Since my blog is primarily focused for my normal clients (Brides, Grooms, and families), this post is a going to be a little outside of the norm since it’s aimed primarily towards coordinators, photographers, and vendors alike - but fret not - this specific post will help shed some light into the backend of some of the struggles us vendors are facing and may give you some good insight about why we do what we do.

I’m not sure about everyone reading this, but the local wedding industry in San Diego has been INSANELY helpful over the last few months in navigating questions I have about Covid-19 contracts, Corona Virus wedding vendor tips, and a ton more.

Since I’m a big believer in “paying it forward”, I figured I would round up a ton of tips on rescheduling, my personal rescheduling policy, and some incredibly wise words from some of the best in my local industry. I’m also pretty stoked to share some wedding contract clauses that will help any type of vendor - especially coordinators, photographers, florists, and catering companies.

…Do I have your interest yet!? Awesome.

Since one of the main issues all vendors are being faced with first are reschedules due to the Coronavirus, I figured some contract help would be best served piping hot and ready to be nom’d down by that eager mind of yours!

To make it easy, you can search (Command + F on Mac or Control + F on PC) "the Photographer" and "the Client" throughout these clauses so you can swap out your normal verbiage for mine.

Coronavirus Contract Clauses For Vendors

I want to start this section with saying that I am NOT a lawyer and that only a small portion of these clauses were written by a lawyer. With that being said, I have had multiple associates acknowledge each clause due to its thoroughness and legal terminology, and both myself and dozens of other vendors have implemented these same clauses throughout our own contracts.

Over the last month, I’ve attended multiple webinars, conference calls with a wide variety of industry professionals, and have done my own research to create some fantastic clauses that will help protect both you AND your clients during these uncertain times. A lot of the wording is redundant, but I would much rather have redundancy than miss something and have it hurt me (or my client) down the road. 

Lastly, I manage my entire business through a studio management system called 17Hats. They help integrate contracts, custom questionnaires, invoicing, and a ton of other handy features. Here’s a link to give you $50 off a membership if you’re interested in checking them out!

Payment Arrangements
The client will pay the photographer a total fee of: $, including an initial payment: $ and a travel fee of: $.  The remaining balance can be split into 2-3 additional payments, with the final payment due four weeks prior to the scheduled wedding date.

Clause notes:

•This one is self explanatory, but clarifies your total package price, the price of your client’s initial payment (please see “Initial Payment” clause for a further explanation), and the price of your travel fees, along with an explanation of when each payment and the final balance is due.

•Be sure to also search  (Command + F on Mac or Control + F on PC) for "retainer" or "deposit" so you can change it with "Initial Payment" in the rest of your contract.

Force Majeure
No party shall be liable or responsible to the other party, nor be deemed to have defaulted under or breached this Agreement, for any failure or delay in fulfilling or performing any term of this Agreement (except for any obligations to make payments to the other party hereunder), when and to the extent such failure or delay is caused by or results from acts beyond the impacted party’s (“Impacted Party”) control, including, but not limited to, the following force majeure events (“Force Majeure Events”): (a) acts of God; (b) a natural disaster (fires, explosions, earthquakes, hurricane, flooding, storms, explosions, infestations), epidemic, or pandemic; (c) war, invasion, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), terrorist threats or acts, riot or other civil unrest; (d) government order or law; (e) actions, embargoes or blockades in effect on or after the date of this Agreement; (f) action by any governmental authority; (g) national or regional emergency; (h) strikes, labor stoppages or slowdowns or other industrial disturbances; and (i) shortage of adequate power or transportation facilities.  The Impacted Party shall give Notice within 45 days of the Force Majeure Event to the other party, stating the period of time the occurrence is expected to continue.  The Impacted Party shall use diligent efforts to end the failure or delay and ensure the effects of such Force Majeure Event are minimized.  The Impacted Party shall resume the performance of its obligations as soon as reasonably practicable after the removal of the cause. In the event that the Impacted Party’s failure or delay remains uncured for a period of 45 days following Notice given by it, the other party may thereafter terminate this Agreement upon Notice.

Clause notes:

•Under "Force Majeure", you'll see the number 45 (days) - you can change this to anything from 30 days to 90 days, depending on how comfortable you are with that.  I chose 45 days because it gives my client 2 weeks before their final payment is due to decide to cancel without having the final balance owed.

