I own a Wedding Photography company and I would like to offer a free Wedding Photography Package as the Sweepstake prize.

Are any of the following rules illegal?

1) The wedding must take place in Los Angeles county.

2) The wedding must take place before April 1, 2007.

3) My company must be the exclusive professional photographer for the wedding.

4) Entry forms are only available at my office.

I am new to Sweepstakes so any advise would be appreciated.

Thank you all

Alrighty.

The contest can have whatever restrictions you want, really - just make sure you list them ALL in the rules.

I'd suggest you Google a few similar things online, read what they have, then follow a similar path.

make sure to cover expectations, suggested retail value, what you'll do to "make good" in the event of any problems - equipment failures, errors, etc.

All make sure you cover exactly what they are to recieve - item by item. List in there that residents from the states of New York & Florida are excluded (each state requires you pay them for registering the contest/sweeps, etc. if it could be won by a citizen of their state - won't hurt to include it, though you should be fine without it).

Be as specific as possible with dates, times, techniques, indoor.outdoor, etc. List whether they should expect prints only or prints & negatives (can you tell I'm a photog too... ).

Include the turn-around time, whether this package includes albums or not, the length of time they get you for and any other special items of interest.

Contest rules exist for two purposes:

First & foremost they exist to protect the public (by law).
Then they exist to protect you - if it's listed, it's covered - and that is the extent of your obligation.

Be sure to include a paragraph on rain-outs, acts of God and the like. I'll recommend, as a good-faith gesture, you include a non-specific paragraph basically saying you will do what is reasonable to amke good in the event there is an unaccounted for, or unforeseen, problem.

HTH

Forgot to answer your actual question - yeah, it's legal to offer photography services.

make sure you also mention to the winners, likely via an actual contract, that guests will be photographed as part of this event - and they should be reminded of this at some point - you don't need anyone being in your face about "I never said it was OK to take my picture", etc.

[ Message was edited by: SportsGuy 11/20/2005 05:47 pm ]