My venue, florist, planner or makeup artist is requiring me to sign away the rights to my wedding photos …what?
Planning a wedding is basically a second job, except no one pays you and Pinterest keeps moving the goalposts. You’re juggling florists, caterers, timelines, and suddenly one of your vendors slips a contract in front of you that says something like: "Client agrees to grant vendor full rights to all wedding photos."
Wait… what? And you don’t even know what that means.
As a general rule, you can’t give away the copyright to your wedding photos because you don’t own it in the first place. Let’s walk through why that matters, what it really means, and how to avoid a mess you didn’t sign up for.
Who Actually Owns Wedding Photos?
Short answer: your photographer owns the rights to the images they take.
Longer (but important) answer: According to U.S. copyright law, the person who takes the photo (in this case, your wedding photographer) owns the copyright. That’s the law unless a separate agreement says otherwise, and that kind of transfer is rare.
When you book a photographer, you’re not buying the copyright. You’re usually buying the license to use the images for personal purposes like sharing online, printing albums, or hanging up that romantic sunset shot over your fireplace.
You don’t own the photos. You own the right to use them for a specific use.
So Why Are Other Vendors Asking for It?
Lately, we’ve seen vendors — florists, makeup artists, coordinators, venues — including contract language that says things like:
“Client agrees to provide vendor with full copyright or unlimited usage rights to all professional photos.”
It sounds harmless but it’s not.
Here’s the problem:
You can’t give them what you don’t have
They cause friction between vendors and photographers
Worst case: they could open the door to legal headaches
No one wants to deal with a copyright dispute over bouquet photos three months after the honeymoon.
What Should Vendors Be Doing Instead?
If a vendor wants to use professional wedding images to showcase their work, there’s a proper way to do it: they just need to ask the photographer and come to an agreement. Most photographers are happy to grant use of images for social media use, but when agreements have language allowing someone other than the photographer to create prints of your images and sell them for a profit to the general public, they are problematic. They could not only violate the photographer’s rights, but the rights of other people involved too.
We send images to vendors who want to show off their beautiful work frequently. We’re happy to share when we’re asked respectfully and credited properly. Some great relationships with vendors start this way.
We want everyone to win, but photographers are not in the business of handing over our work with zero credit or consideration. Taking great photos is our business, and business have to make money or they can’t exist. Giving away rights to our work is the same thing as giving money away. Advertising is an expense to businesses (including ours) and taking advantage of a photographer, bride, groom or anyone else is just wrong.
What You Should Do Before Signing Vendor Contracts
This isn’t about turning your wedding into a courtroom drama. But you should be aware of what to look for:
Read vendor contracts carefully. Anything mentioning “image rights,” “copyright,” or “usage rights” could be an issue.
If something feels off, ask questions. Don’t assume it’s standard.
Talk to us. We’re not just your photographers. We’re your teammates. If a vendor is asking for something unusual, let’s have a quick conversation about it.
Our Promise at J&B Patton Photography
We don’t do drama. We do clear communication, honest collaboration, and beautiful photos.
We happily share images with vendors who reach out the right way
At a minimum we expect credit when our work is used professionally
We support you and your vendor team in working together respectfully
Final Thoughts: Don’t Sign Away What Was Never Yours
You’re hiring a team to bring your wedding day vision to life. If you ever see something strange in a contract, just talk to us.
You worry about marrying the love of your life.
