revenue = Owner Pay + OPEX + COGS 

Which means: 

Revenue = (Owner Pay + OPEX + COGS) ÷ 0.90 

Now we need COGS. 

Step 5: Calculate COGS Per Wedding (The Bit Everyone Forgets) 

COGS are “costs per wedding”. They vary by business type, but you must estimate them. 

Let’s build your COGS list.

Ask: “For one wedding, what do I pay out because this wedding exists?” 

Example (photographer): 

• second shooter: $450 

• album cost: $250 

• travel included: $120 

• outsourced editing: $300 

COGS per wedding = $1,120 

Now multiply by your annual capacity: 

30 weddings × $1,120 = $33,600 annual COGS 

Now we have everything. 

The Full Example Maths (With Your Numbers) 

We have: 

• Owner Pay: $120,000 

• OPEX: $35,000 

• Annual COGS: $33,600 

• Profit target: 10% 

Plug into the formula: 

Revenue = (Owner Pay + OPEX + COGS) ÷ 0.90 

Revenue = ($120,000 + $35,000 + $33,600) ÷ 0.90 

Revenue = ($188,600) ÷ 0.90 

Revenue = $209,555.56 

Round it: $210,000 revenue per year 

Now divide by weddings: 

$210,000 ÷ 30 weddings = $7,000 per wedding 

That’s your minimum average booking value for the business to produce: 

• $120k owner pay 

• $35k overhead covered 

• COGS covered 

• 10% profit margin 

This is the moment most vendors go quiet. 

Because it means you can’t price at $4,500 and “make it up in volume” unless you’re willing to do far more weddings, or cut overhead, or cut pay, or accept no profit, or all of the above. 

And that’s exactly why the maths matters. 

“Okay, But I Don’t Sell One Service. I Sell Options.” 

Exactly. Which is why we now move into the packaging framework. 

You don’t need every wedding to be $7,000. You need your average to be $7,000 across the year. 

This is where packages become your best friend. 

How To Build Packages That Hit the Maths and Reduce Decision Fatigue 

If you’ve ever watched a couple try to choose between seventeen add-ons, you already know the truth: weddings create decision fatigue. 

Choice overload is real, and it reduces confidence and satisfaction. Harvard Business Review’s classic “More Isn’t Always Better” discusses how too many options can lead consumers to buy less, or feel less satisfied.  

So we’re going to use a structure that gives couples freedom without chaos. 

Step 6: Create your “Rule of Three” package ladder 

Three options works because it: 

• simplifies comparison 

• creates a clear “middle choice” 

• reduces paralysis 

• helps couples self-select quickly  

Now, this is crucial: packages are not just different quantities. They’re different outcomes. 

A clean model: 

1. Essential: the simplest version that still delivers a great outcome 

2. Signature: the most popular “best-fit” experience 

3. Elevated: the full experience for couples who want the most support, coverage, polish, or transformation 
   
   

Step 7: Price packages from your required average 

If your required average is $7,000, you might structure like: 

• Essential: $5,900 

• Signature: $7,200 

• Elevated: $8,900 

Now ask: what mix do you realistically expect? 

For example: 

• 30% Essential (9 weddings) 

• 50% Signature (15 weddings) 

• 20% Elevated (6 weddings) 

Compute weighted average: 

(9 × 5,900) + (15 × 7,200) + (6 × 8,900) 

= 53,100 + 108,000 + 53,400 

= $214,500 revenue 

Divide by 30 = $7,150 average 

That hits your target. 

This is how packages become not just “nice”, but mathematically strategic. 

How To Turn Services Into Packages Step-by-Step 

This is the framework you need, the whole chain from pricing services → packaging → selling. 

Step 8: Price your core service first 

Start with your “baseline deliverable” that is most common. 

Example photographer baseline: 

• 8 hours coverage 

• prep guidance 

• online gallery 

• timeline input 

• standard turnaround 

Calculate the true time cost (yes, you need this): 

• consult + admin: 3 hours 

• wedding day: 8 hours 

• culling/editing: 18 hours 

• delivery/admin: 3 hours 

Total: 32 hours 

Now add business time that isn’t per-wedding but must be paid for: 

• marketing, quoting, accounting, content, systems 

That’s why we used annual OPEX. You don’t need to jam every overhead line into one wedding, you account for it through the annual model.

Step 9: Decide what upgrades actually change the outcome 

Upgrades should not be “random extras”. They should create a different experience. 

Examples: 

• second shooter improves coverage and reduces risk 

• album improves legacy and long-term satisfaction 

• extended coverage reduces stress around timeline 

• pre-wedding session increases comfort on the day 

• styling support reduces decision fatigue and elevates cohesion 

Step 10: Build each package as a story, not a list 

Yes, you’ll still list inclusions, but lead with the outcome. 

Couples don’t buy “two extra hours”. They buy “we don’t have to rush, we get to be present”. 

Pricing for Perception Without Becoming a Snake Oil Salesperson 

Now we layer the second pricing lever: perception. 

Price signals confidence. It positions you. It tells people whether you are “budget-friendly” or “premium specialist”, before they read a word. 

Hormozi’s value framework gets cited widely as: increase the dream outcome and perceived likelihood, reduce time delay and effort/sacrifice. Even if you’re not quoting the equation, this is the lens: make the result feel bigger and more certain, and make the process feel easier. 

In wedding terms: 

• show proof and specificity to increase certainty 

• show process clarity to reduce effort 

• show boundaries and structure to reduce anxiety 

• show outcomes in language couples care about 

That’s how you justify pricing without “because I’m worth it”. 

The “One-Stop Shop” Checklist (Without Turning This Into A Boring PDF) 

Here’s the sequence you should follow, in order: 

1. Choose target owner pay (pre-tax or after-tax, be honest) 

2. Choose sustainable wedding capacity 

3. Calculate annual overhead (OPEX) 

4. Estimate COGS per wedding and annualise it 

5. Choose profit margin target (start with 5–15%) 

6. Solve for required annual revenue 

7. Divide by weddings for required average booking value 

8. Build three packages that produce that average 

9. Write each package as an outcome-led experience 

10. Track your actual average booking value monthly, adjust pricing or package mix as needed 

That’s the system. 

A Reality Check That Will Save You Years 

If the math says you need $7,000 per wedding and your market is currently buying $4,000, you don’t “manifest harder”. 

You adjust one of four levers: 

• increase perceived value and positioning 

• reduce costs and overhead 

• increase capacity (carefully, with systems, not burnout) 

• adjust income target temporarily while you reposition 

That’s not failure. That’s business. 

Business is constraints and choices, not vibes. 

The Wrap-Up That Ties It All Together 

Pricing for wedding vendors is not a mystical art reserved for people with MBAs and perfectly symmetrical spreadsheets. 

It’s a sequence. 

You decide what you want to earn. You define what you can deliver. You calculate what it costs to run the business and fulfil the work. You choose a profit margin like an adult. Then you build packages that make the decision easy for overwhelmed couples, because choice overload is real, and weddings are already a lot.  

This is why packages aren’t just a sales tactic. They’re a service. They reduce decision fatigue. They create clarity. They help couples say yes with confidence, and they help you build a business that pays you properly. 

You don’t need to undercut. You don’t need to compete on price. That’s a race to the bottom, and it’s always the same ending: more work, less joy, thinner margins. 

You need structure. 

And now you’ve got it.