Bridal Show

This past Sunday was the Prestige Inn Bridal Showcase in Cranbrook, BC. It was a very busy event with a lot of bride's to be attending. It surprised me that there were seven photographers represented there as they used to cut it off at four. I felt sorry for some of the bride's as it almost seemed like a photographers show. A good point for the bride's with so many photographers is showing that each photographer has their own style and that a bride must be happy with the style of the photographer that they choose for their most important day. A photographers style is enbedded in their being. Which means that if you are looking for a casual, photojournalistic style for your wedding images and the photographer that shoots your wedding is a traditional style photographer you are not going to be happy with your wedding images. So having so many photographers to choose from is a good thing for a bride.
Another thing that surprised me at the show was how many bride's who are getting married this May or June have not retained the services of a photographer yet. The wedding photographs are the only thing that you will have to remember the day. The flowers will wilt and die, the cake will get eaten, the wedding dress that you spent so much on will be cleaned and stored, or sold, all you will have left is the photographs.
Of your whole wedding budget you should spend 20% on your wedding photography. So if you have budgeted $10,000 on the wedding then you should hire a photographer for $2,000, etc. Often the photography is one of the last things on the list and therefore there is not much of the budget left. It is important to have professional photographs taken of this once in a lifetime event and photography should be chosen at the same time as the date and locations are confirmed.

Wedding Contracts

Should you have a contract with you wedding photographer? The answer is an outstanding yes! It protects you, it protect the photographer, it makes sure that you know what you are getting and the photographer knows exactly what is expected of him or her. The below is a reprint by permission by an outstanding photographer from Ontario and it makes good sense. Thank you Roel.

As many couples are now booking their wedding photographers for this year and beyond, I wanted to discuss the importance of having a contract with your photographer that clearly outlines the details of your wedding day coverage.

Contracts by their very nature are designed to protect both the consumer and the service provider. A well written contract will clearly spell out the deliverables (products or services) that are to provided and the payment required. The conditions on how both parties will operate are also clearly listed in plain english.

Sadly, I have witnessed some couples who did not have a contract with their photographer, which lead to a disastrous result. And some couples who had a contract ended up paying additional fees for things they “thought” was included such as proofs and digital files.

Here are the four main things to look for before you sign a contract with your photographer.

Deliverables - Make sure that all items that you want in your package are clearly listed in your contract and are included in the fee being charged. These include, but are not limited to the length of coverage, high resolution files, printed proofs, albums, parent books, prints and engagement sessions.

Extras/Options - Make sure that the contract outlines the fee charged for additional options such as overtime, travel charges and what the photographer deems to be “additional products”. If there is an additional fee for items, what exactly is that fee?

Photographer’s Standard Fee - What is the fee, including taxes, for the deliverables in your contract. What are the payment terms? What forms of payment do they accept (cheque, cash, credit cards). Make sure their Canadian GST/HST number is listed as it must be on all invoices and receipts issued by legitimate Canadian businesses.

Terms & Conditions - I often call this the “fine print”. Read this section carefully as it discusses cancellation policies, payment terms, refunds of payments, backup equipment, limits of liability, etc. These terms need to benefit both parties, not just the photographer.

I wish you well for your wedding day…

Make sure you read your contract prior to signing and if you have any questions or changes to be made do it before signing.

Summer

It seems odd to be talking about summer when it is the end of January and -20 outside but if you are planning a wedding for this summer now is the time to retain the services of a photographer. Next Sunday the 1st of February is the 10th annual Prestige Inn Bridal Showcase in Cranbrook, B.C. It is usually a very busy day with all types of exhibitors there from flowers and cakes to DJs and of course photographers. Shortly after the show many photographers receive calls to see if a certain day is available and if you wait too long that day will be gone.
A few samples from previous weddings are here:

Busy

It is looking like this will be a very busy summer. The number of wedding inquiries and wedding bookings are up from last year. There are some unusual dates being booked, early spring and Friday's. If you are getting married this summer now is definitely the time to book a photographer. Also the annual Prestige Inn Bridal Showcase this year is February 1st and if you wait until the Showcase is over to book you may be disappointed.
On another note an anniversary celebration is being planned for my old high school in Lennoxville, Quebec the July long weekend. As I am currently not booked for a wedding that weekend I am working the numbers to see if I can make it down there. I have not been back to my home town in well over 20 years and would love to see it again. I guess I will wait until after the Bridal Showcase to see if I get a booking for then. Or maybe I will see if I can book a wedding in Lennoxville for the Saturday that I will be there.
Stay tuned!

Blur

The time since just before Christmas was been a blur. It is amazing that all the time shopping for Christmas, and wrapping, and cooking and then it is all over in a couple of hours. This is the first year that my boys really started to understand Christmas and it was a hoot! They were unwrapping presents at lightening speed as long as they saw their name on the present. It did not matter if it was to them or from them, if they saw their name they were opening the present.
I have picked up another wedding, this time in Fernie. So far for 2009 I am booked on March 27th in Kimberley, April 4th in Fernie, and August 1st in Edmonton. So there are still a lot of dates available and after talking to a number of photographers at an informal meeting the other night it looks like it is going to be a very busy year for weddings. So if you have not booked a photographer for this summer do not wait too long or you may be disappointed.

Cold

OK that's enough already! I don't mind a few days here and there that are cold but this is nuts. We never get it this cold for this long. After the pipes froze to the washing machine and having to wait three days before they were working again. Do you know how much laundry piles up with almost 4 year old twins? A LOT!!! It has been too cold to take the boys sledding. It has been too cold for them to play outside so we have been stuck inside. HEELLLPPPP And to top it off there is no indication in the forecast when this will end. Hopefully it gets better by Christmas so that the boys can see Grandma and Pappa for Christmas. Hope, pray, cross fingers, you know all that stuff!!

Weekend

What a weekend it was. After getting a bit of a blizzard on Friday night, I headed down to do Pets with Santa thinking that no one was crazy enough to go out in these conditions. After a few cancellations and postponements a few started to come in. We had 12 who had booked a time and ended up with 26 getting photographs taken.Then when I got home from that it was time to take my boys out to play in the snow for a while. After coming in and getting them undressed I discovered some spots on Williams upper body. He has very sensitive skin so I was unsure what it could be but gave him a bath and lathered him up with some cream. Sunday morning William woke up with a lot more spots and he was itchy. Thinking it might be Chicken Pox I took him to emerg where it was confirmed that is what he had. So there was half of Sunday, the rest of the day I put together new beds for them. They are bunk beds that will be separate until they are about six.
Kind of funny that they both wanted to sleep in the same bed. Oh yeah I am laughing right now!