Wedding photos

[Claud]

I'm booking a wedding photographer for a friend's wedding and they want the cash on the wedding day . My worry is: what happens if the photos are no good? they've already got the cash?

[rekstout]

Firstly - if your photographer is asking for full payment up front in cash then I would look for someone else - a professional outfit will ask for a reasonable deposit with the balance payable upon receipt of acceptable proofs. I am planning my own wedding for later this year and approached several photographers and none of them required full payment before they had "delivered the goods". If you are unsure of quality then ask for references - don't go by their sample albuims as they may not be representative - talk to past clients. If you have to use this particular photographer then negotiate to pay a deposit amount in advance to cover their costs for the day and pay the balance upon receipt of the photgraphs.

[larabell]

Unfortunately, most photographers do ask for payment up front - usually full, or at least a sizeable chunk of it. I suppose the concern is that they get paid for their time and film - and don't have to dispute with people who want to get out of paying for photos in which their eyes are closed or mouth is open!

[doh!]

I'd recommend trying to use a company called Elegante - they sort everything out for you and are pretty reasonable! Sorry if the wedding's already happened!