Wedding Contract-

This contract is an agreement between Sarah Papes- Owner Operator of Sarah Papes Photography LLC, and {Client}___________________________________. By signing this agreement, both parties agree to all terms set forth below. A signed copy of this agreement is to be returned to Sarah Papes with your non-refundable deposit, to reserve your date. The portrait check list, timeline, and any remaining balance is due no later than 6 weeks prior to your event. Failure to return above listed information and balance may result in loss of coverage for your event without refund.

Please be aware that all contact & contract/form signatures must be made by the couple being married. While payments are accepted from outside parties (parents etc) it is required that I am in full contact with the client(s) being married at all times, not outside parties such as coordinators, parents, friends, etc.

Payment & Liability: A non-refundable deposit of 50% is required to reserve your date. The deposit is not refundable for any reason, unless Sarah Papes or my assistant replacement is no longer available for your event. The deposit is required, along with the signed contract, to reserve your date. Full payment of remaining balance is due no later than 6 weeks prior to your wedding. Failure to submit final payment on time will result in a late fee of $25 per day. Late Fees accrued are due prior to my services being rendered, loss of services may result without refund. 

If you are purchasing a "Mini Wedding Photo Package" or The "Elopement Video Package" your non refundable deposit due at booking is the full amount of your package.

If you decide to change your wedding date, another non-refundable deposit of 50% will be required to reserve your new date. If I am unavailable for your new wedding date a refund will not be issued.

Refunds will only be issued in the event that Sarah Papes (or my assistant replacement) cannot attend your event on the ORIGINAL date scheduled. In this event the refund will be issued within 90 business days. This does not apply to events rescheduled for dates I cannot attend.

Services: The services provided to the client will be as follows: Wedding Photography/Videography on the requested date, during the contracted times. All packages, pricing, and additional info can be found on my website. The pricing for your event is locked in place with this contract. It is only locked in for the original date and Package you’ve chosen. If your event date changes, a new contract and new pricing apply.

Packages: This contract reflects the package you have chosen. Please be advised that you can upgrade your package up until 6 weeks prior to your event, you cannot however downgrade your package for any form of refund.

Packages including amenities such as products and engagement sessions cannot be swapped for extra time or refunds if you decide not to participate in the engagement session and/or products. All wedding photography/videography is based on consecutive hours of service, you cannot break up the hours for any reason. Your package(s) cannot be split to multiple days for any reason.

Termination of Contract : In the event of a termination of this Agreement by the Client, the Client agrees that all fees already paid to Sarah Papes Photography LLC will be forfeited. Termination by the Client shall be in writing and sent by mail or e-mail to Sarah Papes. If Sarah Papes must terminate contract, the full amount will be refunded to the client. Refund will be issues within 90 business days.

Please be aware that time management & wedding event coordination is not the responsibility of Sarah Papes- Sarah Papes Photography LLC or any of her assistant(s). Please have a schedule prepared and have this contract & my services reflect that timeline. During the day of the event, timelines do tend change based on vendors availability, weather, guests, and several other factors. Please be flexible & trust that your vendors and venue have it under control. I am a fully transparent vendor and keep my couples in the loop at all times.

The client agrees to assist in organizing participants in poses. Without this cooperation, the photographer cannot guarantee that the desired product can be provided. Having a list of names for extended family portraits is helpful and recommended. You will be provided a checklist to record desired poses, locations, and additional information. Please view the timeline guide that provides tips & information on how much time to set aside for each event during your wedding day. Following the timeline guide will help insure higher volume of images. Multiple location changes for portraits are not recommended.  

If there is not adequate time set aside, clients/guests, or weather are uncooperative, Sarah Papes Photography LLC and her assistant(s) will not be held responsible for missed poses, or lower volume of images. While the photographer will consider the client's input on desired poses and appearance, the photographer will execute the final artistic decision. This includes color balance choices, orientation, location and poses. Not every pose desired will be carried out, edited, or delivered to you. Not every image taken will be edited and delivered. There is no way to anticipate the number of images or the length of video your event will produce. 

The payment received includes only the amenities listed in your package choice, listed in full detail on my website. All additional hours, additional shooters, prints, disc, USB & Download Packages are a separate fee.

Please be sure to inform your guests that you have hired a professional photographer/videographer, unplugged ceremonies are strongly suggested. In the event that guests, or guest’s phones/cameras interfere with my work, Sarah Papes Photography LLC and her assistant (s) will not be held responsible for missed poses, or photos. In addition, please contact the church, or venue prior to event, to inquire about photographer restrictions, such as flash during ceremony, or photos during ceremony. It is important that I know the rules prior to the event so I can have the proper equipment ready for your day. If your venue does not allow flash, or has restrictions on photographer focal length we will not be held responsible for low volume of images, noise in images, or loss of images, due to lack of adequate lighting.  

In the event that unruly/disorderly clients &/or guests threaten the safety or obstruct the work of Sarah Papes & employees- we will not be held responsible for change in timeline, or loss of content (images/video footage) In the rare event of severe threat/obstruction Sarah Papes & employees reserve the right to remove themselves temporarily, or for the remainder of the contracted times. A refund will not be issued.

