Important Contract Clauses to Look for When Hiring Wedding Vendors

Let me start this off by saying I’m not a lawyer and you should not take this information as legal advice! I am solely an elopement photographer, and the information I’m presenting here is based on years of experience. I have no formal law experience or training, and this is not legal advice. With that being said, there are some clauses you should look for when signing a contract with a vendor. Let’s get into it!

Rescheduling / Force Majeure

First thing’s first, in the time of COVID-19, you should absolutely be looking for a rescheduling policy in the contract. If sh*t hits the fan and you do have to reschedule for any reason, what is your vendor’s rescheduling policy? Are they going to work with you to apply your previously-made payments to a new date, or are they going to require a new deposit to hold a new date? This should absolutely be a conversation you have with the vendor when you’re on the phone with them, and they should be able to explain their business practices easily and clearly to you. As of July 2020 or so, COVID-19 is no longer seen as a Force Majeure event because it's not an unforeseen circumstance. We have known that this is happening since March 2020, so it’s not like we didn’t know a pandemic was happening. You can try to invoke the Force Majeure clause that should be in your vendor’s contract, but it likely won’t hold up in a court of law. If this happens, depending on your vendor’s contract language, you may also be on the hook for their legal fees. 

Delivery Dates and Deadlines

Another clause you should be looking for will tell you how long it will take to get your photos or videos back for those kinds of vendors. How long should you expect to wait for your final product? This will not only make sure that you know what expectations are set, but also what deadline your vendor has. There have been plenty of horror stories of couples being ghosted after the day is done and never receiving their final product (which has literally never happened here), so make sure you know what to expect!

Payment Schedule

When is your final payment due? When are payments due along the way, leading up to the wedding? You should know up front what you're getting yourself into when you sign the legal document. This clause should also include what happens if you don't pay on time. Is your vendor allowed to just not show up if you haven’t paid them? Are there going to be late fees? A lot of contracts are written to protect both parties, because just like couples, vendors have also had nightmare stories of not getting paid on time, not getting paid enough, and still being expected to show up for the wedding day when the couple isn’t holding up their end of the deal.

Other Miscellaneous Clauses

Some clauses really only apply to visual vendors, so there are some extra ones that I think are super important to look out for. For example, the copyright clause. Who owns the copyright of the images? What rights do you as the couple get to the photos? Another good one is the “meals and breaks” clause. If I’m at a wedding for a certain number of hours, I have to be able to sit down and eat a meal or take a water break whenever necessary since I’m not a robot. And lastly, one of the most important ones is the harassment clause. What happens if a wedding guest gets really drunk and starts harassing me to the point where I can’t do my job without being interrupted? All of these are written into my contract so that you as the couple know exactly what to expect from me in all of these different situations, both leading up to and after the event!

Obviously there are some things that I can't speak to the experience with other vendors, but these are the main things I would be looking for if you are hiring vendors. Above all, you should just make sure you find someone that you get along really well with and who's willing to explain those things to you! And know that vendors are not just out to make your lives miserable – we’re real people with bills to pay, too!

Ready to sign my contract? Let’s do this!