RESOLVED: Major Wedding Issue

[brady_dillsworth]

Many of you might remember my post

(http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00CfKL) asking

for guidance on how to handle a wedding situation where I did not have

a contract or locations up to two hours before the wedding... the

proofs have been delivered and I believe that I was able to resolve

the situation appropriately.

 

I called the Bride's cell phone as I was searching for the correct

venue asking what was going on with the wedding, later I called a

second time to explain what happened. I did not receive any reply,

which was not too shocking. I assumed that they were on their

honeymoon so I waited it out. A few weeks went by and I received an

email from the bride (I won't post it verbatim, so you will have to

trust my summary).

 

'I am wondering if you have the proofs, we have not heard back from

you. Also we need to talk about the accommodations and arrangements

made for you at the reception. Lastly, the second photographer never

made it to the wedding.'

 

I reply with a very detailed email covering every aspect of the entire

process:

 

Your proofs were ordered on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 and the order was

fulfilled on Friday, July 8, 2005. The proof prints should be

delivered to me the week of the eleventh. I will ship the proof prints

plus the full resolution CDs to you via priority mail after I receive

them.

 

When you say 'We also we need to talk about the accommodations and

arrangements made for you at the reception.' let me know what you

mean, since I am not clear on that. When I entered the reception the

videographer PERSON A was near a table next to his video camera and he

showed me where we were seated. There was a place tag with my name

hand written in ink with the fish meal written on the card and then

scribbled out replaced with the word chicken, so it appeared as though

I was provided a seat with the chicken meal right next to PERSON A's

assistant. Let also be known that you had offered me and the

videographer a bar certificate for the reception. I replied to your

email saying that I appreciated the gesture but that I would not (and

did not) accept the gift, as I am under the legal drinking age and I

would NEVER drink on the job.

 

On June 24, 2005 (the night before your wedding) your mother and I

spoke on the telephone. I had called your cell phone and her home

phone several times and I emailed you numerous times letting her and

you know that I did not have a signed contract yet and so did not have

all of the details confirmed. When your mother returned my call on

June 24, 2005 in the evening she asked me what was going on, I told

her that I did not know for sure what was going on with the wedding,

as I had not yet received the signed and dated contract (the first was

hand delivered when I met your mother at her house in person, the

second was mailed to her at her home and the third was emailed to

you). I told her that I needed to have a contract signed, which would

confirm the details, before I would photograph the wedding. She said

that she would sign it at the Hotel the morning of the wedding if I

would meet her there, I agreed.

 

While I was on the telephone with your mother we discussed what the

wedding package included. She asked if it included an album and I told

her that it did not. She told me that I should include an album, that

every photographer provides an album. I told her that I don't include

albums for the price that I was going to be hired for but that she

could either make one herself or order one later. Your mother told me

that my price was too high to not include an album, there was a brief

moment of silence then we began to renegotiate. The original price was

for $1325.00 and that was for half-day wedding photography of six

hours. The renegotiated price was $1000.00 for six hours and a single

photographer, as two-hundred dollars of the $325.00 reduced amount

would have paid for a second photographer. When you asked me if a

second photographer would be coming I went outside to call PERSON B,

someone who works in photography with me, and he told me that he was

having car difficulties with his transmission. As the contract for the

discounted price made no mention of a second photographer I did not

have to call PERSON B, since he was eliminated with the renegotiation.

 

I met with your mother at the Hotel early on June 25, 2005. Two copies

of the contract were signed and $400.00 was paid to me in cash. I

received one copy of the contract and your mother received the other.

The contract had incorrect information on it; the location for the

ceremony was listed as the WP 1, not the CP. The contract was signed

and dated with the incorrect information on it. From the two voice

messages left on your telephone on June 25, 2005 you should have heard

that I was frantically trying to find the venue for your wedding, as

it was not at the WP 1.

 

When I asked at the front desk of the WP 1 where I might find the

outdoor ceremony I was told that there was no wedding ceremony

scheduled for the day. I proceeded to go to the WP 2, where again I

was told that there was no outdoor wedding ceremony. After this I went

back to the WP 1 and looked around the grounds to make sure that I was

not incorrectly informed by the service desk attendant. From the WP 1

I proceeded to go to the WP 3, where they had no wedding pictures

scheduled until 5:30pm. From the WP 3 I went to WP 4 and found out

that there was a wedding ceremony about to begin, but it was not the

COUPLE'S NAME Wedding. From WP 4 I returned to the Hotel and asked the

front desk where the COUPLE'S NAME wedding party had their ceremony

scheduled for. As the Hotel had provided transportation to the

ceremony they had records of the locations. They told me that it was

at one of three locations, but they could not be 100% certain of the

correct location because they had several wedding parties staying at

the hotel. One of the three locations that the Hotel confirmed that a

wedding party was transported to was the CP. Since the CP was the only

place that I had not already been to I immediately went following the

conversation at the Hotel. When I made it to the CP the ceremony had

ended and you and your husband had left in a horse drawn carriage. I

spoke with the videographer (PERSON A) to be sure that the CP was the

correct location and that the wedding ceremony had in fact ended, both

were true.

