Writing wedding contracts, what to include?

Anyone know of any useful resources for writing wedding contracts?

In order of quality...

1. a qualified local lawyer.

2. You could go to law school and learn about contract law.

3. You could Google wedding contracts and download something off the internet.

The problem with number 3 is that, without either number 1 or 2 you won't actually know if the document is valid in the place you do business or if some vital issue has been left out. For example, Canadian copyright ownership law is very different from copyright law elsewhere. Someone using a downloaded contract that is designed to be valid under US law could quickly find themselves in legal hot-water.

Dan's advice is good. Most don't go the lawyer route when they really should. The one thing that I learned a long time ago is that if you want to be viewed as a business you have to act like one too and you must invest in your future. I know some have purchased the Photographers forms from Amazon and then customized it for their region.

I'm in the same boat ... just starting out, creating my documentation ... particularly contracts and model/property releases.

I've got a couple of sample contracts and releases from photog friends, and am doing all sorts of reading online, too, to make sure that every possible angle is covered.

Once I've got it all together, I will look into having a lawyer read it over and fix it up to make sure I don't shoot myself in the foot!

apparently the pro photographers of america website has some good up to date forms and releases, not sure on contracts though.

Wedding Contract ... how is this?

http://newjerseyweddin​gphotographer.com …s/event-agreementform.pdf

hitech's Wedding contract

Dan Marchant wrote in post #13637731
2. You could go to law school and learn about contract law.

...this is what I did, and I can tell you with a great measure of certainty that most of the sample/demo/form/stock contracts out there are VERY rough around the edges, if not altogether an outright exercise in legal humor. Even the ones coming from reasonably reputable sources like Legal Zoom require a good amount of finesse to tailor to your specific circumstances, be they particular state laws or mere personal preferences.

If you're set on drafting your own contracts, at the very least you should have a qualified and reputable attorney look it over.

joe

Thanks for the response guys, but just one more (maybe silly) question, what do you do if you have multiple packages, do you draw up a contract for each option to take into account differing prices?
And what to do if you offer extras that can be included within a package.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #13642641
Wedding Contract ... how is this?.
Really rather poor. Quite apart from the fact that it doesn't have basic contract stuff such as a clause that specifies jurisdiction or the usual "if any clause is found to be invalid.... etc" it is incredibly one sided

http://newjerseyweddin​gphotographer.com …s/event-agreementform.pdf
Seems to be almost exactly the same as the above.

hitech's Wedding contract

Errrr yea, right. Clearly written by someone without much/any grasp of contracts.

The above are all excellent examples of what I was talking about above. It's a bad idea to download crap off the internet.

Dan Marchant wrote in post #13644512
Errrr yea, right. Clearly written by someone without much/any grasp of contracts.

The above are all excellent examples of what I was talking about above. It's a bad idea to download crap off the internet.

Well, he asked for resources/ideas on "what to include?" He's already been told to see a lawyer?

Of course, if he'd searched for wedding contract site:www.ppa.com, the first link says, "This sample wedding contract is provided to members of Professional Photographers of America as a guide. It is the responsibility of the member to ensure the agreement meets the requirements of their state’s laws."

PhotosGuy wrote in post #13650840
Of course, if he'd searched for wedding contract site:www.ppa.com, the first link says, "This sample wedding contract is provided to members of Professional Photographers of America as a guide. It is the responsibility of the member to ensure the agreement meets the requirements of their state’s laws."

Which is especially true given that the OP is in the United Kingdom and thus needs to ensure his agreement is valid under UK law and not US law.

Buy one: http://photographersto​olkit.com/contracts

My contract is in plain English rather than legalese. It wasn't difficult to write and is easy for all parties to understand. It doesn't have any questionably shady terms in it. It lays out what I get, what they get, copyright & release, and what happens if someone isn't satisfied.

The contract I signed for the photographer I shoot weddings with is a single page that lays out my rate, copyright, display rights, and insurance.

We're not Fortune 500s merging with other Fortune 500s so I don't believe we need to complicate things.