Just curious -- How much did the church organist charge you?

catarntina

The organist at the church finally called me back and told me it would cost $175.  I was wondering if this was about average.  It seems a little steep to me since the church is only charging $75 to do the ceremony.  The organist said he 'will play and sing.'

For those of you who are using (or used) the church organist, do you think this is a reasonable rate?  About how much did your church organist charge?

Calypso1977

ours was $260 (which i thought was steep!), and if we had opted for a vocalist, it would have been another $100.

so, if you are getting organ and vocal for $175, id say that's a good deal. 

mica178

I think mine is $100, which is amazing as I've met with her several times to talk about music, readings and wedding logistics.  Obviously I'll be giving her a gift on top of that.

I've heard of girls paying up to $300 for the church musicians, although that usually includes the organist and a vocalist as well.

bibliophile2010

Ours is $200 for music (piano) and vocals. $175 seems reasonable to me.

bellashauntee

Ours is $300 for vocals and organist.

lynnyloo

Our church fee/donation is $1,000.  On top of that our organist is $150 and the cantor is $75.

ring_pop

That is pretty reasonable, especially if he'll sing AND play.

At our church the music director charges $250 for piano + singing. Other pianists charge $150-$200 without vocals.

Remember that you're not only paying him for the hour he's spending at your wedding.

ev4149

Mine is $175 for the organist, who will sing and play. 

[Deleted User]

ours is $300

[Deleted User]

Our organist was $150. This fee included all the times she met with us regarding our music selections and ceremony. The cantor was $50. I think we paid $750 to get married in the church altogether.

Kaye Smith

Our organist was $200.00 - but we hired him from the National Guild of Organists (seriously, that is an organization!) - because we didnt't have a church organist since our wedding was at my alma mater.  It sounds like 175.00 is pretty reasonable - not sure if you want the organist at your rehearsal, but if you do, you might want to find out if his cost includes that as well. 

catarntina

Kaye Smith, The chuch said that the organist should not be present at the rehearsal, and if we wanted a music rehearsal, then we should make other arrangements with the organist.

Thanks for the responses!  It definitely seems like $175 is a very reasonable price when compared. I know that the $175 is not just for the ceremony.  It just seemed odd that the cost for the ceremony was only $75 compared to the cost for the organist.

mswood1977

Our church organist was $200 and our church cantor was $125.   There was no fee to use our church because we are parish members, though we did have to put up a $300 deposit that was returned to us.  We also had to pay $150 for the church wedding coordinator and $200 for our priest, those where all required fees by the church and we paid them in sealed cash envelopes to the church at our wedding rehearsal.

Theresa626

My church organist and cantor did not even show up to my wedding but I was still required to pay them one hundred dollars each.  I hired an 8 person choir instead that came with an organist.  That was 2000 dollars.  

SaraAndrew2010

We're paying the music $300 for our music consultations and to do organ/piano/singing.  Additional musicians range from $75-$175.

ootmother2

$250 and she had to be paid, used or not.

Organist & soloist and she was great.  We also brought in a trumpeter & flutist.

There was no charge for the church even though neither the bride nor the groom were members of the parish.

mlhw NH

$125 for the organist.  $300 for the church and $150 for the priest.

christyhal

I iwsh I knew...Our priest gave us the info on what must be paid to the chuch ($225) and said that if we did not use the organist, the fee that still had to be paid was $75 for her to consult and set things up.  We do want to use the organist, so the priest has said her fee is whatever we work out with her.  But I am having the worst luck trying to get in touch with her...

I am guessing based on what other people have said and what the other church fees are that the organist will be about $150.  I hope it does not end up being too much more than this!

crb3754

She said I could give her whatever I can afford.

Tuneful_Bride

Depending on your area, I would say the low end for a wedding musician is $150-200. I am somewhat dubious, however, about what the result will be. I've heard organists that sounded like crows and singers that played keyboards as if they were wearing boxing gloves. You have to sit to play the organ, and sitting is not especially conducive to well-supported singing. Take along a musician friend to hear this organist/vocalist in action doing both things at once, and make sure you're not trading amazing organ playing for mediocre vocals or vice-versa.

KatieJL121

That sounds reasonable to me.  Ours was going to charge $300 for organ/piano and vocals, but we already had 2 other people in mind for music....we brought someone else in that charged $200 for organ/piano only and another person was $200 for vocals only.  It was expensive!  But we knew them personally and loved their work. 

[Deleted User]

The organist is $200 dollars We are brining in our own musicians.
The average around NOVA is $200-$300, I believe that you are getting a good deal.

Pax,

Zippy88k

175 is completely acceptable. I've played for various weddings, and you should know that few people know the ceremony as well as the priest and the organist/pianist. The money is for our planning capabilities, our expertise, and our skill. You won't just have 4 songs played, there's going to be at the very least a half an hour before and after the ceremony of music being played. Add to that the fact that your organist is singing, that's even more technical skill being added on.

That being said, I think it's weird that the 175 doesn't include the rehearsal. The organist should be at the rehearsal; in my eyes, that's not really an option.

agapecarrie

I've played at least 60 weddings with my priest. I don't have to go to the rehearsal to know what's going to happen.

sboston06

I think that's a good price.  Our organist is $150 and the soloist is $150.

Josh+Shannon

we are paying $250 for the organist and $175 for the cantor. plus the church's $200 admin fee and then $100 "required donation" to the preist.

vickiloew

Ours is charging us $200 then we are also paying a soloist $125.  We plan to meet with both of them together to plan, etc.