Well, hello there everyone. It’s your friendly neighborhood, and should I add now, penny-pinching, wedding guy! To be honest, things have not gotten much better since COVID stopped. Now, instead of worrying about the government closing down my business, I have to worry about hyperinflation. A year ago, our dear President said that inflation was “transitory” and “Trump’s fault.” All I can say is that Biden lies – a lot. Inflation is still here, uglier than ever! I’m really getting tired of paying close to $5 a gallon for gas!
So, unfortunately, because living in Hawaii has gotten more expensive, I had to raise my prices a bit. And, I had to start charging for services I usually didn’t charge for before. What’s new?
- COORDINATION FEE FOR SMALL WEDDINGS – For small weddings, I am now adding a $165 coordination fee. For the longest time, I coordinated weddings for no charge, and made the majority of my money off of photography and video services. Now, I need a bit more help money-wise, and here I am charging for planning.
- HAWAIIAN SERVICE – If you want to add a little Hawaiian flare to your wedding, it is now $50 more. That Hawaiian “flare” includes an Aloha ceremony, a lei exchange, sharing of breath (He’alo He’alo), Hawaiian blessing, in addition to our usual traditional ceremony.
- QUICK MUSIC SERVICE – Our minister happens to also be a professional vocalist and guitarist. So if you pick this option, he can sing you walking in, walking out, and he can sing a Hawaiian song that you can dance to on the beach! This is $150. If you want a separate singer for one hour, it’s $250
The price of flowers and transportation went up. The price of limousine services is really high these days. If you are interested in a price for a limo, please call me and I can get you a quote. But with the price of gas going up, up, and up, it doesn’t look like these prices will go down, until Brandon gets out of office. Flowers too, those prices are going up. I raised my prices last year and won’t have to do it again – yet.
INFLATION, LET’S BE REALLY HONEST
If you’re living and breathing, and not some rich spoiled brat who has never worked for a penny in your life, you’re probably feeling the pinch right now. Everything is more expensive, especially food. Don’t expect caterers to honor their prices as they once did. When the price of an egg omelet doubles in a matter of a month, you can’t expect caterers to offer locked-in prices. I’m starting a BBQ joint, by the way, and we will be offering catering services. When I started smoking meat, a brisket was $2.29 a pound a three years ago. It got up to $5.99 a pound last year, and is now $3.99. At our current price, that’s still a 74% increase. Inflation is not at just 6%, don’t believe the feds. Prices are out of control. Do you think gas, housing, meat, travel, has gone up only 6%?
Now, the great news, is that you can still get married on a budget, if you want.
I wrote an article addressing inflation and Hawaii weddings CLICK HERE TO READ IT!!
WILL PRICES EVER GO BACK DOWN?
Yes, once the economy gets healthy again. Don’t forget, a healthy economy is one where companies will compete for your business, and part of healthy competition includes price wars. Limo prices will go down as they have to compete with each other, and uber. The only reason why companies are raising prices, is because the cost of doing business, and the cost of living, has skyrocketed – especially in Hawaii. Once oil prices plunge, everything will come down.
Steve Young
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