In any exchange of services it is a good idea to create a contract in order to protect both parties. I’m quite pleased with my A Matter of Wedding Photography Edinburgh contract, I feel it covers all the basics while being easily legible for everyone concerned.
The main things I wanted my list to cover were:

1. Contain complete contact details of bride and groom
2. Contain details of wedding, ie ceremony and reception times and locatons
3. Give a clear idea of what I provide (services and disc).
4. Give a clear idea of how my images can be used (for all non-professional purposes)
5. Record of payment
6. What will happen in the case of problems
7. Timescales of payments
8. What happens on cancellation

Below is the content from my contract:

This contract for wedding photography is effective and binding from the date it is signed by both of the parties and subject to Terms and Conditions.
The Parties are hereby known as: Fiona Matters (referred to as “Photographer”)
And: (referred to as “Clients”)
Date of wedding:
Location and address of ceremony:

Time:
Numbers attending :
Location and address of reception:
Time:
Bride’s name:
Bride’s email:
Bride’s mobile no:
Bride’s home telephone no:
Groom’s name:
Groom’s email:
Groom’s mobile no:
Groom’s home telephone no:

Correspondence address:

Ownership rights and responsibilities
Client is allowed to reproduce and copy photographs of the event taken by the Photographer for non-commercial purposes. Photographer and client agree that Photographer owns any and all copy and reproduction rights and client agrees not to reproduce or copy any proof or photograph taken of the event for commercial use.

Payment requirements
To reserve the event date the Photographer requires a deposit of £***. A date will not be considered to be held open without receipt of said payment. Said payment is not refundable for any reason unless Photographer cancels this contract.

The remaining balance of £*** must be received by Photographer no later than 14 working days before the event date (cheques* or paypal) or paid in cash on the day of the wedding.

Cancellation
If Photographer has to cancel this contract any reason (death, injury, sickness etc.) their liability shall be limited to a full refund of all monies paid.

After a period of 14 days from the date of signing this contract, as compensation for loss of income the following charges apply (to the remaining balance given above). 30 days or less – 100%, 31-90 days 60%, 91-120 days 40%, 121 days up 0% (days given are days before the wedding). These must be paid at the time of cancellation otherwise cancellation will not be considered to have been given.

Should said cancellation be a postponement, subject to availability all money paid may be applied to new wedding date.

In the event of the Photographer taking another wedding booking on your cancelled date a full unconditional refund of deposit and monies paid will be made.

Disclaimer
The Photographer will make every effort to provide high quality photographic services including providing redundant equipment. However in the unlikely event that a catastrophic mechanical failure should occur to the Photographer’s equipment or transport and Photographer is unable to provide Client with agreed photography services and/ or products then Photographer’s liability shall be limited to a full refund of all monies paid. Photographer has full Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance. Photographer and Client agree that Photographer is not responsible for any damages, consequential, emotional or otherwise arising out of the performance or non-performance of their duties.

Client agrees that Photographer may use any photograph for publicity purposes. Such publicity and advertising may include publication on Photographer’s website.

Other persons may take photographs at the wedding and reception. However all “formal” or other shots set up by the Photographer will be required to be used solely by the Photographer a short time after Client’s guests are allowed to take pictures of the group poses. This is to ensure the photographs are of a consistently high standard. The Photographer cannot be responsible for unusable shots due to distractions from Client’s guests (i.e. eyes pointing in multiple directions or being closed) and other circumstances beyond the Photographer’s control. If the Client requires posed shots of the couple the Photographer will require some time with Client away from Client’s guests in order to produce more personal pictures. It is the Client’s responsibility to inform their guests of this policy and to ensure they abide by it.

I have read and fully understand the terms of agreement of this contract and realise that this contract becomes effective immediately. I agree that cancellation rates will apply in case of any cancellation by me.

Signed: Date:

To be signed by A Matter of Wedding Photography:
I confirm that I have received a signed copy of the above contract and payment of £*** as deposit.

Signed: Date:

* Note: Cheques should be made payable to Fiona Matters

This being a quiet time of year for wedding photography in Edinburgh, I visited my parents a couple of weekends ago. They live in France just outside Geneva and we had a great time walking in snow over a meter in depth.