Failure to Perform Services 
In the event the Photographer cannot or will not perform its obligations in any or all parts of this Agreement, it (or a responsible party) will:

1. Immediately give Notice to the Client via the Notice provisions detailed in this Agreement; and

2. Attempt to find another competent professional to take its place with the mutual agreement of the Client(s);

3. If another competent professional is not available or the Client(s) do not agree to transfer of obligations to said alternate professional, the Photographer will issue a refund or credit based on a reasonably accurate percentage of the services rendered; and

4. Excuse the Client(s) of any further performance and/or payment obligations in this Agreement.

Clause notes:

•This clause is super helpful to both ourselves and our clients for a few reasons! If you ever contract COVID or are in the position where you’re unable to attend a wedding (which luckily has never happened! *knocks on wood*), this specific clause allows you to reach out to similarly skilled vendors so that you’re able to have a Plan B in an emergency scenario. If the client doesn’t like the vendor that you’ve secured, you’re also able to give the client back a refund or credit, minus any work you’ve already done.

•Make sure you have a network of two or three other professionals that you’re familiar with, can trust to properly execute the client’s vision, and who are at the same skill level as you. Having these vendors in your back pocket will allow you to seamlessly replace yourself in the event of an extreme emergency with another equally skilled + talented individual. This means less stress for your client, less stress for you, and better odds of your client not requesting a refund.

Limitation of Liability 
If the Photographer cannot perform this Contract due to fire or other casualty, strike, or due to Photographer’s illness or emergency, then the Photographer shall begin steps 1-4 from the Failure to Perform Services clause, but shall have no further liability with respect to the Contract.  This limitation on liability shall also apply in the event that photographic materials are damaged in processing, lost through camera or other media malfunction, lost in the mail, or otherwise lost or damaged without fault on the part of the Photographer.  In the event the Photographer fails to perform for any other reason, the Photographer shall not be liable for any amount in excess of all monies paid.  Also note that because a wedding is an uncontrolled event, there is no guarantee on the delivery of any specific image or images. 

Clause notes:

•Again - super redundant, but as a wedding photographer, my job is stressful enough. I need to make sure I’m protecting myself as much as possible, while also making sure that I would never have to potentially refund a client more money than their package is valued at. Again, this is something that I haven’t really used in the 8 years I’ve been professionally photographing weddings (*knocks on wood*), but that applies to most of my contract as well.

•For non-photographers, feel free to replace any of the verbiage I used for terms that are more applicable to your profession.

Health & Safety
The Client(s) further understand that the Photographer complies with all health and safety laws, directives, and rules and regulations.  The Client(s) expressly agree(s) that during the wedding the Client(s) and the Client(s)’ agents shall not carry weapons or firearms, be exposed to severe illness, or request the Photographer to do anything illegal or unsafe. Further, the Photographer will not provide services in any location or area deemed to be unsafe in its sole discretion, including, but not limited to, areas affected by communicable diseases, quarantined areas, or other similar occurrences.  Under any of these circumstances, the Photographer reserves the right to end service coverage immediately and/or leave the wedding.  The Photographer shall be entitled to retain all monies paid and the Client(s) agree to relieve and hold the Photographer harmless as a result of incomplete event coverage, or for a lapse in the quality of the Photographer's work.

Clause notes:

•Again, this one is pretty self-explanatory, but also typically only applies to vendors that are on site - so photographers, videographers, coordinators, florists, bakers, makeup artists, etc.

•Whether you want to protect yourself or your hired associates - having a Health & Safety clause is an absolute must. It essentially gives you and your associate the freedom to avoid unsafe working conditions, whether presented by persons or circumstances, and not be in danger of losing money paid to you for your services.

