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Should Photographers Refund the Deposit from a Canceled Wedding?
By Katrina Ferguson
Should Photographers Refund the Deposit from a Canceled Wedding?
DISCLAIMER: This post is educational in nature and not to be taken as legal advice. Nor does it take the place of proper advice provided by a licensed legal professional.
To refund or not refund, THAT is the question.
What would (or do) you do when a couple cancels their wedding and asks for (or, *gasp*, demands) a refund of their deposit?
Maybe they’ve parted ways. Maybe they’ve chosen another photographer. Maybe they’ve changed plans and are now getting married halfway across the world from where originally planned.
It doesn’t matter (or does it?!).
As hard as it is, I don’t [offer refunds]. Often taking that booking means loss of other work opportunities. This is why deposits are so necessary.
We put it to our Narrative community members inside the open-to-all Facebook group and noticed this juicy question tends to divide photographers into two firm camps:
- Absolutely not - no refunds available
- Of course, no question - it’s the right thing to do
And just for good measure and to keep us all on our proverbial toes, a third group of photographers takes all factors into consideration and settles on a thoughtful, “It depends…”
Let’s discuss.
[Clients] assume the risk for their life issues, businesses don’t. In fact I’m already out the money if I can’t book their date and they haven’t paid their final payments. I’ve been mucked around too much with couples doing this and I can’t absorb these sorts of costs, especially in the current, tight, environment.
What is a Wedding Deposit?
Most wedding and elopement photographers require couples (or their parents, whichever the case may be) to pay an amount of money in order to ‘lock in’ their photographer and exclusively secure the relevant date.
This deposit is usually either a percentage of the total booking / package amount or a fixed nominal amount determined at the photographer’s discretion.
For example, a couple books a photographer and chooses their $7000 all-inclusive package.
They may be required to pay a 50 percent deposit upon booking and the remaining 50 percent 30 days prior to the secured wedding date.
Or, they may be asked to pay $2000 upfront with the remaining $5000 due two weeks prior to the wedding date.
It depends on how the photographer chooses to run their business, both in terms of contract clauses and cashflow. Some may even require full and non-refundable payment upfront in order to secure the date.
To each their own.
Why Couples Request a Deposit Refund from their Photographer
Sometimes, sadly (or perhaps in some cases ultimately for the better) couples break up before their wedding day and thus the entire event is canceled.
Happened to me once. It was really sad. Unfortunately I couldn’t do a refund because I did have inquiries for the same day that I couldn’t book. If it wasn’t a popular month I would have given them their deposit back.
Sometimes weddings are postponed or brought forward due to a death or illness in the family - or for some other personal reason - and the wedding date itself changes to one the original photographer is no longer available for.
Perhaps the couple has changed plans and is relocating their wedding celebrations to an entirely other location their photographer can’t or doesn’t want to travel to.
Maybe, for some reason, they’ve decided to book a different photographer altogether and don’t have the heart / decency to say so and instead cite any of the above reasons or another for wanting a refund of their deposit.
For some photographers, the reason for a refund request matters.
For others, it doesn’t make a lick of difference.
Which one are you?
[Refunding a deposit?] Oooh that’s a tough one. Entirely dependent on my season and how much work I’ve already done. My deposit is non refundable but I may return a portion.
Should Photographers Refund the Deposit from a Canceled Wedding?
It depends.
Would, could, should, legally have to 🤷🏻♀️.
Which is relevant to you will hinge wholly or in part on one or more of the following:
- Where you live / work / where your business is registered i.e. your legal jurisdiction
- What your contract / client agreement states
- Your personal opinion, feelings and preference
- Your relationship with the couple
- Your care factor (no, seriously: how much time, mental bandwidth, emotional effort and personal funds etc. are you willing to give in the ‘fight’ to retain deposit funds?)
To Refund or Not Refund - It Depends
If you have a watertight, lawyer-approved contract in place that’s been signed by both parties and clearly states deposit refunds are either not available at all OR not in cases where cancellation occurs with less than X amount of prior notice, then no, you shouldn’t legally have to refund anything.
You can choose to offer a full or partial refund in that case, but legally you’re likely not obliged to.
If you don’t have any sort of signed legal agreement in place, your obligation will depend on the default legalities of such cases within your legal jurisdiction i.e. your state / province, your country etc.
In that case, you’ll need to seek professional advice to be sure your decision - to refund or not - is legal.
Ethical and Moral Considerations
Aside from legalities, ethics and moral rights come into play in refund request situations and each photographer needs to decide what they want to do in terms of what feels right and fair.
And that’s a whole other can of worms that can often only be determined by individuals and on a case-by-case basis.
#welcometothegrayzone!
If you want to turn them into a returning customer in the future then yes [offer a refund]. Happened to me once and they got back together and hired me again. She didn’t even ask for the deposit. I did it because I wanted to.
The amount of time in between cancellation and the wedding date can also be an important factor.
Perhaps if a photographer has ample opportunity to book another income generating job for the original wedding date - and therefore suffers no loss of income - they may decide to offer a full or partial refund, even if their legal agreement states otherwise.
Keep the deposit if you can't find another wedding the same day.
- Omar Williams.
Refunds and Brand Reputation
Additionally - and not to be at all underestimated - when a refund request occurs, consideration for what’s best for the photographer in terms of preservation of brand reputation is important.
Word spreads and one disgruntled client may not be worth the reputational damage they can cause if your professional relationship sours as a result of refusal to refund upon request.
It’s as important to put yourself into a client’s shoes as it is for them to put themselves into yours - what’s fair and what’s reasonable?
It’s something only you and your legal adviser can decide.
I have had [a canceled wedding] and I returned the deposit. But that’s just me.
Call it a ‘Retainer’ Instead
To help alleviate any possible refund requests long before they may happen, consider changing the word ‘deposit’ to ‘retainer’ in your educational and legal documents - and conversations. (Or at the very least, always refer to your deposit as a ‘non-refundable deposit.’)
By definition, a deposit can refer to an amount of money that may be refunded, used or credited upon completion of services or delivery of goods, whereas a retainer - as its name suggests - is unquestionably retained or kept.
Retainers are rarely refundable.
Be sure to obtain legal advice from a trusted and qualified legal professional local to you or familiar with your jurisdiction if ‘stuck’ in a refund request situation or, even better, long before you ever find yourself in one!
It’ll be well worth the investment.
A phrase to remember and that should be on all contracts: ‘non-refundable retainer.’ Don't even use the word ‘deposit’.
Transparency is Key
No one wishes a wedding cancellation upon another but from time to time, it does happen and as professionals, we need to be educated and fully prepared for such situations to happen.
So too then, do our clients. And it’s our responsibility to inform them.
[Wedding cancellation] happened once. They did not even ask for a refund.
On their wedding date I texted the bride and asked how she was doing. She replied that they were back together. But no wedding plans since then. Always hope to hear from them again…
Be sure to have clear clauses (in understandable wording) in your client contract and ensure your cancellation policy is not only ‘buried’ in that document but also discussed and / or reiterated multiple times during pre-wedding consults and catch-ups and - importantly - written (referencable) communications.
