There are so many issues surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) that I’m not even going to pretend like I have the answers today. Think Splendid (one, two, and three) and the Wedding Photo Hangover cover it well.
But one thing you should be thinking about in these times is as weddings move and are cancelled, what does that look like for your business?
The bedrock foundation of any business transaction (between you and a couple for example) is how that relationships is defined. What is expected of you both, and are those expectations being met.
The way I recommend that relationship being defined is by a service contract.
I recently explained how I view a service contract in that it forms the outer limits, the boundary, of your relationship with a client, and although you might be generous inside those boundaries, you are both legally protected when extreme circumstances occur.
If your service contract was written by your cousin Jimmy, or worse, by yourself, then I would consider your relationship with your clients fairly loosely defined and likely not to hold up in court.
So we went and asked a lawyer to write a contract for you, and you can buy it below.
If you would like a service contract written specifically for you and your business – which is what I have done – then we highly recommend you contact Jamie from Pod Legal. A quick phone call with him will get a service contract that 100% suits hour business, your services, your needs, and the kind of relationship you have with your clients. Jamie also has a 20% offer for Celebrant Institute members.
Hi Josh! Ok read this, and I want to buy the contract for $120. But is it possible to see a sample first, please?
Hi John, I hope you understand that if we showed you the contract then you could just copy it and not pay for it … thus negating our payment for it on behalf of members.
It’s a contract created by Jamie at Pod Legal, in consultation with Sarah and I, and it gives great general protection for celebrants.
If you purchase it and have issue with it, we would consider a refund 🙂
Hi, thankyou for providing this. I’m currently looking at ways to merge this contract with my preexisting one.
Can you give any recommendations on a clause about cancellations that are not due to the clients’ or the celebrant’s choice, but based on government recommendations or mandates? (I realise that the answer on this is probably “I, Josh, am not a lawyer.” Thought I’d ask anyway.)
Hi Gemma 🙂
You asked a great question, and I had few others, so I addressed it here https://celebrant.institute/membership/legal/youve-asked-some-great-questions-about-the-service-contract/