Unresponsive Wedding Vendors-when to start looking for a Replacement

Well you would be lucky to find another photographer within this month. Have you looked? I would email first and state that the lack of communication is concerning and if he is too busy to respond then you would like to cancel and look elsewhere. I would first look and see if any photographers are available since it is a bit late.

I agree with Kristen - I would let the photographer know that you are concerned about the lack of communication, and if it continues, then I would try to book someone else. Maybe start researching now to see if you could find another photographer available (I think there may be more availability than normal due to everyone postponing from COVID), so that at least you already have an idea of who you could hire in case you need to.

I know you mentioned that he hasn't reached out to you, but have you tried to initiate the conversation? If you have and haven't gotten a response, I would write a strongly worded email letting him know that you need a response within x number of days confirming that he will be there for your wedding and when he can schedule a call to go over the timeline. Otherwise you will need a refund of your deposit to hire a new photographer or you will seek legal action. I would start looking at photographers in the mean time.

If the photographer is not responsive after that much time, start looking now. Get on Instagram looking in your area, check the vendor tab at the top of the page. You don't need to be wondering if the first company will even show up. Best of luck!

Have you tried various methods of communication? Email, Text, Phone call, etc.?

I agree with Kristen & Lisa. Let him know that his lack of communication is very unsettling & doesn’t give you a lot of confidence you were hoping for. Communication is key to any relationship.

View Quoted Comment I totally agree you need to call, email and text if need be. It's going to be very hard this close to the wedding to get another photographer especially during these circumstances with covid and a lot of weddings being postponed. If I was you I'd probably email, call and text him all at once. If he still hasn't responded then try finding another photographer as quickly as possible. And worst case scenario you can't find someone to fill his position then see if a relative or friend who is really good at taking photos can do them. It's not the greatest option but it might end up being the only one. And whats worse having ok photos that a friend took or no photos. We hired a photographer and she doesn't accept a deposit we have to pay her in full the day of, so I have a friend and my brother who are really good at taking photos so I asked them that if anything happens with this photographer if they can do all the pictures for the day, they both agreed so it will be nice knowing I have a back up plan.

Just to update everyone. We ended up finding a new photographer. Used the local wedding Facebook group to see who was available and got over 20 replies. The old photographer got send several emails and phone calls regarding our day with end date on responding to confirm he would be there. After getting nothing back we send a cancellation email. Still no response, unsure if we will get our deposit back that is stated on the contract. Considering this is our only COVID wedding hiccup we aren’t feeling too bummed compared to what other couples have been going through. Thank you for all your replies.