WEDDING 
INVESTMENT

INFORMATION:

Additional hour outside of package is $350.

Second Photographer for a full day $600.

Travel fees outside of Rocky Mountain House will apply for both me and my second shooter if hired. 

 A 30% retainer fee & signed contract is required when booking your wedding date. The remaining balance is due one month prior to your wedding. 

I do offer payment plans and accept e-transfers, cheques & cash. 

FAQ'S: 

1) HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY?
My personal style of photography can be described in two different ways. I would say my "shooting style" is as a mix of both documentary and Artistic. I find that especially towards Weddings I strive to capture moments that are realistic and happen naturally while also adding my own artistic touch to it. I am always watching and thinking what I can create out of ordinary moments. As for my "editing style", I am a light photographer with a touch of contrast and colour! If your looking for clean portraits with pops of colour and contrast, I am your gal!

2) DO YOU HAVE ANY FORMAL TRAINING? 
Yes I do! I attended Red Deer College in order to achieve my full Photography Certificate!

3) DO YOU BRING A SECOND PHOTOGRAPHER WITH YOU?
That is entirely up to you! I do offer the option of hiring one of my second shooters for an additional cost, and I HIGHLY recommend it! Depending on your wedding timeline and the location of all the events throughout the day, it can be difficult to capture absolutely everything with just one photographer. Hiring a second shooter ensures that EVERYTHING is covered from start to finish.

4) WHEN I GET THE DIGITAL FILES, DOES THAT MEAN I OWN THE COPYRIGHTS? 
No it does not. I maintain the copyright to all of my images, ensuring that I can use my work for publication, commercial or promotional use. However I do give my full permission for certain uses such as printing and online sharing, as long as it is solely for personal use. 

5) WHAT CAN'T I DO WITH THE DIGITAL FILES?
You cannot make significant changes to the images I give you. Cropping and resizing are okay, but please leave the image editing to me. You also cannot sell the digital files or prints of the images.

6) DO WE GET ALL OF THE IMAGES THAT YOU TAKE?
No, I sort through and choose the photo's that I believe are best for you. The number of photo's I give you also depends on the package you choose. 

7) DO YOU HELP US PLAN OUR WEDDING TIMELINE?
Absolutely! This will help make sure that your wedding day runs smoothly and that there is enough time for all the shots we need! I highly recommend discussing your timeline questions with me before the wedding.
 
8) DO YOU TRAVEL FOR WEDDINGS? 
Of course I do! Just send me a message with your details and I will send you a quote! For driving distances, the price of the packages I offer will increase with travel fees and overnight accommodations as required. 

9) WHAT IF WE CANCEL OR CHANGE OUR WEDDING DATE?
If your wedding date is canceled or changed your retainer fee is non-refundable. Once your deposit is received I turn down any other shoots on this date to hold it exclusively for you! 

 10) DO YOU REQUIRE A SHOTS LIST FOR OUR WEDDING? 
I do require a shot list for family formal photo's, but other than that I do not need a list of things to photograph. My job is to photograph every detail I see at your wedding. 

11) HOW LONG UNTIL WE RECEIVE OUR PHOTO GALLERY? 
For an Engagement session I quote 2 weeks before you receive your edited images. For a wedding, as stated in my contract, it will typically take me 10 weeks for full editing completion. I will of course post a sneak peak before then so you will have a chance to get excited for the full package.

12) WHAT IF WE ARE SUPER AWKWARD IN PHOTOS? 
When it comes to posing for a photo session, most people will say this about themselves! However, I promise that once we get started you’ll feel perfectly comfortable laughing and having fun, and I will have the photo's to prove that you look great and not super awkward! 

13) WHY IS MY RETAINER FEE NON-REFUNDABLE?

If you’ve ever hired a professional photographer, you’ve likely been sent a session agreement or contract and been asked to pay a retainer. Retainer rates vary from business to business, but I charge a $100 retainer for regular sessions, and $750 for weddings. Most of the time, it says the retainer is non-refundable. My session agreement states that the retainer is non-refundable (yes, even if the wedding gets postponed, or cancelled)

Seems a little unfair, huh? And as a client, I totally see why. But there’s actually a really good reason behind why photographers, and many other schedule-based businesses, are charging retainers to reserve your appointment.

 

WHEN I FIRST STARTED MY BUSINESS, I WOULD SET UP A MEETING WITH EVERY CLIENT BEFOREHAND…
at a coffee shop or something to get to know them, make sure we were a good fit, talk about their vision for their session and go over the agreement and collect the retainer. The problem was, I got stood up a lot for these meetings, and they’d ask me, “Can we just pay and sign on Saturday at the session” I would say sure! I’d show up at the session location about 20-30 minutes early and wait…and wait and wait only to call them and have them ignore my call completely or send me a “Sorry, we have to reschedule” text.

No lie, one family did that 3 times before I finally said, “I’m sorry I am no longer available. Please hire someone else.”

I decided it was time I started charging a retainer fee. The fee goes towards your total, but that I retain should you cancel. Because here’s the thing, when you book your session, your photographer reserves that date and time just for you. That means they are likely turning away other clients for that same time, and they are taking time away from their family to photograph yours. While that’s the nature of the job, many sessions do take place on weekends, so while photography may seem glamorous, it’s a lot of busy weekends away.

FOR WEDDINGS, MOST COUPLES BOOK ME 12-18 MONTHS IN ADVANCED.
As soon as I have all the info from my brides, I take the date off the table. And no lie, it always seems like all inquiries want the same wedding date because as soon as they book I get 2 or 3 more inquiries for that same date that I now have to turn away. Photographers, y’all know what I’m talking about right?

So as a business model, you can see why if a wedding gets cancelled it can mean bad news for a photographer who is relying on this job for their income. If for any reason your wedding gets cancelled, your photographer has to account for and offset the losses their business incurred from you cancelling your wedding. Remember, they’ve stopped marketing this date as available, so they’ve probably turned away other couples who were interested in this date.

Wedding photographers have two seasons; wedding season (the busy season) and booking season (the slow season). The odds are slim to none that they’ll be able to re-book that date, and any other couples that were turned away have booked someone else (you know since we said we were unavailable).