Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

Bride2012... thank you! I honestly think the venue will try to help. They do not take this stuff lightly, especially when they are putting their stamp of approval on it! (Sunset Harbour is AMAZING, by the way!)

Now we just have to wait and see what comes of our cancellation letter. Hopefully this is the last of it and we can move on

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

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Posted by 2012_Bride

Just my opinion, I think today you should start reaching out to other photogs to see who is available. Get your STD's from him since it was his error - that should definitely be fixed free of charge. Once you're ready to book another photographer send your cancellation letter to him.

BTW, you have no reason to feel like a bridezilla AT ALL. Like the other girls said, a vendor should never cause you this much stress. Cut your losses and move on..

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This!

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

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Posted by SunsetBride2013

I am thinking of cancelling our photography contract, but I would like some insight and advice from other brides before moving forward. Here's a little back story:

Our photographer is one of the 'recommended vendors' from our wedding venue. We have seen the company at showcases and looked at albums, and finally set up an appointment to meet with them. We booked a contract, left a $500.00 deposit (which is non-refundable) and were ready to start doing business.

We had our engagement pictures done, which came out nice. We had met the photographer to pick up the proofs (which was kind of out of the way - it was more near him that us) and had no problems up until this point.

We wanted to get 'Save the Dates' printed, and I was going to use an online source myself. Our photographer mentioned he has a printing company that he works with, so me being the person I am (I have a hard time saying NO), said 'sure let's go with that.' He had TWO magnets to pick from, and we couldn't even use those because there was a calendar that would be printed on the magnet and the picture we chose wouldn't work with that format. So I ended up settling for a card-type style, which is beautiful, but still not what I wanted.

So, I met him at another showcase to order the STDs. I filled out all of the information CORRECTLY and he said he would order them and it takes about 5 days for them to come in. This was on a Thursday in the middle of March. I called him back almost a week later because there was a conflict with our date...we didn't realize it was on Good Friday so we had to move the wedding up a week. So I explain to him, and he says OK that it is not a problem and he is free for our new date. THEN he mentions he DIDN'T EVEN ORDER the STDs yet... a week later!!! This was OK with me because our date changed, so it worked out. But I should have known that this was a preview of what was to come. He tells me to call him back once we confirm the date change will all of the other vendors. So I called back an hour later and no answer. I left him a message and even shot him an email and no reply. I had also sent a subsequent email to verify EXACTLY how our names and info should appear. Both of our last names are spelled like 'AbCdefg' and this has always been a problem for both of us and wanted to make sure they were punctuated correctly. So he responded to THAT email saying 'Ok, not a problem, talk with you soon.'

FINALLY I hear back a week later (the next Wednesday), and he tells me he is ordering them THAT DAY. Wellllll another week passes, still NOTHING. I sent him an email AGAIN trying to find out what's going on, no response. So a month later, this past Monday, he calls me to tell me the STDs are FINALLY here. He asks where I want to meet to pick them up, so I said somewhere convenient for us both. So he basically makes me travel 7 exits on the LIE when he only has to travel 1. This kind of pissed me off, but I was happy to finally have the things, so I didn't really care. So I get there, open up the box, and they are WRONG!!! They spelled my fiance's last name 'Abcdefg' instead of 'AbCdefg'. I SPECIFICALLY STRESSED THIS TO HIM! So he tells me it's too late to do anything that day, that he will call the printing company first thing Wednesday morning.

I thought it would have been nice for him to call me after he spoke with them, just to put my mind at ease and reassure me it's going to be fixed. I heard nothing, so I emailed him to see what the outcome was. No repsonse. So Thursday (yesterday) I tried calling him three separate times from morning until afternoon, and his phone was OFF.

I am so upset and bothered by this. I am feeling like photographers should have an eye for detail AND should be reachable. Am I overreacting and being too harsh??? I understand people make mistakes, things happen. But don't you check your work before presenting it to a client? And when he showed them to me I even said 'This is why I even emailed you the info again to make sure it came out correct because I KNEW this was going to be a problem!' His response was 'I didn't look at the email, I went by what you wrote.' EVEN STILL... my handwriting is EXTREMELY NEAT and I WOULD NOT misspell my fiance's name. And besides, our names are all over the contract, checks we have given, etc. Even if it was the printing company's fault, it would have been nice for him to call and say 'Just wanted to let you know I spoke with them, they are reprinting them and they should be in next week.'

