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Wow that is ridiculous! I don't have any legal advice but I don't see how she can possibly give away the day that she should be reserving for you and not be breaching the contract you have with her.
Also not a lawyer, but it does seem like a breach of contract to me as well. I guess if she hasn't officially double booked your date yet then there is no breach, but it's still ridiculous and completely unprofessional. Has she put your date on her calendar yet or are you still "in limbo"? You're definitely not making a big deal out of nothing. This is definitely a something. Does it say anything in your contract about your date or anything you can point out to her?
Legally I don't think you have any grounds to get your deposit back considering she didn't actually double book and is still willing to do your wedding.
Does suck though!
I think you need to remember that it is probably just what she suggested... a typo... that went unnoticed because she doesn't think of that date in the same way that you do... For you it is a once in a lifetime event... absolutely special... for her it's a work day that is sure to be exciting... but not the only wedding on her list!
@Missbliss: True, but it doesn't make any sense for her to include it in her available dates. Her schedule should be very clear and unmistakable about what constitutes a booked date. Her reputation would presumably be in tatters very quickly if she went around making mistakes like that.
OP - To be honest I'd be considering looking for someone else, as I think if I were you I'd be worrying about it the whole time.
OTOH if you think you can continue happily with her, great. Can you arrange to go talk to her in person about this? Often it's very hard to convey precisely how you feel about something in emails.
No there was not a breach since she still has time to come to your wedding. Its not even an anticipatory breach since she "assured" you it was a typo and did not say she wasnt comming. If you do decide to hire another photographer you would be breaching and she would not have to return the deposit. Now i understand if it may make you feel more comfortable to hire someone else but you would be out of the deposit. I also wouldnt defame her reputation since it could have been an honest mistake, esp if you decide to still use her (that would be awkward).
I am not yet a lawyer (taking the bar in a few weeks) and this is not legal advice (since i cant legally give legal advice yet) just my opinion based on 3 years of lawschool and 3 summers of interning at law firms ;)
I agree with @Missbliss:.
I can see why you might have been worried, but she has reassurred you twice that your date was set with her and reserved. I don't see why she would need to return the deposit if it is your choice to find another photographer. You said you hired her because she takes good pictures, but now you are worried she will take crappy pics? I am confused on that. I do understand how upsetting it can be when others do not take your wedding as serious as you do. But I think it was an honest mistake on her part, I am not sure how it was advertised but if it was just a time frame she listed than I really don't see the issue.
@pinkb: It seems in the OP that the precise date was listed as available. It does seem cause for some concern. I think BrideE is worried about this misunderstanding causing a bad atmosphere with the photog, perhaps leaving the photog less enthusiastic about the wedding. I know I want my photog to be in the best of form for me!
I totally agree that I want my photog to enthusiastic about my wedding the day of. But if you keep asking her the same question when she has already told you that your wedding was reserved for you on your date, I can see why she may be less enthusiastic about it. But at the same time the photographer is running a business and I doubt she would produce anything less than her best the day of, because it is still her name on those pics representing her business. Just my opinion.
Check your contract. Even if she did double book your date, she may not be in default. She may only be in default if she actually doesnt show up for your wedding. In addition, she may not even have to show......she can probably sub it out to another photographer (most contracts allow this if the photographer can't make the event and has to provide a substitute).
Now, is your rate comparable to the special she is advertising?
I agree with others, go see her in person and straighten this out
And who the heck is roadrunner?
The rate she did adversite for the special is considerably less for mostly similiar services provided. By considerably, I mean over $600 cheaper.
Roadrunner is my man. You all have fancy names. Mr. Cupcake, Mr. Giraffe- is Roadrunner not good enough? ;)
Thank you all for the feedback. I recently learned (tonight) that she has made several other brides have a less than great wedding experience. I will be contacting her again and asking for some, if not all, of the deposit back. Otherwise, my people will be in contact with her people.
