While payment procedures will vary depending on your area of business, here are some points to consider or keep in mind regarding the wedding industry.
First, it is not at all unusual to require a non-refundable deposit. Once a client books your services with a deposit, you are essentially reserving their wedding date/time and must turn down other offers of work on that same date or time. So, it is perfectly acceptable to protect yourself and require a 50% non-refundable deposit to reserve your client’s wedding date, and then require the balance to be due on or before the day of the wedding.
As a benefit to their clients, some vendors will offer to refund the deposit in the event of a cancellation ONLY if they are able to book another wedding on that date (otherwise, the deposit payment will be forfeited.) And other vendors will allow cancellations and refund all or some of the deposit up until a certain period of time, typically up until six months before the wedding date. Some people may be hesitant to book with a non-refundable deposit, so this may encourage more people to book or some couples to book sooner than they otherwise would have. Decide on a refund policy that makes sense for you.
If you are involved in the ceremony only (JPs, classical musicians, etc.) you should require the balance to be due in advance of the wedding date (2 weeks is a good rule.) It is often extremely difficult to catch up with the bride and groom after the ceremony if they haven’t directed someone else to bring you your check – and this can be uncomfortable for all parties involved if you have to go chasing them or their family members down. Make it easy on yourself and your clients by requiring payment due in advance (if the client prefers, you can allow a check post-dated until the date of their wedding.)
If your balance payment is due two weeks prior to the wedding date, send an invoice out at least one month before the wedding to remind clients of the balance due date. Do not expect them to keep track of this (some do – but with everything else going on, it is to be expected that many won’t be able to possibly remember every due date and amount due.) Send a short letter out with your invoice and also ask your client to enclose a set of directions to the wedding, a copy of the ceremony program, and anything else you might need before the big day. Tell them that you’ll confirm receipt of everything and will call to go over any last minute details with them. You will give them much needed peace of mind by being proactive in this way, especially as it gets closer to the big day.