Initials Wedding Contract Made Easy

Initials wedding contract

with your wedding photography business just as important as having a contract is what actually goes in it always wondering what to include in your wedding photography contract or in this video I'm gonna share with you what's exactly in mind make sure it's in yours as well so stay tuned [Music] oh here my friends Henry here with success in wedding photography all about business strategies video if you're looking to go full-time and become a successful wedding photographer as well definitely subscribe to this channel if you haven't already so you don't miss any of my upcoming content first and foremost before we get into the actual content of a contract it goes without saying you absolutely need to have one between you and your couples doesn't matter if you are just getting started in wedding photography and definitely if you're running a business a seasoned pro I'm pretty sure you you have a couple contracts already but that's a given you gotta have one bonus tip here is ditch the paper and pens and mailing documents scanning things well ditch all of that and go towards online contracts electronic ones no need to ever print or mail anything ever again SuperDuper easier that way now before we get into the details of what to include in a contract you're probably wondering where do you actually get one where can you download or even purchase a wedding photography contract the good news is head on over to Google and just type it in wedding photography contract templates and you'll find lots of great ones you can use somewhere absolutely free of course you want to make sure you do read everything don't just send it off to your couples and others you might have to pay a little bit but there could be additional information documents sometimes a package of contracts not just for your couples but for a second photographer and so forth but focusing on brides and grooms we're at this point right now you have a contractor ready and you're gonna be able to tweak it a little bit you're gonna be able to customize modify and so forth once you've done that then you could put it into some kind of application and send it off to your couples now once you have your contract and we're gonna talk about what to include it but once the contract looks good and you probably have some fields that you need to populate or the couple you also might be wondering where to actually upload this document a PDF a Word document third bonus tip I suppose really quick I use a system called table a it's a studio management system ta ve is how it's spelled and I don't want to get too much into the details but if you are curious more about table a and how I'm sending contracts to my couples it's super duper easy to use just works well checkout success in wedding photography comm four slash ta ve alright finally let's get to the content of the contract in itself finally right please don't let me gloss over anything everything I talked about is super important after all this is what protects you and your couples in case of heaven forbid there's any misunderstanding miscommunication issues arise this is the only document that you're really going to be able to refer to and of course with that you want to have good emails communication so you can always reference that but the contract is the document protecting both you and your couple next tip I can give is that you want to make sure it's very very clear in the contract who the client is now it goes without saying it should be the couple but maybe sometimes it's the mom or the dad that's paying for your wedding photography services but I highly recommend no matter who's paying for it but the client themselves it needs to be your couple all communication and signatures and discussion only between you and your couples and that's it nobody else they make the final call make it as easy and just stress-free as possible next tip I can give you is yes the contract I do recommend it be pretty comprehensive mine is a little bit longer than maybe most surprise surprise once again going back to protecting myself and my business I don't want to leave anything out if I were to look back at my contract from like 2007 when I got started in this business and comparing it to now there's gonna be a lot of changes lessons that I've learned thankfully because of all that I like to think my contract is pretty comprehensive and so called bulletproof right but you got to make it as long as it needs to be but not longer than it has to be so include the essentials but don't forget the what-if situations and so forth which we're gonna get into the first of these items is the obvious information that's the names of your couple the agreed upon package and price line-by-line bullet eyes on what they're getting and the price they're paying and of course the date of the wedding now these information some of it I populate but most of it I have my couples with especially their contact info not only their names but like their address or phone number email address that's actually gonna go into my address book but absolutely the other information now moving along the next item just as important with the packages and pricing the breakdown of those payments for me it's 25% to secure the wedding date that is due at the signing of the contract and with that and the contract that was secured their date then the remaining balance is 75 percent that would be due a month before the wedding one quick note if there is going to be travel expense or other types you want to make sure that is also included in that part of the contract with the packages and pricing so that way there is no misunderstanding surprises to your couple they find out later that there's an additional charge for something especially like travel afterwards the next item will be the cancellation and postponement terms and conditions like wait what well hopefully this never happens this is the unthinkable but it's absolutely worth putting into your contract what if heaven forbid the couple does not end up getting married on that date or just simply of course cancel the entire engagement no wedding whatsoever sure they paid you the 25 percent deposit to secure you for that date but what if it was a popular date you got other inquiries you said no to them because you were scheduled to work on this date but lo and behold a couple months beforehand the couple Sally breaks up no wedding and you're not gonna get this other 75% that has happened to me a few times and of course I feel awful for the couple how how devastating it is for them and their family and friends but hey it is a business for me as well this is how I make my livelihood and if you were scheduled to make another $3,000 well you're not gonna make that anymore and it's way too late to get another couple to book you for that date right so this part of it is to just making sure is that well in case the wedding gets canceled the remaining balance amount they're gonna have to pay me some portion of that I asked for 50% so it's a steep price but hey guys just making sure that the wedding is on there's not gonna be any funny business and if the wedding is not canceled but