Reserve and commission our professional photography services for your carmel or monterey wedding

High school senior portraits, engagement photos, baby, and newborn photographs

faq index and info about your upcoming carmel wedding Return to the F.A.Q. INDEX

how to reserve and commission our services

Q: OK, I'm sold. I want to reserve you for our upcoming event but what exactly do I do to make this happen?

A: As described below, the process only requires three simple steps:

step one bullet Complete our Check Availability Form. We'll reply back to confirm that we're available on your event date(s).

step two bullet Determine which of our photography service packages best fits your needs (e.g., wedding/special event packages, engagement photo packages, or our catch-all "a-la-carte" pricing).

step threebullet Submit the applicable deposit via our Secure Payment Portal.

» That's it!  After you complete the above steps you're good to go in our book. However, you will still need to complete the following steps at some point before your event:

 

Q: Just those three steps above? That's it?! Surely there must be more to the reservation process; isn't there?

A: Yes and no.  Strictly speaking in terms of *reserving* your event so that the date is secured in our calendar, yes, following those three simple steps is all you need to do...that's it! 

However, in terms of if there are any *additional* steps that you'd need to take between the time you made the reservation and the date of the actual event...no, those three steps do not comprise everything you'll need to do.  In particular, after you complete those tree steps outlined above and your reservation is secure, you will still need to complete the following steps:

step four bullet We would ask that you complete our New Client Questionnaire so that we not only have all the pertinent details of your event but also that we may better understand you and your style a little better.

5) STEP FIVE: At your leisure, we recommend that all our new clients take a few moments to complete our "Must-Have & Special Request" Questionnaire. This form allows us to understand which shots, if any, are of more importance to you than others. Please complete this questionnaire no later than one-week before your event.

6) STEP SIX: On or before the deadline specified in your contract (typically this date is 7-days before your event), any balance due on your account needs to be paid. To do so, either: (a) use our Final Payment Form for non-California clients or, in the alternative, for California clients, or (b) simply login to your secure Client Account Center and then click appropriate link to our secure payment portal. FYI, in addition to paying any balance due on your account, you may also upgrade your event package should you need our photography services for longer than originally envisioned (subject to availably).

 

Q: To help me better estimate how many hours I need to book with you, what's a "typical" wedding schedule like?

A: Accurately estimating the amount of time you'll be needing us at your event is often quite a challenge. Realizing of course that each event is unique, many prospective clients ask for a "typical" wedding timeline for planning purposes so here you go:

» 2 hours - Wedding rehearsal (optional)
» 2-3 hours - Bridal shoot (day before event, around sunset)
- - -
» 1-2 hours - Bride & Groom preparation
» 1 hour - Group Shots (fyi, it typically takes about 30-minutes per 15 group shots)
» 1 hour - Wedding Ceremony, Signing, & transitions
» 45-minutes - Romantic Bride & Groom shots (sunset is ideal)
» 3-4 hours - Reception, Bouquet Throw, Cake Cutting, Dancing

 

Q: I'm still not sure how many hours I should book you for. Are there any "rules of thumb" that you can share?

A: Absolutely! The first general rule is that for weddings with more than 100 guests, you'll need to book at least an 8-hour service package. Conversely, for weddings with between 50-100 guests, I'd recommend booking a package of no less than 6-hours.

In terms of the most "basic" wedding scenario I can honestly conceptualize, the bottom-line fewest number of hours necessary to shoot an event would be four (4). Some of you you may think this is overkill but I can assure you it truly is not. Given that, you may wonder why we even offer the 2 and 3-hour packages. Again, although we strongly recommend that clients book us for no fewer than 4-hours for their upcoming wedding or special event; we nevertheless offer the 2 and 3-hour packages for those who simply must keep costs to a minimum and acknowledge that large swaths of their event will not be documented properly as a result.

Backing up just a touch, the above recommendations are of course assuming you'll have us shoot at only one location for both the main event/wedding ceremony as well as any secondary event/reception. If you want shots away from the main event (e.g., shots down at the beach, overlooking the gorgeous Bixby Creek Bridge in Big Sur, or other key locations), be sure to tack-on the travel time to/from that secondary location.

 

Q: Tell me more about paying for your services. What is the "deposit" all about and when is the balance due?

A: To guarantee our services at your event we require a $500 "Professional Services Deposit" for all of our wedding/special event packages. Our engagement photo packages only require a $200 and $400 deposit for the 1 and 2 hour packages, respectively. Additionally, for individual with a California billing or shipping address, sales tax (7.25% of the total fee) is due at the time you reserve our services ("California Sales Tax Deposit").

The remaining balance of our professional service fee is due on or before the day of the event. Please see our Re-Booking and Cancellation discussion for more information.

In terms of what methods of payment we accept, we highly recommend you use your Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card via our Secure Payment Portal powered by Google Checkout. Alternatively, you may also submit payment by money order or personal check (simply mail the applicable payment to us). Note, due to the first-come-first-served nature of our services, we've unfortunately had clients fail to secure a reservation with us due to their decision to pay by check (e.g., during the delay of mailing payment, another client paid via credit card and locked-in the date).

 

faq index and info about your upcoming carmel wedding Return to the F.A.Q. INDEX