To go even further, our clients EXPECT us to capture everything. Imagine not capturing shots and then telling the client later that you were afraid they might do something foolish and damage your camera, so you just didn't film. I don't think that would go over very well.

Obviously the groom didn't mean to damage the camera, but then I bet most people who rear-end someone else didn't mean to either. That doesn't mean they aren't held responsible.

So Joe, how did all of this turn out anyways?

" will not tolerate aggressive, thoughtless or malicious behaviour towards its staff or its equipment under ANY circumstance. If this were to occur, all filming &/or editing will stop under Occupational Health & Safety Guidelines. The Client will also forfeit all monies paid and all filmed material. Any or all damage to equipment (if any) will be billed directly to the client with attached repair quote.
Studio-XYZ has the right to refuse or stop any ongoing filming or post production service."

Yes it does happen and yes you do need to stand your ground. however being a live event, one is to expect unpredictable behaviour HOWEVER even with the unpredictable nature of what we do, do not EVER forget that they are not your only clients.
Put it this way, if you had a client do this to you, and you had another wedding to shoot the following day, would you
A) Be able to service the other client
b) Have the Funds to arrange repairs
C) hva esaid repairs done in a timely fashion
D) rely on a backup camera which may (or may not) be inferior to the camera first considered

All thse factors cost time and money and the potential loss of business

Lets change the scene...
Consider that during an SDE, your editing and a guest whos tipsy comes along with glass of wine in hand and is checking out your work as u go along.. they decide to lean over for a closer look or ask a question.. and spill said wine over your laptop...

Would this be considered the same cause and affect as Joes situation?

And what about the client who is affected by this persons actions? If the SDE doesnt go as planned, a refund is due, despite the fact that what happened is beyond your control..

Just becuase theyre wedding clients doesnt make them immune to responsibility, guests or not, your are there as a service provider and if your capacity to serve is compromised, then all your other clients are compromised.

Alot of you know how to shoot and edit, but it seems not many of you realise what the real world is like out there...

Someone messes with my gear, they pay for it... very simple concept.

If a client is adamant that "I MUST" be at location XYZ, but XYZ has no parking, in turn i may suffer a parking fine. I call them and tell them that
a) there is no parking for me to service this location,
b) if theyre adamant they need me there, they will take responsibility if a fine is to occur
c) they can opt for another location
d) they can opt to not have me service said location.

The choice is theirs
in the end, WHAT YOU DO on the day, is a DIRECT response to actions or directions provided by the client

From there, if you are incapable of servicing a client (considering a REASONABLE reason), or that service requirement compromises or has the potential to compromise ANY element of the business, now or in the future, be it financial or mechanical, then the client is liable.

Its that simple

Placing 2 cams within 6 feet of the talent which happens to be the crowd focus at the moment is a "pet peeve"?

Would you do it? (I didn't think so).

So, was this situation ever resolved? What was the final outcome?

It's my guess that anyone here who said "write it off as a learning experience" never had anything bad happen to their stuff, and they must have double backups to everything. Getting cameras repaired/cleaned/wine-proofed doesn't happen overnight, or even within a week for that matter. And in the midst of the wedding season now is not the time to be down because your gear is being cleaned from a stupid act.

I'd personally approach the client and explain the cause-and-effect, like Peter mentioned, and with some luck they'll understand that they may have cost you business later on, and that the professional cleaning isn't free. Maybe the cams still worked okay (after taking care of the moisture problem) but they definately need to be sent in for cleaning. Think of it like getting into a car wreck (and the ambulance chasing attorneys feed on this)... get checked out *right away* even if you think you're okay, because later on down the road you might have a bigger problem you didn't notice ... and pretty soon it'd be too late to go back and try suing the person you had a wreck with.

And "Waldemar Winkler" was right... the insurance company most likely wouldn't touch this one. Sure, they have liability coverage and everything... but read closer where it talks about "acts"... in there it might also mention things like disregard of the value, or something along those lines. I'm not an expert, but the insurance companies are definately not looking out for us.

-Michael