Carly’s passion for fine jewelry sparked in 2015 when friends and family members began asking for guidance when purchasing engagement rings and gifts. She began researching the industry and sketching in her spare time. After producing her first engagement ring and designing her own class ring, she was hooked.
Upon graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, Carly took a position at a national jewelry store to learn more about the fine jewelry industry. There, she quickly rose to a management level position and obtained her Diamond Council of America Diamontologist Certification. Over time, she began craving greater design freedom and closer relationships with her clients. After a year, she resigned from the company and founded ECM Gems. Carly now enjoys complete creative freedom and continues to demystify the industry for her clients.
Carly has had the privilege of helping hundreds of clients navigate the custom design and jewelry selection process. Whether she is advising gift giving, sourcing stones, or creating a completely customized design, no question is too small and no project is too big. Carly’s greatest joy comes from being an advocate and educator for her clients, so their dream of fine jewelry can become a reality.
To better help her clients, Carly chose to further her diamond and gemstone education at the Gemological Institute of America. There she attained one of the most prestigious credentials in the industry, GIA Graduate Gemologist.
Do you feel like the industry charges more “because it’s a wedding” and they know it’s an emotional purchase?
Do companies think that they can charge more for weddings since the bride and groom may be willing to spend more on their dream wedding?
Hey wedding pros – is this higher price tag justified? Why? Do you charge more for your service if it is a wedding?
This is a taboo topic, whispered but not discussed… until now.
Welcome to The Uncorked Project!
2 comments
I have been asked this so many times... does the wedding industry inflate prices when they hear it's a wedding?
Here is my honest answer (as a former wedding photographer)... NO. Did I charge more for a wedding than a 50th birthday party or a family portrait session? Yes, absolutely. I charged A LOT more for a wedding.
Was I taking advantage of the emotional sell? Absolutely not.
The main reasons I charged more for a wedding were: the unseen amount of work involved in the 12+ months leading up to the wedding, the skill level needed on the day, the INTENSE pressure to create perfect "portfolio level work" no matter what the reality of the situation- but mostly it is to compensate for the time AFTER the wedding in post production.
Little known fact about wedding photography - the real job is sitting at a computer editing photos. Photographers spend many hours behind the computer carefully selecting and editing photos. They make adjustments, crop, and adjust colors to ensure each image it's best. Don't forget the time it takes for batching, renaming, importing, exporting and uploading the photos and preparing them for delivery.
Do you think this justifies why photographers charge more for weddings than for other types of shoots?
Couldn’t agree more! And on the videography side its an absolute ton of data + editing discipline.
Its a double sided coin- weddings are extremely high pressure but also high reward when we nail it.
Our products (photo video) in particular are the only thing that genuinely will last forever . Having fun and ALSO nailing the product is worth the price of entry and frankly more.