Effective date: 16 July 2026. These terms are between you (the “Client”) and The Wedding Story (“we”, “us”, “our”), a wedding photography and film service operating in South Africa. When you pay a booking deposit, you accept these terms. They work alongside the written quote or booking confirmation we send you; where a specific quote and these terms differ, the quote takes precedence.
1. Booking & your date
- A date is only held once we have received your 30% deposit. Until then, the date remains open to other enquiries.
- The deposit is paid by EFT (bank transfer). Once we confirm your date is available, we email you our banking details and a booking confirmation. We do not take card payments online.
- The balance is due no later than two weeks (14 days) before the wedding date. We are not obliged to attend if the balance has not been received.
- Prices are as set out in your quote and on our packages page at the time of booking. Travel anywhere within South Africa is included; weddings outside South Africa are quoted separately for flights and accommodation.
2. What your package includes
Your coverage hours, team size, arrival time, number of edited photographs and film length are those of the package you select, as listed on the packages page. In summary: for every package we arrive at least 20 minutes before the ceremony; from packages over R17,499 we arrive 40 minutes before; and over R25,000, a full 90 minutes before. A second photographer is included from the 10-Hour Two-Shooter package (R36,499) upward.
3. Delivery & turnaround
- A sneak-peek gallery of a small, finished selection is delivered within about one week.
- Your full gallery and film are delivered in 4 to 6 months, scaling with the number of photographs in your package (roughly 4 months up to 450 photos, 5 months for 550–1,500, and 6 months for 1,750 or more). Every image is graded by hand, which is what takes the time.
- These are our normal timelines and we hold ourselves to them, but they are estimates rather than guarantees, and may be affected by circumstances beyond our control (see clause 10).
4. Rush editing
If you would like photographs sooner, rush editing is available at R100 per photo, bought in bundles of 50 (minimum spend R5,000), up to the number of photographs your package includes. Rushed photos jump the queue and we work extended hours to complete them. Rush editing carries no promised delivery date and no cut-off for requesting it — you may add it to your booking upfront, or ask for it any time while you are waiting.
5. Reviewing your photographs
From the 5-Hour Wedding package (R12,499) you receive a review round: once your gallery is edited you may look through it, comment, and we make final adjustments. Two review rounds are included from R25,499, and revisions are unlimited from R51,499. Review rounds cover colour and selection adjustments within our editing style; they are not a re-shoot.
6. Changes, postponement & cancellation by you
Weddings change, and we will always try to be reasonable. The following applies unless we agree otherwise in writing:
- The booking deposit is non-refundable. It reserves your date and turns away other work.
- Postponement: if you move your wedding, we will transfer your booking and deposit to your new date where we are available, at no penalty. If we are already booked on your new date, the deposit is forfeited and a fresh booking is required.
- Cancellation: if you cancel more than 60 days before the wedding, you lose only the deposit. If you cancel within 60 days, 50% of the total is payable; within 14 days, the full balance is payable, because the date can no longer realistically be rebooked.
- Cancellations should be made in writing to hello@theweddingstory.co.za.
7. If we cannot attend
In the unlikely event that we are unable to photograph your wedding due to serious illness, accident or other emergency, we will make every reasonable effort to send a replacement photographer of a similar standard, or to arrange a suitable alternative. If neither is possible, our liability is limited to a full refund of all monies you have paid us. We strongly recommend that couples take out wedding insurance.
8. Copyright & use of your photographs
- We retain the copyright in all photographs and film, as the law provides.
- You receive a personal-use licence: you may print, share and enjoy your images privately and on your own social media as much as you like. You may not sell them or license them for commercial use without our written permission.
- We may use a selection of images from your wedding in our portfolio, website, social media and marketing. If you would prefer we did not, tell us in writing and we will respect that.
- Please do not apply filters or crops that materially alter our editing before re-sharing, and please credit The Wedding Story where practical.
9. Your personal information
We collect only the information we need to plan and deliver your wedding, and we handle it in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). We do not sell your details or share them except with suppliers directly involved in delivering your booking. Consent to the marketing use of images in clause 8 can be withdrawn in writing at any time for future use.
10. Circumstances beyond our control
We are not liable for failure or delay caused by events outside our reasonable control — including load-shedding or power failure, extreme weather, illness, accident, road or travel disruption, venue restrictions, or acts of government. Where such an event affects your wedding, we will do our best to reschedule or to deliver as much as circumstances allow.
11. Our responsibility & limits
We take our craft seriously: we shoot carefully and back up your images across multiple drives. Even so, in the rare event of equipment failure, loss, theft or data corruption affecting some or all of your images despite reasonable care, our total liability is limited to a refund of the fees paid for the affected work. We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses. Nothing in these terms limits any right you have under the Consumer Protection Act that cannot lawfully be excluded.
12. Conduct & safety on the day
We ask that we are treated with courtesy and given safe working conditions and reasonable access to photograph the day. We may pause or stop coverage if a person or environment is genuinely unsafe or abusive, without affecting the fees due.
13. How we communicate
We work primarily by email and reply within 24 hours. We share our phone number as part of our service once you have booked. We have found that email lets us give your questions the proper, structured answers they deserve.
14. Complaints & governing law
If something is not right, please tell us first at hello@theweddingstory.co.za and give us a fair chance to put it right. These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa, and the Consumer Protection Act applies to this agreement.
15. Updates to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time; the version that applies to your booking is the one in force on the date you paid your deposit. The current version is dated at the top of this page.
Questions about any of this? Email hello@theweddingstory.co.za — we would rather talk it through before you book than leave you unsure.