Initial Payment
An initial payment of up to 50% is required to hold the date of your wedding and secure the Photographer’s current pricing.  After the Initial Payment, a payment plan can be set up so that the remaining 50% of the contract can be spread out in two or three other payments, with the balance of the remaining balance needing be paid in full four weeks before the scheduled wedding date.  Once the Initial Payment is paid and the contract is signed, the Photographer shall exclusively reserve the time and date agreed upon, and will not make any other reservations for that time and date.  The Photographer also begins to accrue hours for their emails, communications, consultations, planning, travel time, and any other preparation that would happen for a wedding.  For this reason, all Initial Payments are non-refundable, even if the date of the wedding is changed or the wedding is cancelled for any reason (please see Force Majeure clause above).  If final payment is not received four weeks prior to the scheduled wedding date, the Photographer will not be expected to attend said event or refund any monies paid.  Additional custom orders (reprints, enlargements, albums) must be paid in full at the time of order.  Additional hours worked by the Photographer, subcontractors, and/or staff of Justice Photography beyond the number of hours contracted as stated in this contract, will be billed at the rate of $600 an hour the night of the event.  If additional hours are worked, products will not be delivered until payment for those hours are received in full.

Clause notes:

•By changing the terminology from “Retainer” or “Deposit” to “Initial Payment”, you’re further expressing that the services you’re providing before a wedding date are a part of the overall services you provide. This isn’t to say that you won’t give a client a refund under the right circumstances, but more something that further protects both yourself AND the client, while also not allowing incorrect terminology to force you to pay back money for a wedding or event you’ve already put hours of work into. After all - our jobs are our livelihood - and being forced to give a full refund for work you’ve already done is something no vendor ever wants to do.

•Every single wedding and event vendor has their own version of a deposit or retainer. The problem is that, under most contracts, a vendor’s “non-refundable” deposit/retainer can still be refunded, even after putting in the work leading up to the refund. To break this down further, a wedding or event professional may provide multiple services prior to a wedding that are completely separate from their normal service provided - these services include spending time meeting with a client on multiple occasions, spending hours of time communicating with emails/phone calls, giving professional advice and help (that otherwise would not be given to non-clients), reserving the specific date for the client, participating in venue walk-throughs, providing trials/tastings (dependent on the vendor), and much more. Aside from answering basic questions via email/phone - most of these services would never happen without an initial deposit/retainer.

Coronavirus Reschedule Policy For Vendors

Navigating dozens of reschedules is no easy task. You’re trying to balance flexibility for your client, while also still doing your best to avoid as much financial loss as possible. Most of my clients have booked me for their original wedding date between 8-18 months out - meaning some clients booked me at my 2019 prices for their 2021 wedding.

With that being said, I have come up with the following reschedule policy that has been very successful with my wedding reschedules so far. Keep in mind that this is not the only way to do things and it’s definitely not perfect - it’s just some insight in what myself and a few others are doing. My reschedule policy is also something that’s continuously changing due to more potential closures in the future, so check back for updates in the next few months!

•Couples that need to cancel their original date and rebook a new date in the future are sent a “Cancelation Form” that puts the cancelation in writing and allows their old wedding date to be freed up, leaving you no longer responsible for working the event date.

•Once canceled, they receive a newly updated contract to fill out with the new COVID-19 clauses.

•Couples may reschedule to any day (Monday-Sunday) until April 3rd, 2021 (without any additional fees).

•After April 3rd, 2021, couples are able to pick any non-Saturday date up to 18 months from their original wedding date (without any additional fees).

•If both of the above options still don’t work and my couple wants a Saturday date after April 3rd, 2021, then I just ask that they meet me in the middle of my new rates (raised as of 1/1/2020). Some of you may have not raised your rates for next year, and that’s perfectly fine. I raise my rates every year or two depending on my demand and how many weddings I’ve already booked for the year. For rescheduling with my new rates - this is *always* something that is flexible to me, and if you’re raising your rates for 2021, it’s all about how you approach it.

•Let the couple know your reschedule policy. If they really want a date that falls outside of your free rescheduling policy, just communicate with them. Let your client know that you have raised your rates and you are just asking they meet you in the middle. Inform them why you raised your rates or what the new rates cover.

•And finally, BE FLEXIBLE. I let my couples know that if they cannot afford the new rate change (often only an additional $200-$300 depending on their package price) or that if it puts them over their original photography budget, that I will still photograph their wedding at no additional cost. My end goal is to avoid any extra stress and to still keep an amazing relationship with my client, while also making sure that I am running a successful business.

COVID-19 Advice For Photographers and Other Vendors

Since I wanted to have a wide variety of information available that applies to all types of vendors, I decided to reach out to a few local industry leaders to help shed some light on how they’re moving forward during these uncertain times.

How to help Other Vendors For Free!

