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" For years now, brides have been onto something casually known as the &amp;quot;wedding tax&amp;quot;: a price markup that, supposedly, some party vendors\u2014think caterers, florists, photographers, and venues\u2014add simply because their client is having a wedding. It&amp;#039;s led some couples to tell the ultimate white lie on their trip down the aisle, misleading vendors by pure omission or by calling their reception a &amp;quot;party.&amp;quot;  But where&amp;#039;s the evidence that such an arbitrary markup exists? To find out, Today show correspondent Jeff Rossen and producer Lindsey Bomnin each visited the same DJ, photographer, and venue separately. Rossen got quotes for a birthday party, while Bomnin pretended to be planning a wedding.  In the end, the total price estimated for the &amp;quot;wedding&amp;quot; was nearly $900 more than what was named for the &amp;quot;party.&amp;quot; The main culprit? The DJ, who offered a package for the birthday party at $1,650, and the same package for the wedding at nearly $2,500\u2014an almost $850 price gap. When asked about the discrepancy later, the DJ company told NBC News:  Weddings require much more attention to detail. The talent must go through a lengthy training process and backup equipment is also taken. Birthday parties have less formalities and planning time is at nearly a minimum.  But the report ruffled a few feathers in the wedding industry, and some wedding vendors say the investigation unfairly fuels misinformation and distrust among customers. For example, Morgan, the photographer behind Indigo Lace, responded with a scathing missive, accusing the Today show of &amp;quot;not respecting the hard work&amp;quot; that vendors put into serving their clients.  &amp;quot;The DJ was right in saying that a wedding requires way more than an average birthday party. [The report] confused our potential clients and it made wedding vendors seem sneaky and greedy,&amp;quot; Morgan wrote.  She then lists, in detail, the steps that go into a wedding shoot, from the face-to-face consultation and checking equipment inventory and backup batteries the night before to the &amp;quot;wedding hangover&amp;quot; of aching joints and swollen feet caused by hours of trailing the happy couple on their big day.  &amp;quot;A wedding and a birthday party are two different beasts,&amp;quot; Morgan concludes. &amp;quot;A birthday party might require one face-to-face meeting, possibly a second shooter, a few nights of editing, and we&amp;#039;re done.&amp;quot; (h/t Huffington Post) "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.countryliving.com/entertaining/a39632/wedding-cost-less-if-called-a-party/>