I found a photographer whose pictures I liked and was reasonably priced, so I met with her a little over two weeks ago. She seemed easy going and attentive; my fiance liked her too. She is slightly new to the wedding photography scene (about 3 years), but after looking at her photos, I didn't believe that this was a problem, since she was a news photojournalist beforehand. We signed a contract (and paid a deposit) with her at the meeting after reviewing photographs and discussing our vision for the day (as well as our engagement photos and bridal shoot) and asking questions. Because we met at a local coffee shop, we were unable to make a copy of the contract for our records, but she assured us that she would email it to us. The weekend after we met (about 6 days after our meeting) I emailed her that I'm sure she was busy with the holidays approaching, but that I hadn't yet received the contract and would like to have a copy. I also had a question about photo editing that I had neglected to ask at our meeting. She responded that she forgot to send the contract and that she "doesn't get along with her copy machine" and that she would have to work on scanning it in. She then emailed me that she and her husband both had attempted to scan the document in with no success. She stated that she would go to her friend's house to scan it in and email it to me then. I have not heard from her since.
At this point, I am a little spooked with the way this is all playing out. Am I overreacting, or should I be worried that it's been over two weeks without having a hard copy of my contract in hand with my deposit already taken? At the meeting, I didn't even think of snapping a picture of the contract with my cell phone, and am kicking myself because normally I am really good with covering all of my bases.