So you know those random acts of god (or whatever) in vendor contracts........

SB1512

Well, our photographer has gone missing.  According to the article, he was biking in a park with a large lake and it's thought that he fell and hit his head and has been missing since Tuesday evening.  They have been searching the park, and the lake, but nothing yet.  I cannot even imagine what his wife and children are going through

TheBaysideBride

OMG that's terrible.

where is your wedding?

harper0813

His poor family. I hope he's found, safe and sound, very soon.

SB1512

Our wedding is in CT.  In 17 days. 

harper0813

Oh no... I'd start looking for a new photographer, stat. If he's suffering amnesia, he may take a while to fully recover and go back to work.

Good luck!

SB1512

@zoberg.  Our photographers are actually managed by another photography group......they have their own business name and do the photos, but this other group handles all the back end stuff (paperwork, communications, billing, etc).  I looked over our contract and it seems like they will definitely have to provide us with someone else, or equal caliber (or we get refunded some money), but I think it's best to wait a few days to contact them since the shock of this is pretty fresh. 

This is what our contract reads

8. photographer substitution

In the extremely unlikely event of severe personal illness or other extreme Acts of Nature beyond the control of ******** which precludes the Photographer from performing the duties of coverage ********** will attempt to arrange for a substitute photographer of high qualification, per Client approval of said photographer. The Client and ********** both assume the risks and dangers of the photographer’s travel and if the extremely unlikely event that a last-minute Act of Nature or travel disaster occurs while ********** is en route to the event the Photographer will refund the client all monies paid, less the deposit.

I blocked out the business name for privacy of the photographer

southernbelle0915

I'm guessing this it the force majeure clause of your contract and is not applicable to your missing photographer. The "acts of god/nature" clauses of a contracts are for natural disasters, war, etc. that prevent the company from offering services. This is not the case. They should be equipped to offer a substitute photographer.

ETA: What would they do if he got sick a week before and couldn't make it? I hope they'd at least network for you...

banana468

I know who you're talking about and it's frightening. He has a wife and family and they're scared that he was out in the thunderstorm yesterday.

Have you contacted the studio? If you want recs for a replacement send me a PM. In the meantime I'm saying T&P that he's OK.

cofkel

Hi SB,
I guessed you were from CT as well from that. I know a lot of photographers (went to art school, a lot of my friends are professional photographers) who are out looking for him so the whole photography community in CT knows. At this point they have released his name so everyone really knows. I know its hard but I would wait a few days because I am sure there is a lot of brides (like the ones he has this upcoming weekend!) who are freaking out right now, but finding him is the biggest concern right now. If its hard to get in contact with the studio I might start calling other studios like Carla Ten Eyck, David Apuzzo and some of the other big ones as well. They I am sure have more resources. I am so sorry you have to stress about this so close to your wedding!

tiny speck

Oh no, that's really scary! I hope he is ok!

SB1512

@banana, I might PM you.  RAW was under the management of Carla Ten Eyck so I am not sure if they are going to handling a replacement (even if he is found alive and well I'm sure there will be some sort of recovery that may impact him being able to shoot our wedding), or if they are going to refund us and we are on our own for a replacement.  Just because the incident is so fresh I am going to wait a couple days to contact Carla so it hopefully comes off as not bat shit crazy bride only concerned about her photos. If it's the second scenario, I will definitely be in touch.

I am definitely not super concerned about the wedding at this point.  This is someone's life, and someone who is a husband and father.  I mean obviously, there is some concern because yes, the wedding is in 17 days and we will most likely need a replacement photographer regardless of the outcome, but I'm hoping that Carla will work with us to help figure out the next steps.

MoonlightSilver

I don't know who it is exactly, but I saw Jerome post they were out looking... This is awful. 

SB1512

Moonlight, I sent you a PM

MoonlightSilver

It's not going through. I'll read it if it shows up later tonight. But I really hope this works out for everyone.

Jen4948

How horrible.  I hope he is found safe and sound soon.