postponed to another date there could also be a nominal fee for it assuming I'm still available on the other new date and all well that's a little rare thankfully this is something I don't really have to deal too much up but please have it in your contract just to be safe next item is final meeting really quick this one it's pretty self-explanatory I require to have a final meeting with all my couples before their wedding day generally about 4 to 5 weeks before and thankfully unless it's like a small wedding and he'll ohm in just a couple of hours well we're gonna have this final meeting and even if my couples are pretty busy like those several last weeks before the wedding I still need this meeting it's really so you cover your rear end and you get all the questions you have answered details about the wedding like where the getting ready is gonna be or confirming ceremony details reception etc you got to have a final meeting that's in the contract moving along the next one wedding coordinator now this one is not required but I highly recommend it in the contract I state that highly recommend a wedding coordinator if not I will do my best to help run the show make sure we are on time the schedule and smoothly but I'm not a wedding coordinator don't assume hiring me Henry photographer is like having a wedding coordinator as well that's not how it is so that's what this item is about all right next item to our portrait session and as this says here that for me to be able to capture in detail comprehensively a variety of photos images what they seem from my past couples and their galleries portraits bride and groom the couple the wedding party the immediate and extended family I'm gonna need actual photo time of two hours this is not to include driving around or waiting on somebody to show up or that kind of thing this is me actually getting to take photos that I require two hours if I don't get that then it's not my responsibility it's not on me for not getting something if they only give me an hour but expected two hours of photos that's just not going to happen and you want to be able to set that realistic expectations with your couples in the contract okay let's keep going on I think we're just getting started but next one in the contract in itself House Rules slash insurance this is just stating that yes I have liability insurance in case the venue needs me to draft up a specific one for them to protect the venue if I trip over a wire I'm not going to sue them or I'm not going to damage the place and that kind of thing you got to have liable the insurance and probably at least up to a million if not to millions but house rolls this is basically just also stating that I'm gonna follow the rules of your venue your church your hotel wherever it might be I'm not going to get myself in trouble get kicked out so with photography that means I'm not going to well so call break rules to get a certain shot and they understand that I hate Henry can you just climb on the chandelier or up the side of this wall or jump in the pool for this shot well we'll see what we could do but more than likely I'm not gonna break any rules I do have insurance and that's what this item is next one this is super duper important one a lot of my couples asked about that's on digital files prints copyright the whole enchilada so to speak and you know what I'm gonna add the next item as well that's model release actually have them has two separate items well this is where when it comes to the color corrected edited digital files the JPEG files what happens to them for the wedding who gets to use them who has rights to them the copyrights do the couples do they get to print them do they get to send it to their family and friends what do I do Henry here with the photos do I just put them on a computer do I share it on my website blog what are the terms and conditions the agreement this is to let my couples know like hey guys I will be blogging your wedding and I will be using your real names I will share a little bit about your wedding and a little bit about your guests everything would be within reason and nothing that will compromise their identity and that kind of thing all in good intentions and all but this is just to make things clear if there are any issues well this is where the couple will bring them up and I will revise this portion of the contract to ensure that they are happy but really important you want to lay the groundwork on what you can do with the photos as well as what the couple can next item here cooperation from yes and the couple themselves I know it sounds a little bit silly what do you mean cooperation like have there been weddings where they did not cooperate well not really the the sort of extent of that probably has been couples and guests like hey we're just tired of taking photos and we really don't want to do this we rather be doing that and that's the extent nobody has ever yelled at me or sort of made a big scene about anything but once again it's worth putting into your contract and being comprehensive you don't want this to arise and of course I almost forgot to mention I will do it at the end again I'll try to remember that but every single one of these items in my contract my couples they have to initialize it so what that means electronically online they just click away click click click with their initials but it's not where they read everything and only sign at the bottom they still need to do that but I want to be a little more strict and making sure my couples have looked through all 20-plus of these items and that's by having them actually initialize every single item in my contract I know it's a lot but it's once again to protect everybody but that's what cooperation is it's also stating that in case the guest or the couple they do something they yell at me they braid me they do anything of that nature well I have the right to leave the wedding like I'm not going to be abused or yelled at and that kind of thing if there's some kind of danger to me physically or whatever then I'm gonna pack my bags and go never happen in 10 years but once again worth putting in next item completion schedule also very important this is to ensure that your couples know when to expect say their online gallery their prints their albums and so forth you don't want to have this arbitrary sort of information or rather no information this assumption and the couple's bugging you to three weeks like hey we're wearing my photos when in the contract is stated four to six weeks on the flip side it's been eight weeks and you haven't delivered anything to them well they have every right to be upset at you and write a bad review online or so completion schedule is to ensure that both parties know when things are gonna be delivered and that way there's no surprises misunderstanding and so forth all right next one payments who doesn't want to have that in our contract ensuring well we get paid on time the right amount there's no issues we talked a little bit at the beginning of this whole contract the packages pricing and when you get the deposit the remaining balance well this is a little bit of sort of that reiteration just to make sure