While I was there I asked to have a look at my parent’s wedding photos. Unfortunately at the time my parent’s did not have a lot of money, so they mostly have proofs and only a few proper photographs. The photographs had stood up quite well, however the proofs were in a really sorry state and starting to mould. I imagine they weren’t meant to last over 30 years!

Anyway I decided to scan the photographs and go about restoring and upgrading them on my computer. A good exercise and I’m sure my parents (well at least my mum) will appreciate it.

Unfortunately the photographer seemed to have made some … interesting framing choices. Most of the photographs were taken in what appears to be the church cloak room and the décor is traditional 70’s. Particularly the carpet and the lights which appear to be coming out of various people’s heads. Apparently it was raining quite hard on the day.

One good thing was that my parent’s couldn’t afford colour – so most of the photographs are fairly decent black and white – although they lack contrast a tad.

Anyway I’ve done the first couple and I thought it would interesting to have them on my website.
Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I’m particularly happy with the second one.
Further shots should be along soon.

Today couples often have a hard time deciding what to put on their wedding list – they have often lived together for years and so have no need of kettles, glasses or other items. the Scottish Wedding List (www.TheScottishWeddingList.co.uk) spotted this and set up an ethical charity wedding list. Marrying couples sign up to a list that contains gifts of donations to a variety of charities based in Scotland that work both here and abroad.

Give It (the not for profit orgainisation that operates the Scottish Wedding List) wraps the donations up like gifts and users can see what a donation could fund for each charity. Charities participating in The Scottish Wedding List include Alzheimer Scotland, Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, Mary’s Meals, Mercy Corps, Turning Point Scotland and many others. Couples select a group of charities; guests select a donation to the charity of their choice.

Everything can be done simply online and couples can see what donations have been made and view messages left by guests. There are no charges for the couple and no minimum total expected. Also there are no hidden costs for the guests – every penny thety spend goes to the ccharities and the costs of the service are covered by the Gift Aid reclaimed on donations made.

It sounds like a great idea for couples wanting to give something back to the community – especially as all of the charrities are based in Scotland, although many of them work abroad, so pop over to the Scottish Wedding List to have a look.

Personally I love ceilidhs, however I’m aware that many people don’t. I’ve been doing Scottish country dancing since I was 5. We did it at School when I was growing up (although as I was tall I often ended up being the man) so I generally know what I’m doing. I don’t have “the fear” of turning the wrong way and everything going wrong.

I don’t think there is any evening entertainment better than a good ceilidh. A bad ceilidh where the caller is vainly attempting to get people up while they attempt to hide under their table is horribly cringe worthy however.

So here is my quick start guide to a good ceilidh.

1. Good caller

This is key. It’s a wedding, there will be alcohol. Get a good patient caller who is happy to get everyone to walk through the dances before the music starts. This is so important. In my opinion the caller is by far the most important person of the band. Particularly if a lot of people aren’t used to ceilidh dancing

2. Frequent breaks

Scottish ceilidh dancing is tiring! People can’t keep going the whole time. If the breaks aren’t scheduled then the whole thing will lose it’s momentum and people will start sitting down and not joining in. Either that or they will all be knackered in the first half hour. At my wedding I interspersed the dances with the DJ which allowed people to have a break and a rest between the dances.

3. Have water available

Dancing is very tiring and thirsty work. Particularly the energetic ceilidhing type. If you have jugs of water available at the bar then people will drink that. Trying to slake a thirst on beer is never a good plan.

4. Be enthusiastic

You’re the bride. The queen. It’s your day. If you ask people to dance then they will dance. However be enthusiastic and bouncy and people will enjoy themselves and you won’t need to prod them for long. If you rope in your close relatives, ushers and bridesmaids then everyone else will follow.

5. Keep it simple

Some ceilidh dances are far easier than others. If people are getting lost go back to the old favourites. The Dashing White Sargent, Strip the Willow and the Gay Gordons. They are popular for a reason.

Follow these simple steps and you should have a fantastic night! Have fun.