Consumer Law, Warranties Wedding Contract not signed by b/g - signed by contact person

[dschroeder]

I am a wedding photographer and have a wedding this Spring that i am about to book. My contact person has been very secretive about the clients. There will be roughly 700 people attending at the Chicago Hilton. They also noted that they don't want me to post their images on my blog, website, etc or enter them into any competitions, etc.

I just received the signed contract and the bride and groom didn't sign it. The contact person I have been speaking to signed it.

Shouldn't my bride and groom sign the contract?
What would the reasons be that they aren't signing the contract?
What are the legal issues related to this?

Any advice would be appreciated

 

[mightymoose]

The contract only needs to be signed by the person that is hiring/paying you... if someone is handling business for the bride/groom then you don't need their signatures on anything.
If you have been hired to take pictures of the event then do whatever you normally do with your pictures unless different plans are made and agreed to prior. People that don't want their picture taken have the option of not being there. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[dschroeder]

The contract only needs to be signed by the person that is hiring/paying you... if someone is handling business for the bride/groom then you don't need their signatures on anything.
If you have been hired to take pictures of the event then do whatever you normally do with your pictures unless different plans are made and agreed to prior. People that don't want their picture taken have the option of not being there. I wouldn't worry about it.

Hi Mighy moose,

Question for you. What if the check is made out by someone else - not the person that i have been in contact with? Shouldn't the person that made out the check be signing the contract? otherwise, the person that made out the check can try and claim their money back if their isn't a contract to back it up correct?


if someone is handling business for the bride/groom then you don't need their signatures on anything.

"THEIR" means the bride and groom right?

 

[dee_dub]

Shouldn't my bride and groom sign the contract?

Not necessarily. As mightymoose said, only the person hiring you needs to sign it.

What would the reasons be that they aren't signing the contract?

Privacy would be my guess. Or (less charitably) maybe it's some kind of scam.

What are the legal issues related to this?

None, unless it's some kind of scam.

What if the check is made out by someone else - not the person that i have been in contact with? Shouldn't the person that made out the check be signing the contract?

Not to say it's a scam, but it's sounding fishy.

otherwise, the person that made out the check can try and claim their money back if their isn't a contract to back it up correct?

Your contract should set out how you are to be paid and by whom, and the person who is actually cutting the cheque should sign the contract.

I suspect that if you contracted with Person A to provide wedding photography services for Persons B and C, and Person D actually paid you by cheque for it, Person D would have a difficult time trying to get their money back even if s/he hadn't signed the contract. It should not be difficult to show that they provided payment on behalf of Person A.

if someone is handling business for the bride/groom then you don't need their signatures on anything.

"THEIR" means the bride and groom right?

Yep. You really only need to worry about the person you're contracting with. Although it strikes me as odd that they won't tell you who the bride and groom are, and are having someone else cut the cheque. At a minimum I would suggest you amend your contract to get the payor's signature on it. You might consider increasing the amount of deposit to be paid (given the anonymous parties, which makes me skeptical that it will in fact proceed) or requiring the full amount to be paid into trust or escrow pending the completion of the contract.