we're all on the same page with our couples payment whatever you ask to hire you and when the remaining balance is due on top of that would be the method of this payment do you accept checks or online payments credit card PayPal strikes and so forth this is where you would include that on top of that would be well letting them know maybe if the payments are yikes what late what would happen then what if your remaining balances do 30 days before the wedding and they give you the payment two weeks before two and a half weeks do you have the the rights right with this contract to charge them a a late fee and I actually do in my contract of five percent and I might have done it you know what I actually have never done it just because I just don't feel like it it's actually more of hey guys you know I want to work with you and I'm trying to be flexible here but out of respect and I'm sure with all the other vendors that you got to pay them on time this is what we agree to that's why they gotta initialize this sign it knowing that if payments run late there's gonna be a fee and I do have the right to charge that and also going back to how you're accepting the payment if you say credit card and there's a three percent transaction fee that the client needs to pay for that well it's in the contract there can't be any dispute especially if they agree to it they can't be like oh we want to pay with your credit card but is there any way that we don't have to pay this transaction fee or maybe if you don't take cold hard cash which I highly don't recommend you do that just because there's just no way to document them you got to get some kind of proof right you got to get a receipt or something I recommend rather than taking actual cash take a cheque at least you have that piece of paper but nevertheless let's say you don't take cash and then they come back to you and say we're gonna pay you in cash and could we even somehow expect the discount oh that should never happen but you can see where there's a lot of these issues when it comes to payment this is where you want to explain all of that so there's no misunderstanding whatsoever two more items I want to share with you the next one kind of related to an issue especially with payment but right up with draw this is different than when you're actually at the wedding and let's say something happens the couple or the guests sort of verbally abuse you or just some kind of unsafe environment working this is actually before the wedding and with payment like the previous item what if they don't pay you on time they're not willing to pay the late fee or it's a week five days the day of the wedding you still have not received the remaining balance well you want to put it in your contract you have the right to withdraw this agreement of working together that's right in other words you have the right to not show up to the wedding now that is on your discretion what you want to do maybe of course we've all got to make a living and you're hoping that you show up you still capture the day and you decide I'm going to hold on to the images not give it to the couple until they pay me the remaining balance maybe they told you in the email that they'll give you the check at the end of the night or that kind of thing well if any of that is different than what you agree to in this contract that you sign well you have the right to withdraw that's what I have in my contract and it has happened once a few years ago out of 400 plus weddings and that's why this this item is still in there where a couple of bride pay me the deposit hired me for the wedding day in here we are two months before the wedding letting them know we're gonna have a final meeting the remaining balance is due in a month a month is getting there three weeks two weeks the wedding is right around the corner no remaining balance payment and this is where you know what I got a stand firm I know I'm gonna run the risk of potentially making a couple more thousand dollars but I have to stand firm I have to stay true to what I said in the contract and I told a couple if you don't pay me if anything you have a late fee on top of this I will not show up to your wedding I gave them fair warning two weeks before and several days in between and still they gave me the runaround long story short I did not show up to their wedding I withdrew from our agreements of working together so that's in there if anything it got me angry because I had other inquiries for that same wedding date that I could have booked and thus affected my earnings my living but that's what that item is the last one in the contract I want to share with you is what I like to call the non guarantee slash performance so as it sounds you cannot guarantee a hundred percent you're gonna do this incredible job can any of us say this I guarantee you you're gonna be happy with your photos couple that you're gonna love the experience of having me as your wedding photographer can you beg your house on it your car right absolutely not and this is where it's worth mentioning in the contract that hey a couple just want to let you know that I'm gonna do my best that my intentions are to give you this fantastic product and quality of service and all but I can't guarantee you however I'm not letting myself off the hook I'm not saying like oh I'm not held accountable I'm not gonna be responsible that if something did happen didn't happen things ran late hair and makeup cough cough and we didn't have enough time for portraits or maybe it was just a really bad day with the weather it we weren't able to get these blue skies and the photos things that are out of our control as a wedding photographer then that's right we are not gonna be held responsible not going to be held accountable for trying to fix that especially if the quality the quantity whatever photos we'll be suffering however on the flip side of course if it was something that I was held accountable for then I would do whenever I can to alleviate that minimize it give some portion of a refund a complimentary album basically letting my couples know that I'm not gonna leave them high and dry and that I do have the good will the intentions to resolve in a professional manner no that's really what this last one is it's sort of like meeting in the middle a little bit but definitely worth addressing in your contract so that will do it there's a couple other ones but this video is long enough and I've no doubt there's others that you have in your contract that I do not I love to find out what you think of this video dare I say this is one of my favorite ones and proudest ones are put together is to share with you the contents of a contract it goes without saying how important this is to our business don't just focus on the photography the business skills part of that is to protect your own business making sure you have a solid comprehensive contract found this video valuable please give it a thumbs up if not I'd be sad understand the thumbs down but more than anything I love to get your feedback and let me know what you thought I look forward to sharing more of my wedding photography tips in upcoming videos I'll catch you again very soon