(XP) What Would You Pay a Friend to Design Invites?

MrsMik2017

I have a talented bestie since childhood who's in marketing but trying to get a graphic design side-hustle going. Not doing bridesmaids, but she'd definitely be one. I've approached her about doing paper materials for our wedding and sending me the digital files to print elsewhere. When the topic of payment came up she said, "Just tell me what you are willing to pay me & that'll be fine." 

Asked for: 

1. Invitations suite (Invite, Reply, Details card)

2. Activity card on one side & Thank you note on the other side

3. Ceremony program 

4. A couple of other signs (hashtag, a quote) 

She's also amazing at hand-lettering so I've asked her to come down one weekend from Dallas to Austin (probably some same weekend I have a bridal shower) & we'll make the physical signs. I am willing to pay her a flat rate for everything & cover travel and expenses on the crafting weekend. What is the rate you would pay her based on the info I've given (design experience, friendship, scope of work)?

knottiee522d50d24eb5bfd

The average newbie graphic designer charges $25-50 per work hour, and you shouldn't skimp on paying someone for their hard work just because you're friends (ESPECIALLY for work that's traditionally undervalued, like art). I'm designing my own save-the-dates/invitations/programs because I want a fairly complex design and I know hiring someone to draw it for me would cost through the nose (and also because I'm a bit of a control freak).

I don't know how fancy you want yours to be. Simple text aligned in a pretty font, maybe one little leaf scroll border? Budget an hour per item and you're paying her 4 x (25-50) = $100-200. Want something super-busy, like a full city skyline or a jungle full of animals? She could spend a full eight-hour work day on each thing, reformatting it to fit on different-shaped cards, so now you've got (8 x 4) x (25-50) = $800-1,600.

And yes, this is on top of covering her travel and providing the crafting supplies. Getting talented people to do art for you isn't cheap. You should be looking at at least $100 for the design work alone.