Please be advised that no other photographer(s) (professional or hobbyist) are to be taking photos during posed portraits during our contracted times including: getting ready images, portraits of the family, bridal party or bride and groom, cake cutting, or first dances. All other times are permitted that day, and phones are permitted as well. If I am providing video services only for your event this paragraph can be disregarded.  

Please note that if your timeline is rushed or includes excessive downtime you may have a lower volume of images. Keeping events properly spaced during our contracted times provides more content and higher volume of images. It is highly recommended that our contracted time end shortly after the formal dances/cake cutting, as reception downtime and dancing does not provide much content. Please inquire if you have any questions about timeline and contracted times providing more content and getting higher volume of images. Timeline guidance is provided by Sarah Papes Photography LLC. 

If you purchased a wedding video package, please set aside time for audio recording. It takes approximately 10 minutes per bride and 10 minutes per groom. During this time we will need a quiet private area where you will record your vows, letters to each other, a poem, etc. Having personalized high quality audio in your video is very important. I do not use microphones on the Bride/Groom/Officiant.

If you have purchased a Photo and Video package with Sarah Papes Photography LLC for your event please be advised that a professional assistant(s) will be photographing your event while Sarah Papes works solely on video and audio services. Sarah Papes will be editing all images and video footage in the event that you’ve purchased Photo & Video services. (I am currently not booking photo & video packages together)

Special Conditions: In addition to the above provisions, the following special conditions will apply: A meal for the photographer(s) &/or videographer is requested. A second shooter &/or assistant may be included/added to your package, photographer(s) will eat while the bride and groom eats, as photographs/video during dinner are not taken, this also prevents us from missing the upcoming events directly after dinner. Dinner hour(s) do count towards your overall package time.

Sarah Papes and her assistant(s) will take short periodic breaks at their discretion.

Mileage fees are required for events 30 miles or further from my location-11488 Zip Rd Manistee. A $200 flat rate fee will be required for locations 31-60 miles from my address. A flat rate fee of $300 will be required for any locations 61-100 miles from my address. Any locations over 100 miles from my location will be up to my discretion. These fees are due with your balance 6 weeks prior to your event. If your wedding is 2 or more hours from 11488 Zip Rd 49660 lodging accommodations may need to be provided by the client, unless otherwise waived by Sarah Papes.

Destination Events: If your event is outside the state of MI, flight and lodging fees (Including applicable taxes) are required along with your package fees. Dependent on your timeline lodging may range from 1-2 nights.

Extra Hours: In the event that extra hours are accrued at the time of your event, fees will be required prior to receiving your highlight video, image proofs or sneak peeks.

Misc:

All holiday event bookings will have an additional $1500 flat rate service fee. This includes any wedding date within 3 days of a Major Holiday.

In the event of my (Sarah Papes) illness, or other emergency preventing me from attending your event, a professional replacement will be sent in my place, at no additional cost to you. A refund for my absence will only be given if I cannot provide a replacement for your event.

Sarah Papes Photography LLC along with her assistant(s) will not partake in any of the following risks, not limited to: Climbing of structures, improper vehicle usage, standing in high traffic roads, entering condemned properties.

Drone usage is weather and location based. Drone will only be used under the discretion of Sarah Papes.

Liability: Sarah Papes and any of her assistant(s) or third party associates will not be liable in the unlikely event that an injury or any other problem arises, whether due to accident, loss of materials, acts of god, equipment or other failures. Sarah Papes is not responsible for loss of, or interference with, the photography/film due to restrictions on the location, including but not limited to, interference from surrounding devices, access limitations- this includes event set up restrictions like chairs/guests/décor etc, flash restrictions, poor weather, daylight/natural light restrictions. Client understands the unpredictable and non-posed nature of photojournalism (assumption of risk) and waives any right to any civil action due to missed or lost photographs (including but not limited to unintentional infliction of emotional distress or timing/scheduling errors). In the very rare case of total loss of images, the total amount of liability will be the amount paid to the photographer for your wedding package, excluding travel fees. No additional damages may be sought.  

The Delivery of Product:

Images should be ready for “sneak peeks” between 1 & 14 business days, video highlight between 3 & 16 business days, and will be shared only if all expenses are paid. This is however an estimation & not promised. The remaining images/video footage will be finished and delivered to you in approximately 90-120 business days , this is also an estimation & timeline is not promised. Images/video footage/products are not released to clients until package fees & extras fees are paid in full. You will have access to your images as soon as the gallery is created (usually between 7 & 20 business days) you are able to view, share, and download your images prior to gallery completion. Your gallery will include edited images of formal posed portraits as well as edited images of candid moments. Raw unedited images and video footage will not be released for any reason.

All Photo rights are reserved and copyrighted to Sarah Papes-Sarah Papes Photography LLC by Law according to Michigan State Regulations. Any image or video taken by Sarah Papes Photography LLC can & may be used for advertising. It is illegal to edit, or alter images in any way. A print release is located on my website for easy access. The release will help you print your images without altering.

This contract is subject to change without notice. 

Booking, contract, questionnaire, & payment will be collected via session app. Balance collection prior to your event will be collected separately, payment options include Paypal, Cash App, Venmo, Square, or Personal Check. If you have any