Why most wedding quotations cause disputes
Because they price a package rather than a scope.
A line reading "Wedding photography package — Rs 1,85,000" is agreed to enthusiastically in January and argued about in December. The client remembers a number. You remember the two events, one photographer and one cinematographer that the number was based on. When a third event appears, or the family asks the team to stay four hours longer, there is nothing written down to point at.
A quotation that lists the scope beside the price does not prevent the request. It makes the request a paid one.
What should a wedding photography quotation contain?
Six blocks. Each answers a question that otherwise gets answered on the day, badly.
1. Events, dates and hours
One row per event: haldi, mehendi, sangeet, wedding, reception. Against each, the date, the venue city, the start time and the number of hours covered.
Hours are the part that matters. Indian weddings run late by default, so a quote that says "full day" is a quote for an unknown quantity. State the hours and state the overtime rate in the same table.
2. Crew per event
How many photographers, how many cinematographers, and whether a drone or a second shooter is included. A client who paid for a two-person crew and saw one person will remember it.
3. Deliverables with quantities
- Number of edited images, and whether raw files are included (usually not).
- Album size, page count and paper type.
- Video: teaser length, full film length, and whether a same-day edit is included.
- Delivery format: online gallery, drive, printed album.
4. Timelines
Give a window in weeks from the last event, not a date. "8 to 10 weeks for the edited gallery, 12 to 14 weeks for the album after selection is confirmed" is honest and it survives a busy season.
Make the album clock start from the client's selection, not from the wedding. Otherwise a family that takes three months to choose photos will still consider you late.
5. Commercials
Subtotal, travel and stay if charged separately, discount, taxable value, GST, and total. Photography services fall under SAC 998383 and attract 18% GST. Show it as a separate line — the GST calculator handles the inclusive and exclusive arithmetic if you quote tax-inclusive.
6. Payment milestones
The part that decides whether you get paid.
How should payment milestones be structured?
Three payments, each tied to an event you control.
| Milestone | When | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking | On signing, to hold the date | 30% | Rs 60,000 |
| Pre-event | 7 days before the first event | 40% | Rs 80,000 |
| Delivery | Before final files are released | 30% | Rs 60,000 |
The logic is simple. By the time you arrive at the first event you have 70% of the money and all of the risk is ahead of you. By the time you release the files you have all of it.
Never deliver in full against a promise to settle afterwards. The wedding is over, the urgency is gone, and a studio chasing a final payment in March has no leverage at all.
What cancellation and postponement terms are needed?
Two different events, treated differently.
Cancellation. Booking amount forfeited. If cancelled within 30 days of the first event, a stated share of the second milestone as well, because the dates are now unsellable.
Postponement. One postponement carried to a new date within 12 months at no extra charge, subject to availability. If you are not available, it converts to a cancellation. This clause costs you little and settles the single most common conversation of the last few years.
Add a force majeure line covering government restrictions, and a clause allowing substitution of crew of equivalent experience if someone falls ill. A client who reads that clause in advance will accept a substitute far more easily on the day.
Pricing the package before you quote it
Work out the cost first, then the price. A wedding package carries crew fees, travel, stay, equipment rental, editing hours and album production, and the editing hours are the ones consistently underestimated.
Our photography pricing calculator builds the price up from those costs and applies a margin, rather than starting from what the studio down the road charges.
One tax note worth raising early: many photographers are eligible to declare income under the presumptive scheme in Section 44ADA, which changes what records you need to keep. The presumptive tax calculator shows the position, and it is worth confirming with a CA before the first big season.
For the underlying GST position on services, the CBIC rate finder gives the current rate against SAC 998383, and India Code carries the Contract Act provisions your cancellation clause relies on.