If you’re reading this that means that I’m the lucky photographer you’ve chosen and trusted to document one of the most precious and memorable days of your life. I want to take this time to reiterate how much I value the connection and relationship that we have already established and how vital sustaining that healthy relationship will be, come the day of your wedding. That being said, due to how stressful of a time this is for everyone, I want to do everything within my power to maintain transparency and an open channel of vulnerability with each of my couples. I want you to feel safe sharing your needs with me moving forward. I want you to know that while I am your photographer, I am also someone who cares about you. You inspire and support me as I chase this dream of documenting the power of love.
I realize that some of you are in the service industry and have been forced to file for unemployment. Some of you have lost your jobs and your healthcare that follows. Some of you have mortgages, parents you take care of, medicine that is becoming increasingly harder to afford, and family members that live abroad. Every single one of you has a multitude of stressors that are involved not just with the fears that come with a pandemic, but also the fears that arise with planning a wedding and having invested so much money into a day that you have dreamed of in excitement. I wanted to take a moment and put together a page that not only shares my COVID-19 rescheduling policy but also provides some Q&A that will hopefully make this stressful time, less stressful.
COVID-19 Wedding Rescheduling Options
A. Clients may reschedule to any date within 2020 in which I am available. Your retainer and any payments made will be applied to your new date and all rescheduling fees will be waived. An amended contract will be required to secure your new date.
B. Clients may reschedule to a peak Saturday in May-October of 2021 in which I am available for. To book a peak Saturday in 2021 the current invoice will still be due and also an added rescheduling fee of $1,500 (see Q&A for this payment schedule). Rescheduling fee is waived for non-peak dates, which are dates from November-April, OR Fridays, Sundays and week days throughout the whole year.
C. Clients who choose to cancel their wedding altogether are subject to the terms agreed upon in our contract, but have the option of transferring monies paid to an alternate service for future use.
Q&A
Q: What will the payment schedule look like if we choose to postpone our wedding to a peak Saturday in 2021 with the $1,500 rescheduling fee?
A: I understand that cash flow might be almost non existent for some clients at this time and I want to be as flexible as I can with your payment schedule. The $1,500 rescheduling fee will be the next payment on your invoice, and we will adjust the rest of your payments to later dates. All payments will need to be made a month before your new wedding date, but we will scatter each payment throughout the next year evenly.
Q: We’re looking at several dates in which you’re available, can you reserve those dates for us while we’re deciding on what to do?
A: For my couples who are already booked with me, I am providing the option to “stronghold” 1 date in which I am available. Meaning I will hold this date for you without a retainer until you decide which date works for you and your entire vendor team. In the instance another inquiry hopes to book the dates in which you have held, you will have the first right to refusal. However, without a signed contract for the new date I can only hold a date for 24 hours once a new inquiry has been made. Please only stronghold a date once you have contacted all of your vendors about their availability and feel confident that you will move forward with it.
Q: Why is there an additional fee if we choose to move our wedding to a peak Saturday in 2021?
A: This is a wonderful question, and one that is going to require me sharing a bit about how my small business survives year in and year out. As a one woman show and a full time wedding photographer I have approximately 30 Saturday’s in New England per year to make my income. (this excludes holidays, and the winter Saturday’s between November-April that I usually do not book). My small business depends on booking these 28 Saturday’s with new income so that it can sustain itself for the year. Consider, hypothetically, that 20 of my 2020 couples request to move their date to a Saturday in 2021, that would leave me with 8 available prime Saturdays in 2021 to make new income for the year. I could not currently sustain this impact, which is a very real and dark reality for many small businesses. Which is why I am asking my couples to meet me half way and consider the other 337 days in the year to get married at no additional cost to them. For those of you who would like to move forward in booking a prime Saturday in 2021, I am requiring the remaining balance of the current contract as well as a $1,500 rescheduling fee. Keep in mind that many vendors are not providing this option to their clients, however I am willing to take a large profit loss per Saturday in 2021 for the couples who are already booked with me and feel that a Saturday in 2021 is their only option to move forward.
Q: What if you’re not available for a date that the rest of our vendors are?
A: Unfortunately, when you move your wedding to a date in which I am unavailable for it is still considered a cancellation, even due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you would like to retain your entire vendor team and not lose your retainers/fees paid it might be a good idea to consider Friday’s, Sunday’s, as well as weekdays.
Q: Can you hire an associate photographer to shoot our new date so we can keep our contract with you?
A: This is an option I have been mulling over. If I can secure a professional photographer who I trust to capture your day with the same passion and in the same style as my own then I would be glad to discuss this option further with you.
If after reading the questions above you find that your questions
went unanswered, please do not hesitate to reach out
to me at katherine@katherinebrackman.com