Wedding Video Questionnaire Template

www.videomoreweddings.com        I could'nt find your website??????????????????????

This has now been amended.

Are you referring to my actual website for my wedding videography company?

In brief - yes

Odd that the first website comes up but not the Actual website for his company!

I believe that the website address details in the user's profile should show the address preceeded by http://

Being cynical (what really?) It looks like a marketing ploy!

I think he just entered the address rather than using the insert link button - his website is perfectly accessible, but the link leads to a deform page which doesn't - just a mistake on the page here, I think.

Yeah thanks for the tip. I added http:// to it. It works now.

One huge list of questions for which most serve no useful purpose, unless getting on clients nerves is essential.

That was my thought as well 

I don't just send it them in one big dose, but over a period of time after they have paid the deposit. By asking does the officiant have any special conditions for filming, the couple found out I couldn't shoot inside the sanctuary. I adapted by shooting on the balcony.

With respect, & I take it that you are a very experienced wedding videographer, you have just made a big mistake in the post before mine! Do you know what it is?

I`ll check tomorrow to see if you have figured it out & then I will explain!

Ok, seems like I need to advise you! When you take a booking & receive the first payment you give them a receipt for a "Booking Fee" not a "Deposit"! If the client decides to change their mind re the booking, a "Deposit" can, in law be made to be refunded, thus losing you the money & the possibility that you may have turned down another assignment as you were already booked. By making it a "Booking Fee" the client has paid to book you for a specific day.

Hope that makes sense!

Wow, that is best advice I have heard in a while. Didn't know using the term deposit can be used against you. From now on, I will start calling it a booking fee. Thank you so much.

 Hmm you must be pretty new to the business if this is news to you, and you have a website advising others how to run a wedding video business? Cor blimey guvnor!! 

It's not a blog to advise, but a blog to share interesting tactics I discover. Sometimes I might interview an expert like yourself. Did you know you can type "engaged people" on Facebook and it will show you everybody that is getting married?

You do have to be careful with the description of payments in advance. You cannot just call something a booking fee, if it's really a holding deposit. Deposit, in legal terms is quite well established and forms part of the contract, and like any other contract term, has to be reasonable. To determine this, it will be a court decision if it goes wrong. Calling it a booking fee will be just as risky if it goes wrong because the judge is inevitably going to consider a large booking fee a deposit. This will be reinforced by the invoice wording. If you are going to charge £1000 to do a job, not just a wedding, then you would have to word it as Job price £600, plus booking fee £400, it's not the established system of £1000 for the job, then an extra £400 to process the deal. If the job is cancelled by either side, and both parties don't agree to it, then only the court will determine the outcome. In some cases, the courts consider the contract as solid, but the deposit not reflective of actual loss. So If you get a different booking, for less money on the day, they will offset the compensation to the client. The requirement for all contracts to be reasonable is not going to be diluted by calling a deposit a booking fee, which will fool few people, and certainly not the legal people. The concept of a deposit is legally understood, and the purpose generally accepted. Booking fees are not yet that established to have a solid meaning, because the common use of a booking fee is NOT usage in place of a deposit. I was sure, but now cannot find, an example exists where a court determined the booking fee applied to a transaction was not reasonable, and removed it totally from the claim - the reasonable contract term issue again.

You don't see house conveyancers using anything other than deposit as a description of the money paid towards a purchase price.

I suspect this has become one of those urban myths, that many people now do that really hasn't been tested enough. If you look up the legal description of deposit on a legal website, it is pretty clear and straightforward. It also seems that too much deposit moves it towards being a part-payment instead of a holding style deposit.

Your terms on deposit refund should be in the contract, and on any receipt for it - proving the client happily accepted these terms will help the court in their determination of reasonable!

The term of "Booking Fee" relates to the fact that you have "Booked" me, the video company to record your event! I then also give the client a detailed letter explaining what they can expect from our services, that the booking fee is non-refundable, the balance of the cost & when payment has to be made, the number of operators, cameras & what we will do & how long we will work.

Until we decided to give up wedding coverage (following a big fat gypsy type of wedding last year) I have covered approx. 500 weddings & never once have I had a problem with my terms & conditions!

Barry - what would the problem be with describing it as deposit? I'm not sure why taking a deposit is a mistake? When they pay the balance, how do you describe that?

