When a photographer accepts your request, you pay a 30% deposit of their price by card through Lens & Vows. That holds your date. The rest — the balance — you pay in one of two ways: straight to the photographer, on their usual terms, with nothing extra; or by card through us, in up to three instalments, plus a 5% payment-protection fee. If you pay through us, the photographer receives that money only after you have accepted your gallery.
Either way, you pay the photographer’s own price. Our commission comes out of the deposit — it is never added on top — and couples who pay the balance directly pay no fee to us at all.
From request to booked date
- You send a request with your date, your place and what you have in mind.
- You talk in the site’s messages. Until the deposit is paid, you and the photographer write to each other here; contact details are shared once it is paid.
- The photographer accepts, and we ask you for the deposit.
- You pay 30% by card. The date is now yours.
- The photographer’s part of the deposit is paid to them 7 days after the booking.
The deposit is part of the price, not an extra: 30% of it now, and the balance — the other 70% — later.
What the deposit does
- It holds the date. From the moment it is paid, the photographer keeps that day for you.
- It is part of the price, not a fee on top.
- It stays if you cancel. It held the date — a date the photographer may have turned other couples away for.
- It comes back in full if the photographer cancels.
Paying the balance: two ways
You choose how to pay the rest. The difference, side by side:
| Straight to the photographer | Through Lens & Vows | |
|---|---|---|
| How | Bank transfer, cash or the photographer’s usual terms | By card, in up to three instalments |
| Extra cost | None | A 5% payment-protection fee, shown up front |
| When | As you agree with the photographer | The last instalment 14 days before the wedding |
| The photographer receives it | When you pay | After the gallery is accepted |
| If the photographer cancels | The deposit comes back; the balance is between you and the photographer | Everything paid through us comes back |
| If you cancel | The deposit stays; the balance is between you and the photographer | The deposit stays; our cancellation tiers apply to the balance (below) |
An example. You pay 30% of the price as the deposit when the photographer accepts. Paying the balance directly, you then pay the photographer the other 70% on the terms you agree together. Paying through us, you pay that 70% by card in up to three instalments, the last 14 days before the wedding, plus the 5% protection fee — and the photographer receives it once your gallery is accepted.
Accepting the gallery
After the wedding, the photographer delivers your gallery. It counts as accepted when you accept it, or automatically 14 days after delivery. Only then does a balance paid through us go to the photographer.
So take the time to look through it. If something you agreed on is missing — the dinner, the album, the family photos — tell the photographer before you accept, and write to us if you need help.
If plans change
If you cancel
The deposit always stays: it held the date. Of the balance you have already paid through us, this is what comes back:
| When you cancel | Deposit | Balance paid through us |
|---|---|---|
| More than 6 months before the wedding | Stays | All of it comes back |
| 3–6 months before | Stays | Three quarters of what you paid |
| 30–90 days before | Stays | Half of what you paid |
| Under 30 days before | Stays | Nothing comes back |
The 5% payment-protection fee is not refunded — it paid the card fees — unless the photographer is the one who cancels. For example: you paid the whole balance through us and cancel four months before the wedding. The deposit stays, you get back three quarters of the balance, and the protection fee is not refunded.
Would you rather move the date? You have one free change of date, as long as the photographer is free on the new one.
If the photographer cancels
You get back everything that went through us — the deposit and the protection fee included — and we help you find a replacement.
Paying in your currency
Prices are shown in the currency you choose. The exchange rate is fixed when the deposit is asked for, and every later payment of that booking uses the same rate. Exchange rates move; the rate for your booking doesn’t.
Paying directly: what it means
Paying the balance straight to the photographer is simple and carries no fee from us. It also means that money is between you and the photographer: our cancellation tiers and refunds cover only what went through us. So:
- Have a written contract that covers the balance, when it is due, and what happens if either of you cancels.
- Keep receipts for every payment — transfer confirmations, a signed note for cash.
- Agree in writing when the balance is due and in which currency.
What any wedding photography contract should say
Whoever you book and however you pay, a good contract leaves nothing to memory. It should cover:
- The date, the places and the hours of coverage, with a start and a finish.
- What is delivered: online gallery, roughly how many photos, album, film, drone, engagement session.
- Delivery time for the full gallery, and how long it stays online.
- Travel and stays: included or not, and who books what.
- Overtime: what an extra hour costs and who decides on the day.
- Cancellation and date changes on both sides, and what happens if the photographer is ill.
- Image use: whether the photographer may show your photos on their website, on social media or in publications — and whether you can say no.
- Payments: deposit, balance, due dates and how each is paid.
For the whole booking journey, see how it works. If you are still comparing photographers, what a wedding photographer costs explains what changes the price — or tell us about your day and see who is free.
