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paying the final payment like a week before seems pretty standard. as long as they are a reputable studio and you have a good contract, it doesn't bother me. but then again, i'm a lawyer. so my legal fees would be pretty low if someone screwed me :)
Our final payment to our photographer is due a week before the wedding.
Our final payment is due two weeks before the wedding. It seems pretty standard to me.
i think paying in full prior 1-2 weeks prior to services is standard. that's what my photog is doing.
we put $100 down and are paying the final payment a week before.
Our balance is due 1 week prior to our wedding, so as the other posters stated, I think getting paid in full prior to the event is standard with photographers. All of our other vendors have to be paid prior to the wedding too.
Hmmm. Thanks for the input. None of my other vendors require full payment up front. Lots will be day of....
Just to throw my two cents in... our photographer also required our final payment one week prior. I think it's pretty standard.
Our full payment was due a week before the wedding. The only thing we had after was the bar bill. Fortunately, this was the one vendor who did try to hustle us (closed the bar an hour earlier than the contract, didn't allow the band to eat even though we paid for vendor meals, and served the wrong food, and were AWFUL to deal with). I took it to the owner who waived the bar bill. Unfortunately, our people didn't drink much ($500).
Ours requires 50% to hold the date and then full two weeks in advance. If there's confusion regarding which package you want she'll let a couple pay $250 to hold the date, but the full 50% must be paid at least 6 months in advance.
It all felt pretty standard.
Mine was $500 deposit and then the balance is due a month before the wedding.
I guess ours are the exception here. It was 50% due at booking and the remainder due upon pickup of the prints.
We paid $450 at booking and then the balance was due day of.
Ours was 1/3 as a deposit, 1/3 2 weeks before, and the final 1/3 when the disk was ready. I wouldn't be comfortable paying in full without services rendered either.
We have a $750 deposit, and then the balance is paid 2 weeks prior to the day. Sounds like this might be pretty standard!
We require 30 days which usually coincides with our venue walk through/ timeline meeting. We require payment upfront for a number or reasons. The first being we often develop a close relationship with our clients and after we spend this crazy emotional day with them and it gets super awkward when we have to asked to be paid. We are counting on that payment to keep our business going and food on the table. Checks bounce because weddings cost more then anticipated. They are away and we have to wait for them to return to deal with it. One client forgot the check or any other way to pay us. Told us "oh we will send it when we get back from honeymoon", six months later when they wanted to see their photos they finally paid. I had a couple once pay in cash, which was a significant amount. It was very stressful having to worry about it falling out of a pocket or leaving it in a camera bag. Cash or not, it is still stressful having to worry about any "paycheck" when you are running around all day. I want to be focusing on making pictures not the money I am holding. Another case there was a mix up on which parent was supposed to pay us and ended up being a huge disruption to the wedding and super awkward for us.
It only took a few of these occurrences before we learned from those lessons. Just make sure you do your research on your photographer choice. Find reviews, check BBB, get references, see a wide range of their work before you sign any contract. Check their blog if they are updating and shooting a lot then they are probably running a good business.
We paid in full already, though it wasn't due until a week before the wedding. I think the key here is choosing a vendor you trust. Is there any reason you believe that paying in full before the date is bad? Do they have poor reviews, or do they seem like they would be no-shows? In the age of instantaneous internet reviewing, that would be suicidal for a photographer. Unless it is a random person off of Craigslist, I think you'll be fine.
@Pizzouti - that actually makes sense to not potentially run around the day of with a load of cash in an envelope...
@crayfish, no, it isn't a lack of trust for the photog (or else we wouldn't go with her). It's just a general "I'm not paying before the job is done (or in progress)" basically. None of our other vendors require full up front payment so it was a little odd for me. Most things are settled day of or after.
Add to it that we live in MN and our wedding is in NC. So we've had initial meetings with vendors and will be back in the area in a few weeks (about 6 weeks before the wedding) so MOST details are being handled via phone and email.
