How to tell our photographer we went with someone else?!

Say you found another vendor to work with. You don't need to explain beyond that.

I think a short, professional email would suffice. Just tell her you have decided to go another direction with your photography, and you feel you have found someone who better understands your needs.
I would also make sure to read your contract carefully. I am sure the $600 deposit is nonrefundable (as pretty much all of them are), but I would make sure there are no further fees you are responsible for paying if you cancel.

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This is what my contract says for a cancellation.

Cancellation​: There shall be no refund of retainer after the signing of the Contract and the reservation of the photography date. If the event is cancelled and or communication of venue change is not given to photographer within 3 months of the date, the client shall pay the balance of the contract due to the high probability that the Photographer will not be able to further book that date. Once a balance is paid, it is non-refundable. Any other arrangements shall be discussed between the Clients and the Photographer. All arrangements will be put in writing.

View Quoted Comment Perfect. So as long as your wedding is over 3 months out when you cancel with her, you should not be responsible for any additional monies

View Quoted Comment Based on this, you’ll lose the $600 you paid so far, but you won’t owe anything else.


I agree with the others- keep it short and professional. Let her know you’ll be going with someone else and are canceling your contract for her services.

View Quoted Comment It’s a bummer you will have to forfeit the $600, but it sounds like it is totally worth it!

Sounds like you will lose that $600 but at least won’t have to pay more than that since your wedding is more than 3 months away.
I would just say:
“At this time we have decided to go in another direction and have booked another vendor. Thank you.” And just leave it at that

Maybe just add to my previous response “and we will no longer need your services” to make it clear

I agree with the previous comments. Expect to lose the $600 deposit, and send a short email to say something along the lines of, "We decided to go with a different photographer for our wedding, so we will no longer need your services. We appreciate your time and understanding."

Yup, agree with the others!

"Dear Blank,

Thank you for working with us these last few months. After a long period of consideration we have decided to move forward with another photographer at this time.

Please consider this e-mail as a cancellation of our contract for blank date at blank venue.

If there is any additional paperwork we need to sign to formalize the cancellation please let us know immediately. Otherwise we will consider this the termination of the contract with no penalties beyond the loss of our $600 retainer payment.

Thank you for your time,

Your Name"

Some vendors will have forms to formalize a cancellation, so make sure there's nothing like that you need to fill out to officially cancel.

View Quoted Comment This is very well written! I agree with this wording!

"Just wanted to let you know we have decided to go in a different direction with our photography and will no longer need your services." As others have said, I would thoroughly read through your contract to make sure you understand any financial implications of breaking your contract before you cancel.

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much! The wording is perfect and i will be send her an email within the hour!

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You're welcome! As a venue coordinator we had a handful of cancellations come our way, and unfortunately for legal purposes we had to have the cancellation worded a specific way to protect our interests. So I got really familiar with how to write those out lol.

Well, plan on losing the 600. It sucks but unfortunately that’s just the world of wedding industry and how it works.
I would be super blunt about it. You have no need to do any further business with this person as they have been incompetent. I would send them an email and say something like you don’t feel that her style of work as far as communication goes is the best fit for you and your FH, and that you have found a new photographer that is more available and more willing to communicate.

To be completely honest with you, You’re pretty lucky it’s only $600.

From what I’ve read on other legal groups and forums, they cannot require you to pay or forfeit the full balances if services were never rendered. The fact that their contract states that you would owe the entire balance if you cancel within 3 months seems nulle and I would question the legitimacy of this contract.