I REFUSE to pay for the second batch because this wasn't OUR mistake. I honestly just want to be done with this whole thing and find another photography company we can TRUST.

Any advice, input, or ways of wording a cancellation letter to this company would be GREATLY appreciated!!! I would rather lose some money and have peace of mind then to deal with this! Pictures are forever!

Thank you guys!

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Definetely go with your gut. We recently canceled our first photographer as well. It is not worth the risk.

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

Really? What happened with your first one, if you don't mind my asking?

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

i don't even have to finish reading to tell you to RUN FOR THE HILLS. eat the $500 and move on. Trust me, it sux... but wedding pics are THE MOST IMPORTANT pics ever. This guy is gonna screw them up

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

Wow, I would def. find a new photographer. you are 100 percent right pictures are forever and you dont want anyone messsing with your memories..and if it took this long for save the dates i could imagine how long the pictures will take. you need someone you can rely on. get out asap

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

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Posted by futurearias

Wow, I would def. find a new photographer. you are 100 percent right pictures are forever and you dont want anyone messsing with your memories..

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This, 1,000 times over! I regret using my photographer/videographer EVERY DAY since my wedding!!!

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

I agree with all of the other ladies. I would have a fit! Cut your losses now, when you have time to find the right photographer. Please let us know how it works out!!

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

I agree with all the other girls i would at least try to get your deposit back all though the contract says non refundable. It never hurts to try. sorry for your frustration!!

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

I sent the cancellation letter last night Hopefully he does the rigt thing and at least refunds SOME of the deposit. I am so glad we found this out now!

I was looking at Patken, Thomas Paul and Silverfox. I am going to have to do some investigating and see who would be a good fit for us! Thank you guys!

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

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Posted by SunsetBride2013

I sent the cancellation letter last night Hopefully he does the rigt thing and at least refunds SOME of the deposit. I am so glad we found this out now!

I was looking at Patken, Thomas Paul and Silverfox. I am going to have to do some investigating and see who would be a good fit for us! Thank you guys!

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Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

Hope everything works out. Photography is one of the most important things and you don't want to be stressed about it. Good Luck

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

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Posted by SunsetBride2013

I sent the cancellation letter last night Hopefully he does the rigt thing and at least refunds SOME of the deposit. I am so glad we found this out now!

I was looking at Patken, Thomas Paul and Silverfox. I am going to have to do some investigating and see who would be a good fit for us! Thank you guys!

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I hope everything works out for you!

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

GET OUT of THIS NOW!!! forget about the std get them someplace else. tell him you don't want any more dealings with him and find a new place. Stress levels are high, don't add this to the mix.

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

also look at studio 27 there great guys.

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

Thank you!!! I sent him an email on Wednesday confirming that he re-ordered the correct STDs, then decided to cancel and sent a cancellation letter on Friday, and still haven't heard anything!!!

I AM SO GLAD you guys see where I am coming from!!! I have also heard a lot of Stuio 27... I will definitely check them out as well.

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

Yes, simply lose the $500 and tell them that you are not paying for others mistake. Good luck! I hope ur wedding pics come out lovely :)

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

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Posted by SunsetBride2013

Really? What happened with your first one, if you don't mind my asking?

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I heard pretty bad reviews after booking. Had to go with my gut.... things were just unacceptable to me. I cant take a risk.

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

Good for you! I am glad you listened to your gut! It's crazy how right-on it can be. Pictures are too big of a risk... They shouldn't be in someone's careless hands. I hope everything comes together beautifully

Re: Cancelling photography contract... Need advice!!! It's long but please read :-)

Uh--this is awful! You have to trust all of the vendors you pick. I am driving my fiancé crazy because I am being so picky and interviewing so many vendors, lol. But, it's because if something like this happens, it would not be pretty. You deserve the BEST. This is your special time and if the photographer can't get STD's done right and is not accommodating you, I would think it is setting the tone for the rest of this process and maybe your wedding day too.

I think that although every dollar counts, $500 is worth losing for your piece of mind.

I am in love with our photographer--Franco from Studio 27. Call them and tell him the situation. He'll make you feel so much better and may even cut you a deal for b/c of sympathy, lol.

Good luck! You will be okay :)