Wedding Photographer help..

Its quite normal to pay in full a month before the wedding but every one is different, I take a £300 retainer then full payment on the 1st day of the month a month before the wedding. As I said every photographer works differently so it does sound about right, some new photographers will ask for full payment after the wedding, so I have heard.

As Bruce says, we all vary. As a general guide (from when we chat about this as photographers) I'd expect a sum of £200 to £500 as the retainer (maybe that's around their 30%?) with the balance to be paid 4-6 weeks before the wedding. 1 week before is very late, which I think is unusual.

As for the not turning up... you're supposed to have checked out this person, got their address, seen their portfolio! Maybe you've even been to their house! You should have a contract too. There is very little chance of a reputable supplier not turning up.

All the cases I know of where a photographer has not turned up have been where they are known for problems. Eg making up stories of illness or car crashes. The biggest risk appears to be booking photographers from voucher sites as they are trading at a loss and frequently shut down after trading a few months.

Completely normal Victoria, I ask for the final balance six weeks before.

Hi Victoria. I take 20% deposit on booking (So usually £240-£375 on average) with the remainder due 4 weeks before the wedding.

I would make sure you've heard from past clients etc about the photographer, most photographers wouldn't do something like that as it would completely ruin their reputation!

Standard practise....although make sure you get a contract...

Peter

Another photographer chiming in to add to the concensus. Deposit and full payment before wedding standard practice though when the final payment is due varies from photographer to photographer.

It's more common for couples to 'forget' and stall on final payment than it is photographers not turn up.

Example 1: Father of the bride wanted to pay on the day. Went to pay me just before the cake and first dance. Tried to lowball me 10% despite agreeing the price. Risking his daughters wedding.

Example 2: Couple tried to renegotiate terms to making payment AFTER receiving their photos despite signing a contract agreeing two months before.

Example 3: Couple ran out of money and delayed paying for 3 months.

So I request payment two months prior to the wedding in every case because I rarely get paid on time, it's almost always a couple of weeks late.

If you book a tog who is insured, has a contract, has a great online visibility...basically everything everyone tells you to check, then unless an anvil drops on their head they'll be there. At worse they'll have adequate checks and balances in place to ensure you still get your photos.

I had to pay my tog 12 weeks before. As mentioned previously, make sure you see a contract and do read it

Yep, perfectly normal. We take £200 booking fee (which is around 20%) to secure the date and the rest is due 2 weeks before the wedding.

I'm a bit uneasy because i really don't want to pay £1000 2 months before the wedding.. i did ask if they took Credit Card but they don't, do you reckon i'm being too paranoid?

If it's a professional photographer, you met them, the contract looks fine etc. then you've got nothing to worry about ? Most if not all suppliers expect full payment before the wedding.

Its good that you are being paranoid, we see all to often companies taking bookings then failing to turn up. have you researched them fully, have they got a good online presence, you can pm me if you like and I will have a dig about for you.

I wouldn't mind paying upfront if i could pay by credit card as you're covered - it's just the worry!

Not sure if they want the added costs of paying the credit fees or not, I take the retainer by credit or debit card but the full balance is paid through bank transfer but if the client insists on paying by card then it really depends on the final amount, how did you pay the deposit/retainer?

It's good that you're thinking about these things and are investigating normal practices. As everyone else has said, it's standard practice.

Have you looked into getting wedding insurance? This should ease your mind a little knowing that you are covered, especially in cases where you are not able to pay by card. For big businesses card payments are the norm, but for many small businesses fees relating to card payments can be crippling.

At least if you have wedding insurance you know you'll be covered for everything, rather than just anything you used a credit card to pay for.

Thank you Sam&Louise - I'm definitely looking into that!!

No worries at all

We researched wedding insurance endlessly when we were first looking to book suppliers and by far the ones with the best reviews and results for paying out in the event of needing to claim were John Lewis and Debenhams. I think you can get cashback (via quidco) for Debenhams policies too, as well as a £10 voucher.

Cheaper policies with some other companies tended to not have great track records for paying out, so do just make sure you do your research with that too. There are a few wedding insurance threads floating about on here if you do a search ?

Just looked at Debenhams - £57 policy and £20 voucher as well as quidco! BARGAIN

£20 voucher! That's brilliant, I thought it was £10. That's a result and a bargain for the peace of mind!

Sounds like a plan ;-) There are so many decisions to make, and a lot of expenditure involved in planning a wedding, that insurance will definitely help to ease the pressure! You don't want to feel stressed on your big day. Might be worth checking with your photographer/contract too to make sure they have a back up plan in case they are at death's door or whatever!