My good friend Suher, a local San Diego wedding industry educator, puts a ton of emphasis on community over competition and connecting with local vendors for support. She’s actually a huge inspiration behind this blog post, as I’m incredibly inspired by how much she helps local vendors network and stay positive. She made this easy cheat sheet on how to help other vendors during these hard times.

Creating a “Return To Event” Plan

My amazing friend Christine, who you’ve probably seen from my past San Diego event photos blogpost that included her luxury travel company’s launch on a helicopter pad in downtown San Diego, sheds some amazing advice on limiting your liability as an employer while the Coronavirus is still active:

“Once we are able to start gathering again (a day I truly cannot wait for!), COVID-19 will unfortunately still be a risk to our employees and clients.  Before your first event, it is important to start creating a "Return-to-Event" plan.  Along with having set safety and hygiene protocols, all businesses should create a COVID-19 Assumption of Risk & Waiver of Liability Agreement. As small business owners, we need to protect our employees, clients, as well as our business from liability. 

Your employees should be aware of the risk that may arise from or in connection with working, which includes exposure to infectious diseases. In addition, they should attest prior to working that they do not have any symptoms of illness, traveled internationally or in any highly impacted area within the US in the past 14 days, believe to have been exposed to a person with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, or officially diagnosed with COVID-19. Having a liability waiver is an important first step that businesses can take to proactively protect against possible future liability of exposure claims and most importantly - the safety of everyone at the event.”

-Christine Ong Forsythe, a San Diego luxury planner, and owner of Lavish & Co.

Below, you’ll find some great points to help you create your own Waiver of Liability Agreement. These are specific points that Christine has formatted for employees working under her company, which help reduce her liability as the employer and help limit the spread of COVID-19 to any guests or other vendors her employees come into contact with.

Assumption of Risk and Waiver of Liability Agreement

• I attest that:

  • I have not traveled internationally in the past 14 days.

  • I have not traveled to a highly impacted area within the United States in the past 14 days.

  • I do not believe that I have been exposed to a person with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19.

  • I have not been diagnosed with COVID-19 and not yet cleared as noncontagious by state or local public health authorities.

  • I am aware that I must follow the safety and hygiene protocols that have been implemented by CDC, Federal, and the State government.

  • I am not experiencing any symptoms of illness such as a fever, cough, or shortness of breath. If I develop these symptoms, I agree that I will cancel my shift before arriving to my scheduled shift.

Navigating Covid-19 Reschedules As a Coordinator

I’ve worked with Melissa (and her amazing partner Jill) more times than I can count - and one thing that I absolutely love is her attention to detail. If you’re a coordinator that’s looking for advice on how to reschedule other vendors for your couple - look no further!

“When navigating couples through planning during this difficult time, I strongly suggest inquiring with each vendor about all options for their event. Specifically, what are their postponement and cancellation policies. This is important to know, even if the couple isn't considering cancelling. For postponements, can the date be rescheduled more than once? Are there any fees? Most importantly, will be the vendor team change at all? Finally, do any of the contract terms change? For example, with a rental company, are all the items available or will substitutions be made?

For cancellations, what happens with the retainer and monies paid? Do the clients have the option to use the funds for another event in the future? A great example is a family photo shoot in lieu of wedding photography. With cancellation, are there any additional liabilities for the client?

Even if the client is not considering cancelling and information regarding cancelling isn't passed on, it is great to have on file. Remember that as this situation continues to develop, the vendor's policy may as well. In my experience, I've dealt with each event and special circumstance on a case by case basis.”

-Melissa Barrad, a San Diego wedding planner, and owner of I Do… Weddings & Events!

Wedding Postponement Checklist For Vendors

Below is a super helpful info-graph that helps all vendors with COIVD-19 rescheduling. A huge thanks to Melissa, a local wedding planner in San Diego, owner of Sweet Blossom Weddings, for putting this together specifically for this blog post!

And we’re done!

Hopefully this blog post helps out a few of you that may be struggling with adding COVID-19 specific wedding clauses into your contract or need some advice on how to safely employ individuals without additional liability. If this post did help you in any way, I’d love for you to pass it on to the next person it may help.

Good luck to all of you this season and feel free to leave a comment with any questions! :)

Cheers,

-Sage Justice, San Diego wedding photographer, Justice Photography.