A couple move their wedding to next spring
The venue has had a problem and the couple have moved their wedding from this September to next April. They email to ask whether you are free. You check, you are, and you say yes. Then the list begins.
The contract needs amending. The balance due date needs to move, and the reminders you set up need cancelling. The second shooter needs telling and may not be free. Your prices for next year are different, and your terms say something about that. The September date is now empty and should be offered to other couples. Three weeks later, a balance reminder goes out for the old date anyway.
The date is wired into everything
A wedding date is not just a calendar entry. It sets the payment schedule, the questionnaire reminders, the second shooter booking, the engagement shoot window and your album order timing. Changing it by hand means finding and changing each of those.
- The calendar entry is moved but the payment reminders are not.
- The contract is amended by email reply rather than a signed change.
- Your date change policy is applied from memory, sometimes generously and sometimes not.
- The old date is not released for new enquiries.
- The second shooter keeps the old date in their diary.
What goes wrong when a date change is handled piecemeal
Couples receive reminders and messages meant for their old date, which is confusing and a little embarrassing. Your own records disagree with each other, so when the couple ask what they owe, you need to work it out again.
The freed date is where the real money is lost. A September Saturday released promptly can often be offered to another couple. Released late, it may sit empty.
How we build a date change process that updates everything
- From the couple's record, you choose 'change date' and enter the new date. The system checks your calendar and holds and warns you if anything clashes.
- Your date change policy, as you or your adviser have written it, is applied: any fee, whether next year's prices apply, and what happens to payments already made.
- A change of date agreement is created for the couple to read and sign online, showing old date, new date and any change to the price.
- Once signed, the calendar, payment schedule, questionnaire reminders and engagement shoot window all move to the new date.
- The second shooter booked on the old date is asked whether they can do the new one, and you see their answer.
- The old date is released and anyone on the waiting list for it is flagged to you.
| Depends on the date | What happens on change |
|---|---|
| Calendar entry | Moved, old date released |
| Payment schedule | Due dates recalculated, old reminders cancelled |
| Questionnaire reminders | Rescheduled to the new date |
| Second shooter | Asked about the new date |
| Waiting list for old date | Next couple flagged to you |
We do not decide your policy or write your contract terms. The system applies what you give it and lets you override any line for a particular couple.
After a date change goes through
The couple get a clear confirmation with their new date and what, if anything, has changed in their payments. Nothing from the old date reaches them. Your own records agree with each other, and the September Saturday is back on the market the same day.
If several couples move at once, as happens when a venue closes or a wider disruption hits, each change follows the same steps and you can see the whole picture on one list.
Signs date changes are catching you out
- Couples have received messages about their old wedding date.
- You amend contracts by email rather than with a signed change.
- Your date change fee is applied inconsistently.
- Released dates are not offered to other couples promptly.
- Second shooters have turned up to the wrong date, or nearly did.