I got married about 2 and a half months ago and was eagerly awaiting my wedding photos. I checked in at around the 6 week mark and my photographer told me that her computer had crashed, but I'd be getting them "next week". She sent the gallery over that following Monday (yay!). However, I noticed that the photos past the toasts were missing. I emailed her and she sent me back a friendly email saying they must have stopped uploading and she'd look into it. I checked in with her a few days later to see what was happening and she told me she was still swamped, but they were high on her priority list. Fine, I totally get it. It's wedding season and she'd been otherwise amazing. This past Saturday she sends me an email saying (paraphrasing here): "You know how I mentioned my computer crashing? I edit my photos backwards (reception then cocktail hour then ceremony, etc.) so when my computer crashed I think they went missing. I'm doing everything I can to recover them. I can offer you an album and the still shots from the videographer. I hope to get to the bottom of this and get you your photos." I responded politely saying that I'd love an album and stills from the video and I hope she's able to recover the images. I was too shocked/sad/disappointed to say much else. It's been 4 days and she hasn't reached out to me.
I don't really know what to do. I don't want to try to get my money back before I get a definitive "sorry your photos are lost forever", but photos were my highest priority and I'll be gutted if I don't get professional shots of my father/daughter dance or our anniversary dance. I also wanted to gift my parents and in-laws a wedding photo album and Shutterfly is having an incredible sale right now (unlimited free pages!!!), but I can't send them an album with no reception images. I can't include the guest photos because the quality difference is significant.
What would you do in this situation? Would you try to email her again? What would you say? Would you ask for a refund? If so, how much? She technically delivered a little more than half the event photos. I had one shot at wedding photos so I don't want another photoshoot. I also feel like getting money back from her won't make me feel any better either.
Also I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this clause in the contract:
Failure to Perform. If the Photographer cannot perform this Agreement due to a fire or other casualty, or other cause beyond the control of the parties, or due to Photographer’s illness, then the Photographer shall return the deposit to the Client and do everything in their power to find a replacement Photographer equal to them. This limitation on liability shall also apply in the event that photographic materials are damaged in processing, lost through camera malfunction, lost through computer malfunction, or otherwise lost or damaged without fault on the part of the Photographer.
Does this mean she isn't liable if the photos are lost, or not?
Thanks so much guys!
