Why is it so expensive?
“Why is it so expensive?” - You, probably.
Look, I get it, having a live artist at your wedding seems like a great idea, until you see the price tag. Some people just quietly walk away, others try to haggle the price, but a surprising number of people react with anger. I've had people get really mad at my pricing, and I know from the other artists I've met in the industry that this isn't an uncommon reaction, so I'm going to put all my cards on the table and give you an answer.
Let's get into it!
I can't speak for all artists in the industry, so I'm going to talk from my personal experience, but please believe me: I'm not an outlier.
1. I'm really good at this
I don't mean to toot my own horn, but... Toot Toot!
I'm REALLY good at drawing. I am a BAFTA credited animator, I trained in painting at the Academy of Fine Art in Venice, and I've spent more time drawing than most people would consider 'healthy' or 'a good idea'.
I could charge minimum wage for my time, but I’m just not a minimum wage artist.
2. It's hard work
Just because we make it look easy, doesn't mean that it is! Aside from the physical strain of being on your feet drawing for up to ten straight hours - it's also mentally incredibly taxing. Each drawing requires 100% focus, and every drawing that I do represents my top skill as an artist, so every drawing that I do is the most important one I've ever done.
Now please don't get me wrong, I LOVE doing what I do, but I couldn't do it every day. The mental fatigue after a full day drawing is like driving from London to Durham and back again in one day. It takes a minute to recover.
3. It's a two person job
One of the things that makes me such a great wedding artist is that I draw really fast. If I have a constant stream of guests ready and waiting to be drawn, I can draw twenty couples (which is forty guests) in an hour. But the only way I can work so fast is because I have an assistant with me who takes care of everything else - the digitising and documenting of the drawings, explaining to your guests how it works, framing up or packaging the drawings to be safely taken away by your guests, making sure that no one picks up any of the drawings of the Happy Couple that we've left out on display (Grandmothers and Uncles are particularly dangerous!) and generally making sure that everything runs smoothly.
Without my second person, the number of guests that I can draw throughout the whole day drops by about 75%, because the bit that takes the least amount of time is actually the drawing itself!
4. I'm NOT a photographer
I don't use my phone to capture photos of your guests, and then sit and draw them in the corner. I have you and your guests stand in front of me, and I draw them in real time, live and unedited.
It's rare these days when people aren't on their phones - weddings remain some of the last remaining situations where it's completely acceptable to tell people to put their phones away and to exist in the here and now.
With me your guests will be still - just for a few minutes - and really look around and see the party going on around them. I encourage my subjects to chat with each other and almost try to forget that I'm drawing them. I will capture them in their truest form - not posing for a camera, not plastered with awkward smiles, and no intrusive filters. Just them as they are, experiencing the magic of the day.
5. You don't have to worry about wedding favours
How many weddings have you gone to where the happy couple either spent loads of money, loads of time (or both), putting together wedding favours, only for them to be left on the table at the end of the night because the guest either forgot them or never wanted them in the first place?
When you hire an artist like me (some artists work in different formats that don't allow for this), I make sure that EVERY guest who wants a drawing gets one before the end of the night. Will there be some guests who don't take home a drawing? Of course, because not everyone will want one. But you can take 'think about wedding favours' off of your (let's face it, already huge) list of thigs to do before the wedding, because THAT'S MY JOB!
I sometimes have guests come up and express that they're sorry they can't get a drawing because they don't have any cash on them, and when I tell them that the drawings are gifts from the Wedding Party, they are SO happy.
These are mementos of your day that your friends and family will not only keep forever because they love YOU, but they'll be framed and displayed because they love THEM. How many wedding favours have you kept out for everyone to see?
6. I'm more than just an artist
I'm an icebreaker.
There's always a period at the beginning of weddings where the guests are still warming up to each other. During those quiet moments of the day either before the ceremony, or while you're off taking your photos with the rest of the wedding party, I provide a point of focus for your guests, so no one needs to worry about not knowing what to talk about. I usually end up with an audience while I'm working, and the artwork display is a miniature gallery for your friends and family to come and look at when they need a break from mingling.
I have options to use an over the shoulder camera rig, cast live onto either a television screen, a roaming tablet, or even to a live stream that guests can watch from their own phones, so they can get up close and personal with the drawings (without actually needing to breathe down my neck).
7. I say YES!
I love love, and I love weddings, and I don't have an HR department. If I can say yes to a special request, I will. I will go above and beyond to make your day special and perfect. I don't take on weddings for people I don't get on with - my prices allow me to be picky with my clients - so when I say that I want your day to be perfect, you had better believe that I mean it. I've been known to tie bows on the backs of chairs, keep children out of the line of photography, and even make sure everyone knows just how to throw their confetti to make for perfect pictures as you leave the ceremony.
When you hire me, you're not hiring a technician, you're hiring an artist. If you want me to work on one huge piece of paper instead of multiple small ones, I will do that. If you want me to use a specific colour palette, not a problem. If you want me to draw all your guests with wings on horseback... I will learn how to draw horses!
If I can, I will, and you absolutely should feel comfortable asking.
8. I'm not cheap
Now, this one is obvious, but it's true. I'm not cheap.
You know when you're shopping, and you find a pair of shoes that are seriously cheap, you think 'there must be something wrong with them' or if you're going out to a restaurant, and you find a steak house offering SUSPICIOUSLY cheap meat, you might not trust the quality.
I always tell people that I'm an add on service to the wedding. If you have to choose between me and a photographer, pick the photographer. If you have to choose between me or the dream dress... Well that's a no brainer.
The reality is that the value of art is subjective. My art is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. You may think that my work doesn't bring enough value to your wedding to justify the price tag, and that's okay. There may be other artists out there who perhaps don't have the experience and credentials to be able to charge as much as I do, and if the work that they produce is good enough to fulfil your needs, you absolutely SHOULD go with the more affordable option.
This is a true passion of mine, and I want to work with people who really appreciate art and who can really understand what I do. I value quality over quantity, and I would never, ever want anyone to describe me as 'cheap'.