$500 holds your wedding date: how the deposit, the balance and cancellations work

Why a photographer asks for a deposit to hold the date

A deposit exists because a date can't be sold twice. Once your wedding is on our calendar, that Saturday is yours, and we tell the other families who ask about it no. If the wedding is canceled a few weeks out, it's too late for another couple to book it.

That's why the deposit is the part of the payment that covers the held date. At IAZ it's $500, it goes toward your total and it's not an added fee: if you book the $2,150 Essential Package, that $500 is already part of the $2,150.

What happens to your deposit in each case

These are the terms of IAZ Photo Studio's event contract, for weddings and quinceañeras.

How the rest is paid after the deposit

After the deposit, the balance is paid in installments and settled one month before the event. That month isn't random: it's also when you send your timeline, so the team plans your day with everything settled.

You review and sign the contract on your phone. Signing and paying the deposit are separate steps, so you can read calmly before paying. Keep the contract and every receipt in a folder on your phone.

Changing the date isn't the same as canceling

You can change the date once, with 4 months' notice or more, if the new date is open. If it isn't available, the $500 fee in the contract applies.

We learned this the hard way: one year we had to move about 20 events to the following year, and we understood that a new date can only be promised when it's truly open. So if you know your date might move, tell us as soon as you know, not at the end.

What happens if the photographer is the one who can't make it

If your photographer gets sick, another team member covers your event. If no one can, we refund everything you paid, deposit included. That's why we work as a studio and not as one person: the founders, Cristobal and Sonia Varela, set the style, train the team and review every delivery, and we bring backup equipment to every event.

If you want to know when it pays to have two people on the same day, read is a second wedding photographer worth it.

Deposits for photo sessions and graduations

Sessions have a smaller deposit because they hold one or two hours, not a whole day.

• Quinceañera and engagement sessions: a nonrefundable $150 deposit; the balance is due 48 hours before. You can move the session with 72 hours' notice, and if the weather doesn't cooperate, we reschedule at no cost.
• Graduation sessions: a $150 deposit; the balance and the rescheduling terms are in your written contract.

What to check in any photographer's deposit

Before you give a deposit to any photographer or videographer, ask for these answers in writing. If one isn't there, ask:

1. How much is the deposit, and does it count toward the total?
2. Is it refundable? In which cases, and until when?
3. When is the balance due, and in how many payments?
4. What happens if I change the date? How many times can I do it?
5. What happens if the photographer can't make it?
6. Who do I pay? Do I get a receipt for every payment?

Pay the studio that will cover your wedding directly. If the photographer comes "included" in the venue's or another vendor's package, your deposit goes to that vendor, and your photo delivery can get caught in the middle. The guide on what to do when the photographer never delivered the photos explains why, and what to include in a photo and video contract goes through each clause.