Most event lighting companies price by working out their costs and adding a margin. That produces a number that is defensible and entirely forgettable, and it puts you in a straight comparison against whoever quoted lowest.
Pricing is a presentation problem as much as an arithmetic one. Here is how to structure it.
Why a single flat number costs you money
When you send one price, you have handed the buyer a yes or no decision. No is easier, and it requires no explanation.
You have also made the number the only variable. Your quote sits beside two others, and the only visible difference is the figure at the bottom.
Three tiers changes the question. Instead of deciding whether to hire you, the buyer decides which version to buy. That is a fundamentally easier decision, and you are now competing against yourself rather than against the cheapest quote in their inbox.
Building the three tiers
The tiers must be genuinely different, not the same package with items removed.
Entry. The honest minimum that still produces a room you are happy to photograph. Perimeter uplighting, basic control. This exists so that price sensitive buyers have somewhere to land rather than leaving.
Middle. The one most people should buy, and where your margin should be healthiest. Fuller uplighting coverage, a dance floor wash, a monogram or a feature element. Make this the obvious choice.
Top. Genuinely excellent rather than a decoy. Full coverage, feature lighting, pin spotting on tables and centrepieces, a design consultation, an on site technician for the evening. Some buyers will take it, and those buyers are often the easiest to work with.
A useful rule of thumb: the middle tier around one and a half to two times the entry, and the top around two and a half to three times. The exact multiples matter less than the gaps being meaningful.
Anchoring
Present the tiers highest first, or at least show all three together with the top tier visible.
A buyer who sees the top tier first evaluates everything else relative to it. A buyer who sees the entry tier first evaluates everything relative to that, and the middle tier starts to look expensive rather than sensible.
This is not manipulation. Both orderings are equally truthful. One simply gives the buyer a more useful frame.
Add ons
An add on menu does two things. It lifts the average booking value without any additional selling, and it lets a buyer who has chosen the middle tier feel they have customised rather than settled.
Things that work well as add ons:
- Monogram projection
- Additional uplighting beyond the package count
- Pin spotting on tables and the cake
- String lighting or a feature installation
- Cold spark fountains
- Ceremony lighting as a separate space
- An on site technician for the full evening
Price them individually and clearly. Buyers add more when the arithmetic is obvious.
Should you publish prices?
Yes, in some form. This is the argument we have most often, so here is the reasoning.
Buyers who cannot find any price signal frequently leave without enquiring. Not because they cannot afford you, but because they are afraid of wasting their time or being pushed into a sales conversation. You are losing enquiries you never see, so it feels costless when it is not.
You do not need a full rate card. Any of these works:
- Starting from a figure
- A typical range, for example most weddings between two and six thousand dollars
- The three tiers with prices attached
The secondary benefit is qualification. The enquiries you receive will be from people who can afford you, and you will stop spending evenings quoting jobs that were never going to book.
Deposits and payment terms
The terms are part of the price, and vague terms cost you cash flow.
What works in this industry:
- A deposit that genuinely secures the date, typically between a quarter and a half
- The balance due before the event rather than after, because chasing money from someone who has already had their wedding is unpleasant and slow
- Clear cancellation terms that are fair in both directions
- A stated overtime rate, so a late running event does not become an argument
Put all of this in the proposal rather than the contract only. Buyers who are surprised by terms at signing stage often do not sign.
Raising prices
Most lighting companies underprice for years and then raise everything at once, which is uncomfortable and loses clients.
Better: raise the middle and top tiers first, leave the entry tier alone for a season, and raise prices at the start of a booking cycle rather than mid season. Existing quotes already issued should be honoured.
If you are booked out for the season by early spring, your prices are too low. That is not a hunch, it is arithmetic.
What to do this week
Write your three tiers. Give them names rather than calling them bronze, silver and gold. Put the middle one in the position you want most people to choose.
Then add a starting from figure to your website and see what happens to enquiry quality over the next month.
The Quote and Close Vault contains the tier structures, the add on menus and the objection scripts written out in full.