Wedding Photos Over a Month Late

I’ll be completely honest as a wedding photographer myself. I delivered a gallery little over a month late, and still beat myself up over it!! I would be open and honest with your photographer, I was able to work out with my clients where I had delivered 1 half of them and then the second a few weeks later! It definitely has been a hard season for us all this year, but almost none of us have a problem making it right for you!

Read your contract for the timeline expected and ask for a partial refund because it wasn't met. I would probably get fired from my job for delivering to clients past an already generous deadline. Four months is really unreasonable. I'm sure you just want your photos; I can't even imagine how upset I would be.

I agree with Candace about reading your contract but I also understand where Amber is coming from. The wedding season has been and will be rough due to the whole COVID pause the wedding industry has had, especially for the passed couple of years. If I was in your situation, I would read my contract to see what might help me get my photos but I would also keep in communication with the photographer. I personally would feel really bad to over react (not saying you are) and they are really book trying to make up for the time and money lost from the **** wedding season. A lot of these wedding service providers are business owners and don't have a 401K plan like employed workers do. I would want my pictures/wedding video JUST AS BAD, which is why I would stay on them. If the time frame passed I would be calling/emailing every week to get an update, if it has been more then 5-6 months then I would want to start taking legal actions. That's just me though.

Have you reached out to the photographer recently (in the past 2-3 weeks)? If not, you could send her a quick email just to ask if she has an updated timeline of when you can expect to receive the photos.

I would ask for a hard date of when you can expect your photos. I can understand that these are unprecedented times and it’s great that you gave your photographer some extra time, but we’ve also been living in the Covid era for almost 2 years so I don’t know that vendors with contracts should continue using that as a reason for being behind in their work. They can easily change the delivery dates in their contracts if it’s that much of a hardship.

" We are really looking forward to seeing and sharing our wedding photos with friends and family. Since it's now been over four months can you give us a deadline date of when these will be ready by?"

Sorry your photos are so late. I would be out of patience.
I think your tip should be returned at the least. Tipping is for those who go above and beyond and not waiting 4 months with no date in sight.
Is it common to tip a photographer prior to receiving finished product?

View Quoted Comment That’s a good point. My photographer owns his business and he was late with the engagement pics and said he was swamped with stuff too. What you just said makes me think I should see the finished product first.

View Quoted Comment Thank you all for the advice. I took many of your advice and reached out asking for a new date of when we can expect the photos last week. She said this weekend (meaning last weekend) was realistic, and here we are almost a week later with no photos or update again. Is it normal to not be proactive in letting clients know when they can expect delivery? It’s awkward as the client to have to reach out every time a date passes.

View Quoted Comment No, this isn’t normal and now you need to let her know that: “Per your last e-mail, we should have received the photos as of 2/13/22. Since we have still not received them on 2/15/22 after being months of waiting, we will be reviewing our contract and seeking legal advice on how to proceed.” Just the idea of seeking legal advice may light a fire under her butt.

View Quoted Comment I agree with Sarah to mention legal advice. You’ve given enough leeway here with an extension and now another missed deadline. The fact that it was the holidays and photographer has a new full time gig isn’t your problem. How frustrating.

View Quoted Comment I think you're past the point of being courteous because you've given her alot of grace. Read what the contract says and send her an email that says, "I reviewed the contract and you're in violation of our agreement." List out the due dates and the extensions you granted to show your efforts to be gracious. And tell her that at this point you want a partial refund in addition to the photos.
Have you only communicated by email thus far? If so, try contacting her by phone. Sometimes email or text communication can seem distant whereas over the phone is more urgent.

I'd definitely ask for a partial refund. I don't buy that "too many weddings" stuff because she booked them, after all, and should have known how much time each would take from start to finish. You shouldn't be paying for her poor planning.