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After speaking with the photographer, she has agreed to amend the contract to have final payment be in cash, the day of the wedding. So I'm happy!
We are paying 50% down and balance due 2 weeks prior to wedding. Make sure you have your cash ready the day of, because your day will be crazy, and paying your vendor probably will be the last thing on your mind.
@Ms_Charisma: Just make sure you get some sort of receipt from her if you're paying in cash. You don't want her saying that there was no record of payment, and with cash, you don't have anything to go back on.
Our balance is due 30 days before, as are almost all of our vendors. I assumed this was standard and have no issue with it.
Our deposit that we put down May 2009 was half of the total amount. The 2nd half of the total (final payment) is due a month before the wedding. I think this is pretty standard for wedding photographers.
@Ms_Charisma: I understand how you feel I wouldn't feel comfortable either paying everything up front. How do you know he will show up (He probably will Im just saying). I put down 50% and the other half is due the morning of the wedding. That was one of the first questions I asked and I know the photographer personally, however looking at the board it seems like its pretty standard, but i say go with your gut.
We have to pay 30 days before our wedding date in full. I am also nervous about paying in full because if something happens we can't get that money back? I rather wait and put it off as long as I can.
True @2peasinapod. I think I'll print a copy of the signed contract and note at the time of the exchange that it's XX amount in cash (with her signature of course). Thanks for that!!
@Mrs.MedinaJr - I know. That's how I felt. I know nothing is 100%...but I just feel more comfortable with an alternate set up.
Thanks everyone! It's always interesting to get different perspectives/experiences.
for myself - and most of my colleagues I know, yes one to three weeks is pretty standard, but there are plenty of exceptions - I know some who take a much higher retainer then balance due on album delivery for example.
I did day of years ago but the last thing I want to do is try chasing down someone for money on wedding day - let alone having them worry about it.
we paid $750 down and the balance is due 2 weeks before the day of the wedding. standard.
Ours was supposed to be two weeks prior, but because she knew us well, she was okay with receiving it the day of. She likes to know that the check will clear before she shoots the wedding. Makes sense.
There isn't a single vendor that will not be paid in full by the date of the wedding. Most of our vendors either require payment payment anywhere from 60 days in advance to 2 weeks.
I would've never signed a contract like that, but a lot of people are trusting I guess. It stirkes me as cash flow problems to not accept final payment after the wedding, after all services and products have been rendered.
we had the same payment policy as ribbons. i think the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 method makes the most sense.
My clients are required to pay 50 percent up front to reserve a date and then the remaining balance the week of the wedding. I'm not going to spend 30-35 hours editing photos without full payment- I learned the hard way after being scammed. The bride in question requested to pay the remaining 50 percent after she recieved the disk- I agreed. When she got the disk she decided she did not like the photos (yet posted them all over facebook?) and was not willing to pay the remaining balance. It was a hassle. I would have understood if the photos weren't up to par- but this was some of my best work and I was very proud of them (and they helped me book a few weddings.) I've heard other photographers having similar problems.
This thread has been very helpful for me. I am finalizing the contract with my photographer this week and I also wondered about payment. Thanks for posting the questions and for the replies. =)
We paid 50% at booking and 50% one month before.
I wish we hadn't. We ended up having a lot of issues getting our disc after the wedding (took over a month from when she told us it was ready to when we had it in hand, and that's only because I went and picked it up from her) and when we did get it, discovered a big issue with some missing pics that took a while to resolve. I feel like she would have had a lot more motivation to get us the disc and respond promptly had 1/3 of her payment still been outstanding.
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I just got the contract from our photog...and I just requested an amendment to the contract. Paying in full prior to does NOT sit well with me.
Maybe it's my Chicago upbringing (
) causing fear of being hustled! But we're paying 50% now, I can see paying another portion (maybe 25%???) two weeks before and the balance the day of, or after services are rendered. Or I'm comfortable just paying the final 50% that day.
What was your experience??