I’m struggling to find the balance when it comes to paying my team. On one hand, I don’t want to underpay them—I really value their work and want them to feel appreciated and stay with me long-term. But on the other hand, with at least two people (sometimes more) working every wedding day, the costs really add up, and I sometimes feel like I’m not making enough myself after everything is paid out. I’ve raised my prices recently, which I think will help, but I still wrestle with wanting to be fair while also protecting the sustainability of my business. I also cover their mileage for each wedding and host a big thank-you trip at the end of the year, so I want them to feel cared for beyond just the paycheck. How do you find the right balance?

@Taylor Courtney My team is paid hourly, which I feel is fair given the amount of work they put into setup and tear down. When I look at it as a single wedding day, it seems like a good amount of money, but I also recognize how much work and energy goes into each event. I want them to feel appreciated. Some of the trouble is also that a lot of times when couple's book I have no idea about what their final setup will be (for month-of clients) so a lot of times I end up needing more than 1 assistant to get everything that the couple wants done, and then I end up having to pay for that out of my own pocket. For travel, I do charge clients if it’s a Philly wedding since we’re usually going down and back four times. The tricky part is rehearsals—many couples aren’t sure upfront if they want one, so sometimes I don’t charge for the extra trip. Then when they add it later, they don’t want to pay the additional fee. To clean this up, I’ve added to my contract that if they want a rehearsal the night before, there will be an additional charge since it’s essentially another full day plus mileage and gas. Are you asking how do I calculate travel costs for my team or for clients? At the end of each season, I also host a big thank-you trip for the team. Anyone who works over 5 weddings in the year can come. I cover everything—flights, hotel, rental car, food, etc.—and it usually runs me around $5,000+. I’ve asked the team if they’d prefer just getting extra money instead, but they’ve all said they love the trips and value the experience. In terms of responsibilities, I handle most of the planning, sales calls, and client communication myself. My lead, Emily, does help with some admin tasks, and I pay her hourly for that separately from her wedding day rate. No one else generates leads—it’s all me through my own marketing, referrals, and networking. I’m still trying to balance sustainability for myself while being fair to my team and my clients. I struggle with not just giving everything because I totally get budgets and the cost of a wedding being high but then I end up burning myself out because I do too much. I have gotten a lot better though.