Member- charlestondowntheaisle
- 4 years ago
- Wedding: July 2015
Hey Ladies!
This is the first time I have ever posted on a message board…I need advice.
The short version: my photographer/videographer has lied to me and I don’t know what I can do about it! In essence, he told me that he had a death in the family but it turns out he was shooting a celebrity wedding instead.
The longer version:
I booked a rather expensive “award winning” photographer/videographer to cover my wedding. His stuff looked good. Worth the price to have the memories to look back on….or at least so I thought.
In the lead up to the wedding, I kept an eye on his facebook page as he would publicly post some amazing videos from his latest weddings. However, a week before I noticed that he posted on facebook that he needed an extra photographer for a ‘high profile overseas’ wedding on the day of my wedding. Hmmm… This set a few alarm bells ringing however he emailed me later that day to firm up arrangements and talked about how much he was looking forward to meeting me etc. so I thought I was being paranoid and ignored those alarm bells.
Then 48 hours before I was due to say I do, disaster struck. He emailed to say that he had a ‘death in the family’ and wouldn’t be able to make my wedding. Crumbs. He had however organised a professional photographer friend to take his place. In light of the facebook post, I was very suspicious (as well as very stressed!) however felt I couldn’t prove anything and it was too late to find anyone new. So I gave him the benefit of the doubt and expressed my condolences. I couldn’t believe that somebody would actually stoop that low so I thought that his bereavement might be true. I put it to the back of my mind. I had the most overwhelmingly wonderful wedding day. All the old cliches turned out to be true.
Fast forward to six weeks post wedding, I’ve contacted him to ask for a photo for my thank you cards and not received a reply. I googled my photographers name and my wedding date to to see if he had blogged it. Low and behold a contract pops up. Clearly a glitch in his website. The contract was signed a week before my wedding for a celebrity couple tying the knot overseas on the day of my wedding. They were paying £4000 pounds more. I save the contract but haven’t confronted the photographer (yet) as I thought that he might in spite delete all of my wedding photos and video. I even, stupidly, thought that his bereavement lie might be true
At this point I receive an email from him with a selection of “some of the best” photos to choose for my thank you card. I am told that he has nearly finished the rest of my package which will be on it’s way “soon” There is one good one. The rest made me cry with disappointment.
Four months later, still awaiting my photos and video. I check his facebook page, which is full of photos, stories and a video from the celebrity wedding, which took place on the same day as mine. He definitely lied to me. I can prove it. And to add insult to injury he has clearly prioritized completing the work on their photos/video over mine. Before I signed the contract, there had been verbal confirmation that said photographer would be performing his own work. I’ve been through my email trail and every email he states that he will be doing the photographs and his “assistant” the videographer so I didn’t challenge it. It therefore was not specified in my contract that it would be ‘him’ specifically.
I’ve not confronted him, I wanted to keep my powder dry as it were until I safely have a copy of my photos and video. He lied to me and took a better job because he didn’t considered it to be more profitable both career wise and finacially. My friends and family say that I should let it go, “chalk” it up to experience.
However, I struggle with this option. I don’t like the idea that he can get away with screwing people over….
So answers from the floor….. What would you do?
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This topic was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by
charlestondowntheaisle.
