Creative ways to afford your live wedding painting

Photo: Double Knot pictures

The engagement and wedding planning period can be super dreamy. But cost factors and reality quickly seep in, and something lovely can quickly become something anxiety inducing. The catering, venue, favors, music, and essentials could dampen your bandwidth to explore additional services you'd love to have but might not seem attainable with the budget.

Live painters (should) completely understand this dilemma! Our goal in serving you is to create something so customizable, and unlike any other wedding vendor service, that you will cherish forever. It's not easy, and it's not cheap. But we'd argue it's well worth it, and if you've arrived here, chances are you're thinking it might be too.

Because this is a luxury service (not a standard expectation) and there are a wide range of factors influencing the cost - including artist experience, canvas size, and travel considerations (to name a few). The price range can vary greatly from $800-$10,000. There's lots to read online regarding the 'why' behind the price tag, which I encourage you to divulge if you haven’t already. However, I want to encourage you with the 'how' to attain it.

You could certainly take on extra shifts or try other income streams (my friend worked extra shifts to make it happen). Or you could save that plan as a last resort. Let's walk through some ways to attain something like this, both in what to ask for and how to ask for it.

Disclaimer: This information serves as an assistive guide through your investigation process, but no two artists are the same. This information is also NOT going to be a negotiation guide between the client and painter. As previously stated, the cost associated reflects a number of factors and it can pretty much be summarized in the word value. These tips are for those who might not know what to expect when beginning the search for a painter or those who may be sticker shocked but still intrigued with a strong desire to make it work if possible.

What and who to ask for

Disclaimer: This section contains some considerations for those who may not have a clear vision of the painting intricacies. If you already know who how many family members you want to be depicted, desired venue details, and who you want to be your painter, skip down to the How to Ask for it section! We want you to get what you're looking for without completely changing your vision. Some painting additions like commemorating a family member who's passed are nonnegotiable and the whole purpose for a service like this. But if you're starting from scratch, here are the most affordable specifics to ask for.

Simplicity

If you'd be happy with a portrait of just you and your future spouse, this is likely the lower cost choice. Most painters will charge extra for additional portraits. If you're happy with having photos of family members, then you might not need the extra portraits in your painting. If you'd like more movement or filled space, background silhouettes can often be added at no extra cost. There are other ways to customize your painting without adding additional faces or incurring additional costs, like requesting a specific time of day sky, additional foliage from another season, or requesting a composition angle that your photographer likely won't capture.

Think about your space and your future home space. If you plan on covering your walls with many things, selecting a smaller canvas size would work just fine. Check out the sizes offered and picture your space and future space when considering this. Sometimes less is more!

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Who to ask for

If you have not been completely sold on a renowned artist, there are often local and emerging artists who offer lower cost options without have to compromise on value. If you've spoken to an artist who is completely out of your budget range, don't be afraid to ask them if they know other artists who'd be a better fit. Look for signs of professionalism without the never-ending portfolio. Unless you are in love with an artist in another state, look for those in nearby cities to avoid additional travel costs if possible.

As an alumni of the Wedding Painter's Blue Print Course, I would suggest that looking at educator pages and their students is a great place to start. This is because you know that even though a student artist might be less experienced, they were taught by the best and they are not getting booked by the skin of their teeth. Visit the “student spotlight” posts or see who’s tagging the educator. Searching course pages like these on social media will lead you to professionally guided artists who might be newer to the industry, but are set up for success and are growing as skilled artists in community.

How to ask for it

Have you taken the financial burden entirely upon yourself? Who says you have to! It never hurts to try other creative avenues to get to where you'd like to go. Whether you're sold on a renowned artist or you've already inquired for lower cost options to no avail with your budget, these strategies apply to any situation. You can probably combine all of these ideas to maximize savings.

The gifter

It might seem daunting to ask a family member to gift this type of service, but let me tell you, it happens all the time! I have taken requests from grandparents, aunts, and so on. This is a great gift to ask for because it is so unique and your family member will get bragging rights at your wedding for being so nuanced. It not only gets you what you want, but the one gifting will feel so special for just being a part of the creative process. Literally the worst thing they can say is no, and you'll never know if you don't try.

If you can get one person to split the cost with you as a partial gift even - what a difference that could make! You’d need to coordinate payments, as usually one person is considered ‘the client’ in the exchange, but at the end of the day you’re paying less and that’s more manageable.

Using your platform

You are probably already set up to try this if you're using a website for your wedding. Many wedding sites like Zola and the Knot give you the option to create a gift fund on your registry. People often use these for their honeymoon fund but you can also utilize these for anything... including a live painting service. I used mine for a tattoo fund (I didn’t know about live wedding painting when I got married). At best, the entire cost is covered; at worst you have extra funds to put towards whatever you'd like. Additional funds might significantly reduce your upfront cost and make live painting services more attainable. The downside of this option is that your downpayment or retainer portion is often required to lock in your date with your vendor, so this is something to start sooner than later. If you’ve secured a venue about 1.5-2 years in advance, this is the perfect time to start plugging your live painting fund. The best way to use this fund is to reimburse yourself later after securing your painter.

Look for payment plans

Many artists advertise that they accept spread out payment plans so that you don't have to pay one lump sum upfront. Even if they don't advertise this, once again, it doesn't hurt to ask. Spreading costs out is a common method across the board for many services, and live wedding painting services are no different in this regard.

Ask about promotions

Booking does fill quickly for many artists, so generally the earlier you can get on the calendar the better. But if you don't even have a wedding date yet or your date is pretty far out in the future this is a good time to inquire. If you are looking into an emerging artist especially, it is possible that they have plans for promotions, giveaways, or other deals in the works. A good question to ask is when is the best time to book in light of possible deals (like Memorial Day, Black Friday, etc). You can also just head to your favorite artist's website and sign up for their newsletter to get notified for these updates.

Overall

Don't get overly overwhelmed in the process. Getting married is the focus, and if you can't get every single thing you're looking for that's still okay. But if you don't explore different funding outlets or request different options, you don't want to wish you did later.

Even if live painting services don't work out, most artists would be glad to complete a commissioned painting from photos of your wedding in their studio. This is a lower cost option if you are wanting a wedding painting and are not attached to the live entertainment aspect. Commission paintings can be, and often are, great gifts as well to ask for as a wedding or anniversary present.

Enjoy the journey and take it day by day! For more information, don't be a stranger 🤩 reach out and ask for more!

Senea Bryant, artist, sitting on a bench — Senea Bryant

Having a Live Wedding Painter is Not Cheap... But I’d Really Like to Make it work