Just seems a bit odd to have quoted them a price for a wedding, presumably start to finish, then have a booking fee? Whatever floats your boat I guess. In my world, we never see anything up front at all, we do a quote, get a purchase order, do the job, send an invoice and then probably 6 weeks later, after a reminder, get paid. The only change to this might be when we do a company check and see vagueness or negatives in their company report - then they get a program for the shooting and design/prep work. If this is prompt, we usually risk a final invoice on completion for editing and delivery. If they dawdle, then we do a proforma for initial editing, and then another for the inevitable extras as and when. I love the wedding approach and wish my commercial clients worked like this - all that confused me was the 'problem' with the word deposit? I have just paid a deposit on a venue, paid a deposit to a photographer and harpist, and thankfully NO video!

As I said in my earlier post, In law, a deposit can be made to be refunded!

 This does not apply to a Booking Fee! The total cost quoted includes the Booking Fee but is separate from the whole, it is to book the company!

All the wedding vendors I have ever worked with have always insisted on being paid up front!

In law, anything unreasonable can be made to be refunded. I just have never heard of a deposit being seen as a bad thing. Deposits, toward a final amount are universal - including buying houses? I'm not being awkward Brian, it's just that I've never heard of deposits suddenly being a bad thing. If somebody requests a refund and you say no, and it goes to court, there is no legal precedent that says deposits have to be returned unless there is something going on that breaks the contract - like the obvious, you suddenly tell them you can't do the morning, or your assistant has chicken pox, etc.

I've searched for some legal reason deposits are not 'safe', and I can't find it. You posted as if he's made a major error, but I had no idea what you meant either - it was a real surprise to see your comments on how deposits are now unsafe, and I don't get it at all?

Looking back, I don't think I have ever been paid up front for any jobs we do - and this is despite having the odd one go wrong, 300 miles away from base, when the client says "I haven't got the money to pay you". Wedding video businesses have it so easy!

I would never say "Wedding video businesses have it so easy!"

Weddings are stressful to film. There is no take two available.

I have had two brides who have tried to avoid payment after the wedding.
That is why I request payment in advance, same as most other wedding videographers.

You get all the money front loaded, you have ages to edit and rarely have clients involved in editing. You don't need a van full of equipment that takes forever to install, you don't work after midnight, and you don't have to deal with extremely well paid artistes who actually do know how they want to look. Having a live TV director in one ear with their countdown, and a stage manager in the other with a totally different countdown, and one shot at getting it right before a large number of people see your efforts, either on air, or on a huge screen is also somewhat stressful. 

I'm not knocking getting your money in advance, because it's brilliant - a way of working unknown to many of us who don't do weddings, but I'd love to be able to get paid before I've worked, and be able to assert that it's up to me what goes in the product. My theatre, and commercial video work centres on the needs of the client, even if this means loads of extra work that you know cannot be charged for.

It's a bit like that Monty Python sketch of old - where the prisoner is tied upside down and has been tortured, and says "you lucky bugger!"

You do sometimes get clients that want to sit in on the edit, but I soon advise that is not possible, although they can get some changes if necessary.

No one is stopping you filming a wedding.  We all choose to film and work the way we want.

It's fine - I'd rather have my nails pulled. I do understand that working with brides can be fraught and they are always right. I'll stick with what I do, because my clients, even those who are really pains in the bum, do take direction and advice. 

The wedding industry is unique, wether it's as a video service, photographer, venue etc. Unlike commercial clients where another job will soon follow and are usually still solvent after the event, these are complete one offs. 
After the (very expensive) day is over, most clients are skint, hence all service providers require payment up front.

The decision on filming and edit formats is also decided up front, as we all have our own unique style, which is obviously appealing to the clients and that's why they book our individual services. Same goes for togs/venues/flowers etc.

Very true Branny.  Most brides overspend on their big day, and come back skint.  As far as I'm aware, most wedding suppliers get paid before the wedding day.  Also agree with shooting styles.  I shoot documentary style, others shoot
cinematic style.  This is what makes us all different, and the bride can choose the style she likes best.

Register and post an add for your made in china software.  Well done watersun.

Your link isn't work properly  

er, the post is from April, and the entire site is down now.......

" Victoria". Appears to be a bott l

How you say i am bot ??? :(

Interestingly, I get emails from posts I am "Following"! One recently from you Victoria which understandably has been deleted by a moderator, I still have a copy of it but decline to re-post it here to save offending other members! Suffice it to say, it was very unpleasant so I would suggest that if you want to enjoy/make use of this site etc you sort yourself out otherwise you won`t get the benefit this forum can give!

Well said Barry and more than fair to give he/she the benefit of the doubt, though he/she still insists in answering, usually very old postings, in the most obscure way. Maybe he/she doesn't use english as their first language.