I am an attorney in Washington state. You will not get the deposit back. She did not double book you. Also, she said it was a typo, so you have no right to breach the contract yourself and not follow through with hiring her. Has she marked your date off the calendar yet/taken your date down from the specials ad?
If you really feel like she will flake, it might be worth the $500 loss to book someone new...so that you are happy on your wedding day.
Sorry :( She is lame.
Is it seriously a typo when it is posted on three seperate locations- Facebook, her blog, and her calendar? Additionally, when Tiffani wrote her and specifically requested 9-10-11, Brigid said she was available. Typo??? Stll???
Yeah, unfortunately, nonrefundable means nonrefundable. I agree you won't get your deposit back. I also feel a little shocked that you would actually cancel her services over what could presumably be and most likely was, just a simple typo. I feel like there is something else to this. Have you found another photographer in the year or so you've been waiting for your wedding whose work you like better? I feel there must be some other reason you are so anxious to get rid of her... I just can't imagine any of my brides being that unforgiving if I ever made a mistake like that.
In fact, I used to have a "dates booked" calendar on my site, and I left out a 2012 bride, simply because I hadn't gotten that far into filling in dates. She nearly had a heart attack over it and I eventually ended up just taking the whole calendar down because I didn't need that extra pressure of keeping it perfectly up to date OR ELSE.
To be honest, I was really taken back, specifically because I asked her prior to this, when I didn't see anything on the calendar. When I was first interested in her, she called me back with 5 minutes of sending her an inquiry. She updated her blog constantly. She does hardly any of that anymore. She is a good photographer- I am in no way taking away from that. I just don't get how she can say this was a typo when it most definitely was not. I have heard of two other brides that are no longer working with her due to ... problems. Was I supposed to allow her to double book entirely? Again, people misspell things often, but mistaking a date, not in one, not two, but three locations to me is not a typo. Not at all. And, I didn't up front try to cancel with her. I voiced my concerns, told her I didn't exactly know what to do from this point, etc. She voluntarily told me that she had other referrals if I was interested in looking elsewhere.
I would just have her correct it if it's a typo. It likely is an administrative error rather than actually booking.
Our DJ had a list of what he was booked for each day on his website and three days before our wedding I noticed on our date that it said "NotMyName and NotHisName's Wedding at NotOurVenue" on OUR date.
Que panic. I just emailed and asked if perhaps he was doing a brunch wedding earlier in the day, and if that was the case I was a bit concerned that he might not perform up to par up to our 1am finish.
It turned out it was a simple matter of clicking a day in his calendar that wasn't correct and everything turned out swimingly.
From the sounds of it, the bride tried to express her concern and ask "should we be looking for someone else?" as a polite way of saying "are you seriously double-booking the date we've already paid for?" and the photographer basically responded "Yes. I'll help you find someone else." The photographer may not have taken in the subtext. I think an outright e-mail saying "The deposit for your services is intended to reserve a date beyond a shadow of a doubt. Advertising our date is like a realtor putting on an open house for a house that has already been sold. It makes the buyer understandably nervous. We've already paid over $500 for your services. We either need full assurance that you will not renege on our agreement, including corrections to your various online posts, or we need our money back."
The second you pay your deposit, she should book your date in every calendar she has. After your first email, she should have immediately corrected her mistake. After her "typo"....well that's a giant red flag. My mother is a professional photographer, they don't just "forget" to write down sessions.
I would explain to this woman that your deposit didn't just bind you to her, it bound HEr to YOUR date. I can't tell you whether or not to cancel her, but should any other suspicious things occur I would immediately rebook with anohter photographer and stay on her until she refunds your money.
If you are far enough out from your wedding, there's a good chance that she will refund some or all of your desposit if she books another wedding on your date to replace the loss of not having your wedding. Technically since you are asking to get out of the contract, she doesn't owe you the deposit, but hopefully you can end it on good terms.
