Would I be breaking my own contract?

Here we go again.

I recently asked a question about a client of mine regarding whether they were asking too much. I ended up declining the late night appointment they requested but again they asked for an appointment outside of my normal business hours. I ended up caving in and made an exception for the sake of my own sanity. They only made a very small payment towards their remaining wedding photography balance during this meeting. Figures.

Fast forward to a few days ago. The contract they signed states the full balance is due 7 days before the wedding date. That date is quickly approaching and I haven’t heard from them. I reached out a few days ago and asked if they had a particular day they’d like to meet for the final payment. I explained my schedule is filling up next week and that we should really set aside a time and day. I also offered to take payment by phone with my card reader. This saves time and a trip. Their response was, “We’ll get back to you in a little bit when we figure out what day is best for us.”

Three days later, still nothing. I won’t be reaching back out again. I’ve already decided this. I have had to track them down for everything so far and this is the final straw. If this was their first offense, I’d be more understanding. However from the beginning, they’ve been somewhat of a nightmare. I know weddings are stressful but there is a difference between being stressed out and being irresponsible.

My question is, what if they pick a day that I’m already booked up on? Would that count against me because I wasn’t able to meet up and take the payment? Would I be the one breaking the contract? I did attempt to schedule ahead of time so this situation didn’t happen and I also offered phone payment which can be done anytime. I won’t purposely avoid meeting them of course, as I do want their business, but I don’t intend to drop everything I’m doing if they say, “Come meet us now or never.”