Should wedding and event businesses show prices on their website?
Usually, yes. What kind of price to show for hire items, packages and bespoke styling, when hiding prices is defensible, and what Australian Consumer Law expects.
Usually, yes, but show the right kind of price. A genuine starting price or package price filters out enquiries you can’t serve and makes good enquiries quicker to quote. Itemised prices suit standard hire stock. Bespoke styling needs ranges and real examples, not a menu. Whatever you show, Australian Consumer Law expects the advertised figure to be the total the customer will actually pay.
What hiding every price actually costs you
The argument for hiding prices is that every event is different, so a number on the website will scare people off or undersell the work. Some of that is true. But “price on application” has costs that don’t show up anywhere obvious.
- You answer the same question all day. “How much for a backdrop?” arrives by DM, email and phone, often from people who will never book.
- Budget mismatches surface late. You find out on the second call, after a moodboard, that the couple had a third of the budget.
- Some good customers simply leave. People who can’t find a ballpark don’t always ask. They go to the competitor whose site told them enough to feel safe enquiring.
Hiding prices doesn’t make your setups feel more luxurious. It makes your inbox feel like a game of twenty questions.
What to show depends on what you sell
| Business | What to show | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Standard hire stock: chairs, tables, marquees, glassware | Item prices, minimum orders and how delivery is charged | Customers compare like for like. A price per chair is expected, and hiding it reads as expensive or evasive. |
| Packages: picnics, proposal setups, photo booths, balloon walls | A total package price, exactly what’s included, and priced add-ons | The package is the product. Show it the way people will buy it. |
| Bespoke styling and planning | A genuine starting point, what moves the price, and two or three real examples with their range | Nobody can price a custom wedding from a menu, but couples need to know whether you’re in reach. |
| Venues | Per-head starting points, minimum spends and when they change (season, day of week) | Couples shortlist venues on budget first. If they can’t estimate, you drop off the shortlist. |
The bespoke row is where most stylists and planners hesitate. You don’t need a price list. A sentence like “Most of our ceremony styling falls between $A and $B, depending on guest count, florals and travel” gives a couple enough to self-qualify, and it’s honest. Use your own recent jobs to set those numbers, not a competitor’s website.
When not showing a price is defensible
- Your work is genuinely one-off and two jobs rarely land in the same range.
- Supplier costs, especially fresh florals, move so often that any number would be stale within weeks.
- The consultation is the product, and your positioning depends on a conversation first.
Even then, say something useful: a minimum spend, a typical starting point, or a short “investment guide” sent when someone enquires. “Contact us for pricing” on its own is the weakest option, because it gives the visitor nothing to decide with.
If you show a price, make it the real one
Australian Consumer Law has a rule about this. If you advertise part of a price, you must also show the single total price, at least as prominently as the part. Consumer regulators explain that the total has to include GST, any fees or charges the customer must pay, and any optional extras you have pre-selected. Optional extras the customer chooses can be priced separately.
How to write a starting price that doesn’t backfire
- The starting price is one you actually sell at, not a stripped-back version nobody buys.
- Inclusions are listed right next to it: hours, items, set-up and pack-down, travel radius.
- The things that move the price are named: guest count, weekday or weekend, stairs and access, distance, peak dates.
- Compulsory fees are included in the figure, and GST is included.
- There is a clear next step from the price: check a date, request a quote, or book.
Test it instead of arguing about it
Pricing visibility is easy to test because the effect shows up in your enquiries, not in a vanity metric. Before you change anything, note four numbers for the last two or three months: enquiries, enquiries that were a realistic fit, quotes sent and bookings. Add an optional budget range to your enquiry form. Then publish starting prices and compare the same numbers over a similar period, allowing for season.
If enquiry volume drops a little but booked work holds or rises, the prices are doing their job: fewer conversations that were never going anywhere. To do this properly you need enquiries tracked by source and stage, which is what conversion tracking is for. For the form itself, see how to design an enquiry form people actually finish.
Sources
- Price display: component pricing and the single priceConsumer Protection WA (Australian Consumer Law guidance). Updated 25 November 2024; explains what the single total price must include.
- Component pricingAustralian Competition and Consumer Commission