Her Wedding Worst Nightmare Came True. What Would You Do?
Okay, brides. Recently, a newlywed we’ll call Julie got married and wants to share her story. She and her husband hired a wedding photographer who came recommended.
Julie explained she had issues from the beginning. She paid the photographer upfront but didn’t hear anything back for a few weeks before the wedding. As it drew near, Julie became anxious because her communication was nonexistent.
Full of Excuses
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Finally, when she heard back, she said, “her emails weren’t sending out.” Julie accepted the excuse but discovered that she had double-booked her wedding day. So she couldn’t be there for two of the four hours of Julie’s wedding.
However, the photographer would have another wedding photographer there in her place. Julie agreed. It wasn’t what she expected, but she was willing to deal with it.
The photographer was amazing, so that was okay. However, fast forward to the present day, and Julie hasn’t received her pictures. The contract guaranteed a six-to-eight-week turnaround.
The Photographer Is No More
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Julie discovered the photographer moved provinces (Canada) and no longer has a photography business! Furthermore, she’s removed her business page and rarely responds to emails and text messages.
“She’s been stringing me along for weeks and throwing out every excuse in the book as to why she hasn’t sent our photos yet, including Wifi is spotty, they are still loading, she didn’t receive my messages, she’s sent them to the wrong email, her son is sick, she’s sick, she needs two more days to finish she said that two weeks ago!”
Brides Getting Scammed
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Julie is concerned she was scammed but doesn’t know what the photographer would have gained. She elaborated the photographer ignores her messages. She’s stressed out because she paid $1200, but she has no photos from her wedding day.
Julie desperately wants to get her photos and asks the internet for help. “How should I go about dealing with this?” Here is how the internet responded.
1. Small Claims Court
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The number-one-voted solution is to send her a message expressing that you will take her to small claims court if she does not fulfill the stipulations in the contract. Also, because the event happened in Julie’s province, the photographer must travel back or lose the case.
2. Legal Issue
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Others agreed that this doesn’t sound like a scam as much as a legal issue. Julie explained she looked at the wedding vendor contract, and it didn’t look like they all signed everything. However, others quickly pointed out she had the emails.
3. Get the Raw Files
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A photographer suggested asking for the Raw files. They are unedited photos, but you could have them edited independently. However, several other photographers admitted they would never send raw files, so they didn’t see it panning out.
4. It’s About the Memory
Image credit: Adobe Stock.
While many agreed that being out $1200 sucks, that isn’t the more significant issue. The fact that you can’t get the memory back is worth more, and they believe Julie should go legal.
5. Find the Other Photographer
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One suggested that Julie find the other photographer to inquire about the situation. They may have the card with her images on it.
6. Hire a Lawyer
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One woman shared that she had a similar experience. Her wedding photographer kept stringing her with excuses for a year and a half about why she couldn’t finish them.
So finally, she secured a lawyer and got the raw photos. However, they lost $2k to get them, but having the memory was worth getting the lawyer.
7. Get a Demand Letter
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“Get a demand letter from a lawyer.” One advised they cost around $100 and might scare her into delivering the pictures or giving the money back.
8. Notify Her Via Registered Letter
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Many advised that if Julie does take her to court, she should inform her via a registered letter versus a text message, phone call, or email. It looks more official and threatening, and she may complete her end of the deal.
What do you think? What would you do if you were in Julie’s shoes?
This article was inspired by Reddit and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Budget Savvy Bride.
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