 

Please be advised that due to the confusion associated with the

provision of an incorrect location for a portion of your wedding

ceremony some photographs that would have otherwise been taken may not

have been. However, I think that you will be particularly pleased with

the many excellent photos of your special day that I did shoot.

 

Enclosed in the priority mail package, that should be shipped the week

of July 11, 2005, please find approximately 500-4x6 inch proof prints

of the preparation, the formal portraiture and several hours of the

reception (ending at approximately 9:15pm) as well as one copy of four

full resolution CDs that contain the wedding images and a letter

granting you and your family permission to have the wedding

photographs reprinted and enlarged at a photography lab. I look

forward to receiving the remainder of your balance; a check can be

made payable and sent to the information below in the amount of $472.50.

 

The bride replied with:

 

My mother had been out of town, I did discuss this with her and she

explained what happened. I can't wait to see those proofs. Thanks

 

Now as far as I can tell this has been resolved. The package was sent

with almost every security option available from Priority Mail, and it

was the best 20.00 I ever spent to send a package 40 miles. Thank you

to everyone who replied to my original post.

[picturesque]

I am really hoping, for your sake, that it truly is resolved without any difficulties, but it is not may experience that these kind of cases go away without further complications. Hope for the best, but be prepared for something less.

[conraderb]

thanks for the update, brady. I was wondering when we would hear back. sounds like things are going to be A-okay, after a wedding that seemed stressful enough to make you want to run away from the trade forever...

 

conrad

[Jerry_]

Trusting soul, ehhhhhhh (as the Canadian dialect would go?)

 

 

 

"...a check can be made payable and sent to the information below in the amount of $472.50."

 

 

 

 

After the 'fine' drive around town from mis-information, you really sent the photographs, release, and CDs to the bride before you had your final payment in hand?

[jaimie blue]

Brady, when I first decided I wanted to shoot weddings and then found this forum, your story was one of the first I read. I was at the edge of my seat, griping tale really, and I could not wait to hear the outcome, and I realized all that can go wrong...and after all this you gave them the work without final payment, why?

[johnmarkpainter]

Brady.....

 

Something you should consider...when you Google your name, the 4th hit is your "Major

Wedding Issue for Saturday" thread.

[brady_dillsworth]

John,

 

I noticed that, it is the primary reason for removing all of the names and venues. Hopefully googlebot indexes photo.net again soon, I'd sure like one of my other threads to come in place of this one.

 

BradyDillsworth.com only gets a few queries each month for my name or a combination of my name with other keywords, hopefully anyone visiting photo.net from a search on my name will read the thread to get all the details.

 

Jaimie and others, I will discuss the delivery of materials later. It has to do with how well indexed this thread is by google.

[todd1664878707]

As awful as this whole experience was, I hope that you learned a lot from it. I never shoot a wedding without excepting 100% of the money BEFORE the wedding. Actually, I state that I need the money 2 weeks prior to the event so that I have time to make sure the checks cash. Thanks for the update I was wondering what happened. Good luck on future weddings. Hopefully you got all your bad luck out of the way.

[wedding-photography-denver]

As Todd says, lets hope you had all of your mishaps happen at this one and have no more to suffer (ever!).

 

I have lost potiential clients for reasons of requiring the total balance due at least 30 days prior to the date. OTOH, I have always had a 100% success at the debt collection side :-).

 

Hope all comes out well for you.

[todd frederick]

Ten or so years ago it was a standard practice to receive 1/3 deposit, 1/3 at times of services, and 1/3 on delivery of proofs (or something similar to that). Now it seems there is a much stronger trend to total advanced payment. Be that as it may, under the circumstances of your situation, I would not have given any proofs without immediate cash payment. I truly think the client will try to find reasons not to pay the balance. I hope I'm wrong.

[joshroot]

I always get the money in advance.

 

Hasn't ever been a problem for me.

[jeffrey_blake_adams]

Hope it works out, I always get a signed, correct, contract, and payment in full upon booking the date. I do let them pay the last half if they must, up to 30 days prior. I ALWAYS send Fedex. I never send anything that has not been paid 100%

 

The "clients" I have lost due to this, have saved me thousands in cardiac care, that I never needed, and in litigation expense that wasn't needed. If they balk, let em walk, there are plenty of clients that are honest and can afford to do business professionally.

 

Always provide more than they expect.

 

Best wishes, Jeffrey

[nicola_grimshaw_mitchell]

Bradley, this is a very interesting case, you have handled it with much decorum! Well done for keeping your cool with such terrible clients. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE change your contract policy to include ALL payment up front. Im guessing you will have another problem on your hands trying to recover the outstanding payment due to you. Change your contract NOW and never go back!!!

 

LOL

 

Nicola

[nicola_grimshaw_mitchell]

Bradley, this is a very interesting case, you have handled it with much decorum! Well done for keeping your cool with such terrible clients. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE change your contract policy to include ALL payment up front. Im guessing you will have another problem on your hands trying to recover the outstanding payment due to you. Change your contract NOW and never go back!!!

 

LOL

 

Nicola