patty_h. Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I am very sad this past weekend I had to cancel a wedding due a partial face paralysis. I woke up like this suddenly on Friday morning and I had to go to the hospital. My husband had to call the groom 5 hrs. before the wedding to let him know I was not going to be able to go. The whole time I was very upset and just thinking about the bride and how sad or upset she must have been without a photographer, i was more worried about her than about my own health. Has anybody ever had to cancel a wedding due to an illness? How did you deal with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosina_dibello Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Were you able to refer the bride to another photographer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_hovland Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 You were right to take care of yourself first because this sounds like a stroke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshroot Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Ugh, what a mess for everyone. I think something like this is one of a wedding photographer's worst nightmares. <p> I hope all goes well for you and that all went well for the b&g. Murphy's Law rules us all. And sometimes <i>the worst</i> happens. Prepare for them to be a little pissed if they weren't able to find a replacement photographer. But don't beat yourself up over it. Life happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 The wedding people I know have friends who can fill in for emergencies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I once got a last minute call to sub at a wedding for a friend who had appendicitis. His wife called me as the ambulance was arriving . My card just happened to be the first photographer' s card on his desk. I arrived at the church about an hour before the ceremony. To say the photos I made were great would be a lie but they were happy to see me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshroot Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 <i>"The wedding people I know have friends who can fill in for emergencies."</i> <p> Of course we do. Every smart wedding photographer has backup emergency people. But that is little consolation. Can you guarentee that your backup people will be available, willing, or even sober? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patty_h. Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 Yes, Josh this was a nightmare for everybody I still cannot believe this happened! And no I was not able to refer them to another photographer which was the worse part but the groom had mentioned that his brother was a photographer, I just hope that everything worked out for them considering the circumstances. My goal now is to try to find a back up photographer for emergencies, does anyone have any suggestions or advice? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdj Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 How are you doing, Patty? I hope it was a minor issue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_hovland Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 To find backups, join your local PPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_ellis Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 As Steve Hovland said, join PPA and your local chapters (state/region). I also network with several local photographers and we refer people to each other if we are booked. While it's not a guarantee that any of them will be available, the chances are higher than if they opened the phone book. In an emergency, my 20 year old assistant could take my place. While he's not me, he would be able to complete the job. This reminds me, I need to make an official list and put it with my business files so my wife knows where to find it. You never know when an emergency will come up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_schilling___chicago_ Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 How often do I suggest that people network with other local pros....I could have called 6 different friends that are pro wedding shooters. Just like equipment, we always need backups. Hope that you're well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_koopman Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 A little over a year ago my mother got very ill. She developed a bulbous mass on her inner thigh which grew into half a tomato size in a matter of hours. She had contracted a bacterial infection which morphed into cellulitis (the beginnings of a flesh eating disease.) The irony of the situation is that we lost my aunt (only 36 years at the time) who was a hair dresser to this same thing 5 years prior. She was gone in 48 hours. She was rushed into hospital on a Friday morning and had it lanced. At around 1am Saturday, the doctor noticed that the skin was not rejuvenationg itself, and so mum had to be air lifted to Toronto Wester hospital. My dad informed us via phone (we are 3 hours away from them) and suggested we stay near the phone. One hour later he phoned and said that the doctors told him to, 'call everyone.' We were due to photograph a wedding starting late that morning. I hurriedly packed - not knowing really how to... I packed a bathing suit, funeral clothes, etc etc. It was very surreal. I was in a state of shock and my adrenaline was running. My husband phoned a pool of excellent phootgraphers we knew, but they were all committed to other contracts. One of them, however, referred us to an awesome guy in town who just asked to stop by with the bride and groom's info, and told us to worry about payment and details later. I had the presence of mind to type a letter to the bride and groom, and we dropped it off their hotel. As immediate as my mother's illness was, I could not leave town without tying up loose ends. It was strange how it was our bridal couple's most important day ever, and somehow, it became mine too. They were incredibly wonderful, and totally understood. I am happy to report that my mom is alive and well, but it really was a matter of hours. She could feel her poor body failing. She had just turned 50. This story has other awesome miracles, such as the reunion of family we have not seen in many years. Mum asked her surgeon at her final check up if he had any other patients with flesh eating disease. He told her that he had one die, and one lose a limb. My mom did not lose anything, and gained an immeasurable amount more. It truly has been a year of thanksgiving - we love our job, we take it seriously; b/c you never know what life brings... Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffrey_blake_adams Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I hope you are finding your health issue sovled by now. Thsi is why you network, you have interns, assistants and others that you are training, you join PPA and WPPI and WPJA so that QUALIFIED pros with their own BACKUP plans, can take over for you if need be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcox2 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Digital Wedding Forum has an Emergency Shooter list. http://www.digitalweddingforum.com/forum/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_gillette Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 One should also see how this is covered (or not) by their business insurance policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah_dugan Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 richard - thank you so much for that heads up. i've browsed and added my name to the massachusetts list... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiyen Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Hm. Reason to join DWF right there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedding-photography-denver Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 The DWF has a way to get that done. Networking is what it takes as David S. said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savagesax Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Patty, hope you are feeling better. Richard, thanks for sharing that website. I didn't know about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiva Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I have a referral list but why doesn't (or do they?) photo.net have such a list? This would be an easy service to provide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_schilling___chicago_ Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 "I have a referral list but why doesn't (or do they?) photo.net have such a list?"-William M. Personally. I'm not at all keen on any lists off the internet. The point of networking is personal association with people. The six people that I could turn to at the drop of a hat ( their personal phone numbers are in my phone contact list) are all people I consider friends, three of them I met via this forum. There are many advantages to networking and emergency backup is just one of them. I did get one call from the DWF list and although I couldn't help him I gave him a couple of names that I recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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