In the meantime, hopefully the company will be able to get you a substitute photographer in time for your wedding.

SB1512

Studio contacted me about a half hour ago, they will ensure that we have coverage for our wedding day, which is so nice if them.

banana468

That is really nice of them.

The entire situation is so sad and so scary.    He's the same age as my husband and me.   There are just no words to describe it.

SB1512

Banana, I know.  It's really sad.  When I heard the news I didn't even think about how my wedding photos would be affected, I just felt so sad for his family to have to be dealing with this.

harper0813

@SB1512, that's great news that the studio's got you covered.

I've been trying to follow this - I'm glad he wasn't found in the lake and I'm hoping he comes home soon!

Jen4948

SB1512 said:

Studio contacted me about a half hour ago, they will ensure that we have coverage for our wedding day, which is so nice if them.

I'm glad to hear that.  I hope he turns up okay very soon-that's such a scary thing!

cwaggoner07

This whole story just makes me sick. I really really hope everything turns out ok - I can't imagine what his family is going through. 

SB1512

Yeah, it's just awful, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.  He's so talented and I know the photography community is really pulling together to help out with the search.  Unfortunately, there is not official searching going on today because of the weather.  :-(

I feel like I'm experiencing deja vu......around Halloween 2 young men who had been athletes I cared for when they were in high school had gone out kayaking a day or so before Hurricane Sandy arrived and their boat overturned.  1 was rescued before hurricane Sandy hit, but the other didn't make it, and wasn't found until after the storm.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this photographer has a better outcome.

kerbohl

I hope he wasn't kidnapped - that happened this month near where I live to the husband of a woman who went to my high school.  And the guy that did it was a multimillionaire who they think planned the kidnapping and then murder well in advance.  There are some really twisted people in the world.  I hope this guy is returned to his family.  

SB1512

@kerbohl, that's probably not the case, but I guess you can't rule out anything.  From what I've gathered from the news story, he fell off his mountain bike monday and him and the bike went into the water.  He emerged, but had hit his head pretty hard.  He had his wife drive him back Tuesday to try and get his bike out of the water.  It was then that he fell it and was swept away by the current.  A woman saw someone calling for help in the water and called 911, but divers found nothing when they arrived.

kerbohl

Oh no!  That's horrible!  I do hope that they find him.

aurianna

Just read an article... apparently they found a body in a lake near where he disappeared. I'm so sorry for his family if it's him.

harper0813

aurianna said:

Just read an article... apparently they found a body in a lake near where he disappeared. I'm so sorry for his family if it's him.

How heartbreaking.

SB1512

Yes, a candlelight vigil was held last night where people prayed for Eric to "come home" and this morning a body was found.  Although nothing is confirmed yet, it's most likely him.  I was contacted by the studio that runs the business end of RAW photo design and they are taking care of a replacement for us.  We will still have 2 photographers, get our engagement photo guestbook, have a photobooth, etc.  The studio understands that we booked this group for a reason (they are edgy, don't do "traditional" poses/photos) and are making sure that we will get someone of the same style and quality.  They already had a name in mind for us, and are also looking into a few of mine and FI's requests that we put out there (photographers we had met with when we were initially looking for a vendor and know we would be happy with them).

It's a heartbreaking situation.  His wife is due with a baby on Christmas.  I can't even begin to even understand what she is going through, but I know there is so much support and love being sent their way. 

Jen4948

How tragic.   His family is in my thoughts and prayers. 

Thanks for the update.

MoonlightSilver

I saw an article about finding a body at work today and immediately thought of his family, and then you. The whole situation is just so tragic.

Jager1219

Sb1512. I was fortunate to already had my wedding and my heart breaks for the family. I also was thinking about everyone like you that may be impacted. Jake at Carla's studio second shot for us nod did an amazing job. Some of my favorite shots of the day came from him. If you check out their blog & look at the mystic photos they give some great commentary & credit for his work. If you like his work I'd request him from Carla's studio.