Photo return from photographer

Or, I guess I should ask if this is normal etiquette?

I would definitely call the photographer and ask what the ETA is. You paid for a service and want to know when it will be met, there’s nothing wrong with that!

Was there a turn around time in your contract? If so, and you're within the time, it's ok to reach out and just ask the question in a friendly way 'so excited to see what you produced - hope you're well!' type thing.

If it's after the stipulated timeframe, then it's ok to be a bit more firm 'hi x, just wondering if there is any update on our photos, as according to our contract, they should have been sent out by 6 weeks after the date, and it is now 8 weeks since our wedding day. Can I confirm whether or not they were sent? If not, can you please confirm when we might expect to receive them?'

View Quoted Comment Sorry, I should have added that. There is nothing in contract the time frame. She advised at the wedding we would have a sneak peek in a few weeks, I had nothing yet at 8 weeks out. So I reached out, and I was told being their busiest time they've since stopped doing sneak peaks and they were hoping soon. Then I reached out again, last week hoping for an ETA after finding out she was giving folks whose wedding date was after ours there photos. I was told some galleries were taking longer to upload than others, that was a week ago. I'm just not sure how nothing could be done with ours for the last 11 weeks this Saturday. Yet these folks were married 3.5 weeks ago, and you post you're almost done with their gallery. Possibly, I'm overthinking the situation?

I'm not going to lie, that would really bother me .

Have you tried calling or emailing the photographer?

At this point I would call and express your concern as it has been 11 weeks. You can definitely mention about how you noticed that a couple you know of got married not too long after yours in which they had already received their photos. Let them know you would like to be given a time frame of when to follow up. If they say "We don't know," then take charge and let them know that YOU will follow up with them next week (but be VERY specific when next week so they know when to expect a call from you). If they say "We will go ahead and contact you when they are ready," let them know that you will still be following up just in case as you wanted to use those photos for your thank you cards or something like that lol. I'm hoping you get your photos soon!!!

View Quoted Comment I would wait a couple more days, and then reach out again to ask for an update. If you're planning to use the photos for thank you notes or something along those lines, also mention that you need the images so you can send your thank you notes out. If she gives a generic "your photos are taking longer to upload than others" or "I hope to have them available soon" type of response, I would insist that she gives you a specific date that the photos will be available by.

I would ask them for a specific date. 10-12 weeks is not an uncommon/unreasonable timeline, and I wouldn’t dwell too much on seeing others’ photos happen sooner — there could be any number of things at play there, like a shorter event involving fewer pictures (I only had my photographer there for a partial day, so I’m sure mine took less time to process than if they had photos for every single event), or a couple may have even paid extra to contract a quicker turn around time— you never know what’s going on behind those scenes. But, it’s totally reasonable to have an established timeline , so I would push for that.

You call them to ask. Especially if you paid. First, stay positive. If they were digital it could've been a typo on their part and for their mistake maybe they'll offer you a discount or comp you for something. If they're printed, maybe the address was mistakenly written to printed on the mailing address. I'm sure it can be frustrating especially being excited to see and look back. Stay as excited, patient and flexible. You got this❤️

I really can't give any advice that hasn't been suggested already. I just wanna let you know that you're not overreacting as I would be so frustrated too! After so many months of planning and planning it can be a bit of a bummer once it all is over. But your photos are last thing regarding your wedding to really be excited about! I'm so sorry you are dealing with this. I don't think there's anything wrong with reaching out. Congratulations on your wedding and marriage! I wish you nothing but a happy, healthy future together!

I'm having the same issue with different details. I was married August 28, 2021. The contract states 8 to 12 weeks from the day after our wedding, which would have been this past Sunday (November 21, 2021). I emailed her on that date and have not gotten a response. I called her yesterday. The phone did not ring once, it went straight to voice mail and I left a message. No return call at this point. We had an "unplugged" wedding and I do not have a single photo of us on our wedding day.

View Quoted Comment That is aweful, I hope you got your photos back, or ahold of the photographer. We still haven't received ours. 🙁