The more important thing is to be comfortable with who you are working with, and I doubt she wants to work with someone who is now uncomfortable...hopefully it will work out well in the end!
I also don't like the fact that she seems so forward on finding you someone else instead of trying to satisify you and salvage the booking.
I can see it being a simple typo, except for the part about "A quick reply offered sincere apologies, and the words of 'helping us select another photographer if need be'". Does that mean she wants you to find another photographer because she'd rather not do it for the rate she agreed? That's the way it came across to me....
Wait! Before you get someone else, meet with your photog! Either call or in person, but not email to discuss this.
If you sent her an email & it was likely an emotional email trying to figure out why the heck she would advertise your date, she may have read that she upset you so much that you don't want her as a photog. If she felt threatened & it was an honest mistake (not sure HOW she would make that big of a mistake!), she may feel a little intimidated by you & is looking for a way out.
She may have the date reserved for you & if someone were to try & book your date, she probably would've figured out that she already had you booked. She may have other people updating blogs for her. Or she may have your date in a different calender that she would've realized later on. She'd better have all those calenders with your date reserved on it by now thou! She may have copy/pasted the info onto all 3 blog spaces, so it was just 1 typo that lead to 3 seperate typos. You never know, just meet with her & see what happened & go from there.
This unfortunately happens frequently . . . it seems to me like she booked your wedding date quite a long time ago and has gotten more experience and is now phishing for a higher paying wedding. I would buy the typo excuse if it wasn't what will likely be the most popular wedding date of 2011 - 9-10-11. This photographer knows she can find another wedding on this date and is likely hoping to do just that (otherwise she wouldn't be so eager to help you find a replacement). Unfortunately you likely have no grounds to get your deposit back. I'm so sorry you're dealing with that!
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I need help. Are any of you Bee's lawyers?!?
Storytime: I have been engaged for a long time. I welcomed in 2010 with my fiancé, and again 2011. With all this time, Roadrunner and I have had tons of time to pick and choose our vendors. One of the first investments I choose was the Photographer. So many photographers were raising their prices- I freaked! I ended up booking the first photographer I met with. She had good referrals, was reasonably priced, took great pics, etc. I paid her the non-refundable deposit (over $500), and sat back to wait another year and half to get married.
Fast-forward to sometime this summer, when I was checking out her website and blog, and realized that on her calendar, she had yet to add my big day to her scheduled events. I sent her a nervous e-mail, and she replied she just hadn't gotten around to it. Ok, phew, moving on.
I was recently on her blog and read that she was having a special for brides during the months of ___, ___, and ____. I quickly was taken back when she had the date that I HAD BOOKED HER FOR listed on her dates of special rates. Better yet, there was another bride that was inquiring about MY DATE! After talking it over with Roadrunner, and wondering what the heck this woman was doing, I decided to e-mail her.
In the e-mail, I expressed my disappointment and concern about why she was advertising a special on a day that she was not even available. I mentioned that Roadrunner and I were concerned that she would show up on our wedding day, and that we really didn't know what to do, if we should start looking elsewhere, etc. A quick reply offered sincere apologies, and the words of 'helping us select another photographer if need be'. I wrote back and asked if we would be receiving our initial deposit back due the fact that she practically double booked, and she told me, 'due to the fact that it was a simple typo, if Roadrunner and I decide to look elsewhere, it would not be refunded'. What. the. heck.
So, now I'm at a crossroads. Do I keep this woman and allow her to potentially take crappy pictures and/or not give it her all? I have serious doubts that this was a typo- it was posted on her FB, her blog, and nothing was recorded her in her calendar. I honestly think she forgot and/or was trying to double book?!
Do I allow her to keep the deposit money and look elsewhere for a more reliable photographer? Swallow over $500 for absolutely nothing (except piece of mind)
Do I go defame her and her reputation in every way imaginable?
Am I making a big deal out of nothing? HELP!