How to set a day rate as freelance wedding crew

Freelance wedding crew set their rate the same way most people do: look at what a friend charges, subtract a bit out of nerves, and hope. Then the first bad weekend teaches them that a day is more than the hours on the timeline.

TL;DR: Build your day rate from three things: what you need to earn for the year divided by the days you can realistically work, the real hours behind one event, and what you cost to run. Publish the number or a range, and write down what is and is not included.

What is in a day?

A wedding day is not eight hours. It includes:

• Travel there and back
• The prep before: reading the plan, packing, charging, confirming
• The event itself, including the waiting
• The handover after: backing up, labelling, sending files or returning equipment

Add those, and a day often takes up well over its listed hours. Price the day you actually give.

How do you find the number?

1. What you need to earn in a year, after the tax set-aside and your own costs. Ask an accountant how to treat a freelancer's tax in your area.
2. How many days you can really work. Not 365, not 52 weekends. Count weekends you can fill, holidays and the days around each event.
3. Divide. The result is the floor, not the target.
4. Add your costs of doing the day. Gear wear and replacement, insurance, software, travel and meals.

What belongs in the written terms?

• Hours covered and what overtime costs
• Travel or mileage
• Meals on the day
• When you are paid, and how
• Cancellation: what happens if the studio moves the date, and what happens if you cannot make it

Our second shooter agreement guide shows how those terms look in writing, and getting paid on time covers the other side of the table.

Should you publish your rate?

Yes, or at least a range. A rate that is visible removes the evening of asking, and the studios that book you already know it. On the Booksui Network a Crew Call carries the date, hours and fee up front, so you are answering a real offer, not guessing.

Create a free profile with your rates and open dates. Booksui takes no cut of what you agree.