11 Nov
2025
11 Nov
'25
6:18 p.m.
I call for weddings, camps, and other one-off events from a perspective of
community-building and "missionary work", rather than as a side hustle for
income (which is a luxury). As such, the attitude of the client makes a
difference to me. Others have already mentioned consideration of whether
it's a friend, or a long-time member of the dance community. If it's a
stranger, I will ask for some details about the event to get a feel for
what they're looking for -- where will this be held? What kind of floor
does the venue have? etc. I frame it as logistical questions (how far away
is it (my travel time), *but then I go and look up the venue and see what
they charge for an event. If this is a $10K wedding at a posh resort, I'll
charge 4-figures, and they won't blink. If it's a potluck on a family
farm, I'll charge a "non-profit" rate on par with a regular evening dance,
especially if it's not too far away. *
A big 2nd factor is how much of my day the entire event will suck up, from
the time I leave my house until I'm home again. It's often a 6-hour day,
for maybe 60-90 minutes of actual dancing.
- Diane
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diane Silver
Asheville, NC
On Tue, Nov 11, 2025 at 10:59 AM Joseph Erhard-Hudson via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Thanks to everyone who has responded for your
thoughtful and detailed
replies!
Point of order: I seem to recall that we are asked to include name and
location with our signatures. I could be misremembering, and it’s not a big
deal, but location could be particularly relevant information to this
discussion.
I confess my mind boggled a bit at quoted fees into 4 figures, although it
helped to know that those figures were (I believe) inclusive of sound, band
and caller, came from folks who do this as their livelihood and who, I
humbly concede, bring a level of professional experience and knowledge that
similarly dwarf my own. It feels a bit like the semi-retired small-town
solo lawyer helping a friend draw up a simple will, talking shop with his
big-city colleagues in a partnership about what they would charge for a
will with complex assets….
I’m similarly boggled at this glimpse into the wedding industry and its
costs. To know that a fee of $1250-$1750 in US dollars might still be the
cheapest part of an event … well, my one and only wedding (to my one and
only former spouse) was put on for $1000 exclusive of jewelry in 1989 –
about $2600 with inflation today. We were a frugal do-it-yourself couple
with similarly inclined extended families and friends, held the wedding in
my parents’ back yard with potluck, did not have a dance of any kind, and
eschewed most of the other trappings that have been laminated onto present
day weddings. We hadn’t been exposed much to traditional dance at the time:
if we had been, it’s likely our budget would have risen substantially to
include it. 🙂 I believed then and now that the best weddings are made by
getting your loved ones together to do something you’d do to celebrate and
introduce them if a wedding weren’t involved, and then tack on a marriage
ceremony. Never once have I considered fireworks as part of a such a
get-together…
I digress. Not to close the discussion, but this has been fun and
enlightening. Thanks again for the comments so far and any yet to come.
-j
Joseph Erhard-Hudson
Moscow, Idaho.
Sent from my phone, which has odd ideas about formatting sometimes.
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