Photographers no-show, sick or double-booked - ever taken-over wedding photography last moment?

Have any of you been called at the last moment by couples due to another photographer become sick, not showing up as scheduled or possibly double-booking?

If so, how did you price it and how did it (those) work out?

It seems like the rare camera card failure, that this kind of problem must happen from time to time.

I've done it a couple of times when the original photographer couldn't make it for various reasons. However I always had a day or two notice.

I worked out the pricing with the original photographer and not the couple.

jcolman wrote in post #18802924
I've done it a couple of times when the original photographer couldn't make it for various reasons. However I always had a day or two notice.

I worked out the pricing with the original photographer and not the couple.

Same has happened to me, once.
It was a middle ago couple, each in 2nd marriage. I recall how strange it was to be invited by both to sit at their table during the reception, to join them for lunch! Needless to say, it afforded some opportunities for spontaneous candid photos that might otherwise have been much more difficult to capture. In this case, it was the guy they had hired who recommended me to them and who contacted me a couple of days before; we had both attended the same product lighting workshop held at a local commercial photographer's studio, which is where we met.

I've filled in for a friend who's a photographer when he was sick. I was asked the night before to fill in. I just filled in for him, did all the work, he paid me what the couple paid him. Last thing a couple wants is "hey I'm your new photographer, let's talk about prices" just before their wedding, stress levels can be very high. Better is "Hey, I'm filling in for xyz who's not well, there's no change of anything for you except the photographer so don't worry about anything". Even that will be stressful enough.

I did this about 40 years and it was a freakin' nightmare. Got a call from a "friend" who was "sick" the morning of. Went to the brides house to be told "we're not paying you any extra" which was odd.
Got everything ready for presentation and was told "we already paid the other guy, see him" so just left the album.
The "friend" denied any payment had been made, and his "illness" was his wife had caught him cheating and threw him out. No gear, so no wedding photos. No payment or apology either.
You live and learn.

ONLY THING I CAN SAY IS: Wedding happen!

I had a somewhat similar issue years ago. A friend wanted to start doing weddings as a sideline many years ago. I told him I would be his assistant on his first wedding. On the way to the brides home he was in a car accident and never made it (he did get to the church in time however). So I got all the bridal prep shots and met him at the church. This was all before cell phones so there was a period of concern. He was pretty stressed but once things started occurring he got into the flow.

It happened to me few times but I always sent them my regular pricelist.

bildeb0rg wrote in post #18805874
I did this about 40 years and it was a freakin' nightmare. Got a call from a "friend" who was "sick" the morning of. Went to the brides house to be told "we're not paying you any extra" which was odd.
Got everything ready for presentation and was told "we already paid the other guy, see him" so just left the album.
The "friend" denied any payment had been made, and his "illness" was his wife had caught him cheating and threw him out. No gear, so no wedding photos. No payment or apology either.
You live and learn.

Wow what a story, that would have been just a bit over the top for me... Usually I never consider social media for a social thrashing, but in this case, I would have to rethink my policy.

my wife is from Denmark and we were home visiting when her cousin was getting married so naturally we went...

i always lug my gear around with me and i opted to sit near the rear of the church. this church like most of the smaller community's have a door that enters straight into the sanctuary through a small vestibule about mid-sanctuary. this allowed me to be back out of the way of everyone...

mid day wedding with lots of natural light at the pulpit so im happily shooting away. grab some of the organist and guitarist at the rear of the church, some of the bride and groom leaving the ceremony etc and off to the reception. i shoot a bunch of shots there while their "paid photographer" shoots some stuff...

i edit up my work and send them a CD and they are so grateful because their photographer was the owner of a camera store and NOT a wedding photographer and most everything he shot was more "snapshot" imagery vs wedding photos...

i had fun doing it but didnt try to charge them anything for it. i spent 0 effort in planning or running around and they both really appreciated it...

Interesting.

More broad variety of experiences than I would have imagined when first posting.

The timing of this thread when I posted it is almost coincidental. It was just two weeks after posting that a call came to photograph the wedding where the photo below is from. Apparently the scheduled photographer withdrew due to her schedule. I thought it was odd the other photographer didn't piece the dates together sooner, or had an extra reason. The wedding was March 23rd. I think the email and call came near March 12th.

Anyhow, I just experienced what I asked about.

For several reasons, I'm glad to have been asked. This wedding became a transition for me. Whereas I questioned whether to cover more than just couples in the redwoods, I realized slightly bigger weddings were not just something I can do, but something I can enjoy. And out of town too. This one was about an hour away at a resort area in southern Oregon. Having packed heavy since I have a van, I learned what I don't need and can do without nearby, or even on a trip.

Photo from mdvaden's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (968712)

Judging from this picture and your others from this wedding, the bride and groom were probably happy it worked out that they were able to get you for their wedding. Nicely done.

N2bnfunn wrote in post #18809266
ONLY THING I CAN SAY IS: Wedding happen!

Yes thats the one things All divorces have in common

Dead Pixels wrote in post #18838574
Judging from this picture and your others from this wedding, the bride and groom were probably happy it worked out that they were able to get you for their wedding. Nicely done.

I believe they will happy about it all. But because I agreed to give them virtually every photo not culled, I emailed a 100% crop from a grainy high ISO reception room photo, completely unedited. I wanted them to understand what the least pretty images are like.

But there were plenty of clean, nice looking photos too.