shelley_gunn
-
Posts
11 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Events
Downloads
Gallery
Store
Posts posted by shelley_gunn
-
-
<p>Trust me, Alec, I know that now. But the implication is there that we were getting up to a $750 value for whatever we paid in the package (which is not necessarily $250 as that was an estimation on my part based on her pricing schemes). Again, I honestly didn't know the worth of what I was being offered by "normal" photographer standards.</p>
-
<p>Thanks, Alec. I appreciate your candor. Understand that I am aware that I didn't pay too much into the photography portion of my package - I think I just assumed (wrongly) that I would get pictures that were worth framing or possible better/different shots than my guests got with their cameras. A lot of the pictures we got were of poses - "put your hand here, stand there, turn this way, now smile" - and I'm not saying that I don't understand those pics and completely understand that a lot of people want those pics ... but I told him before he started that I didn't want those and not only did he insist on taking up our time doing them anyway but then took up some of the 30 contracted photos by printing and sending them to me in the album. There's a lot of blinking and stuff, too, which I wouldn't have expected in a package of wedding photos. The 3 pictures I posted that Alec got to see did not show that aspect - I didn't want to post all 37 pictures last night. :)</p>
<p>Should I have known that I was going to get this considering what I paid? Call me naive but I really don't think so ... understand that this was my first (and only) wedding and I don't know photography at all, save for being in my sister's wedding in 1994. I was just thinking that the photos of people making weird faces or photos where I (as the bride) am being blocked by other people or bushes etc. would have been weeded out instead of counting against the 30 I was to get.</p>
<p>The disappointment I have is also compounded by her talking me out of hiring a photographer that I could have vetted and could have gotten what I wanted out of, essentially saying that using her photographer would be better because he was doing it at no extra charge "as a favour". I put my trust in her because she knows that area better than I do - obviously I didn't know she considered her husband to be the best possible option for me - and was he really doing this at no extra charge as a "favour"? She told me that usually photographers charge 2-3 times more for Saturday weddings. Hindsight being what it is, shoulda, woulda, coulda ...</p>
<p>Again, I'm just here to get opinions ... so that I can make a decision that makes sense once I see all possible sides of the situation and that's where comments like Alec's and Lindsay's come into play <strong>for</strong> <strong>sure</strong>. As a first time bride-to-be without any experience in this kind of stuff, I hired a wedding planner to be my expert and be the person that I could trust to book the people that make sense for the style of wedding we were having. Trust being the key factor.</p>
<p>My focus is (and always was) to have a long, happy and wonderful marriage with my new husband and that's what the end goal is after it all. :D</p>
-
<p>Hi everyone - I'm so sorry for posting without checking first. Truth is, I have no idea if I have the rights to post those pictures on here. Given that I have such a vague contract and all it really says is that I would get a disc with images that I could then reprint in larger format, I think it best to remove the photobucket pictures so the links above are broken now. If there's anything else I need to do, let me know. I'm new ... and couldn't find a way to edit my original post. :)</p>
-
<p>Wow ... again, I just have to say that I'm overwhelmed by the responses here and truly appreciate everyone taking the time to give their opinions. We have a lot to think about for sure and there are a lot of options out there that I hadn't thought of. :)<br>
To the posters who wanted to see some of the pics, here are some:<br>
This is one that I actually do like and more along the lines of what I expected - us looking natural and (gasp) like we just got married!<br>
This is one that he took of all the guests cheering while we were told to just stand and smile.<br>
Looking awkward in a pose.<br>
And this is apparently the best pic of our first kiss ... note that I'm squishing my hubby's nose sideways ...<br>
Thanks again to everyone - comments and suggestions are certainly welcome and I can post more of the 37 pics if anyone asks. As to the "other side of the story", I would like to hear it as well ... I don't know what their issues were, truly, I'd only be speculating if I said anything at all other than what the planner told my husband what she thought of us.<br>
Keep the comments coming - I'm reading each and every one and taking everything you're all saying into careful consideration. In short, I am so glad that I posted here if only because I'm feeling closer to have closure on this whole thing - and giving me inspiration for ways to have a 2nd session to get some real pics (and to have an excuse to wear my dress again!!). :D</p>
-
<p>Wow - I'm completely overwhelmed with the responses to my post. Thank you to each and every one of you who have offered your opinions. They are exactly what I was looking for - both sides of the coin! :)<br>
<br />A special thank you to the people who have offered to do re-shoots for us ... I did not post here to try to get "sympathy wedding pics" ... (smile)!! :) :)<br>
<br />I can accept the "you get what you pay for" stance. I was willing to go above and beyond for the wedding photography. I knew before my wedding that the photography was one of the most important aspects of the day and I had emailed the wedding planner to tell her that I was going to find my own photographer. At many points along the planning (including the photography), she convinced me (or tried to convince me) to go with a less expensive option. A couple of things she did not succeed but the photography, she unfortunately did. I knew going into it that I was only going to get 30 pictures - I was just hoping that I would either get to pick which 30 I would get or that he would primarily give us the ones that only he was there to take.<br>
<br />Anyway, I'm reading each of these posts thoroughly and reading them to my hubby as well so that we can decide together what we'd like to do. Again, thank you so much to everyone - you are all so wonderful, helpful and knowledgeable! :D</p>
-
<p>"Had you seen examples of the photographer's work before you agreed to use him? Did you have a preliminary meeting with him before the wedding, where you talked about what you wanted? Sounds from your account like the answer to both questions is no. I think there is some burden on the bride to check out the photographer and be confident that he's talented and/or experienced enough to do the job you expect him to do - something he demonstrates by showing that he's done it before. If you didn't vet the guy, I'm afraid your current position is somewhat weaker than I would wish. If you did vet the guy and what he gave you matches pretty much what you saw, then it doesn't matter too much whether you asked him for something different."<br>
<br />Thanks Will for all your comments. I'm sorry to hear about your move! :)<br />To your comment that I copied above, yes - the answer is no. We went on faith with the planner that she knew the best vendors having been in this business in that area for so many years - and she did not disclose any of our vendors before the wedding day at all. Red flag? Absolutely! But I suppose hindsight is 20/20. :(</p>
-
<p>"However, just as an <strong>ADMIN</strong> note, please do not use this forum to "out" the photographer or planner by name here. While we are happy to advise you and give support over the issue, Photo.net is not a wedding provider review site and has no interest getting in the middle of that sort of thing."<br>
<br />Thanks, Josh - there is no way I'd out them on here - as much as I'd like to shout their names from the rooftops to any and all getting married in their area, I know better than that. :)<br>
And thanks to Katrin for the offer - we live in Canada and although we'd love a trip to Vermont, I'm sure I can't justify the trip to my husband. :D<br>
Rob - we live in a small city outside of Toronto and got married in Niagara Falls.</p>
-
<p>
<p >Here is the one-liner from the outline of services she was including with the package:</p>
<p >§ Photography, 30 - digital photos, all 4 x 6 photos in a presentation album, unmarked CD with images (ceremony and formal photos)</p>
<p >And here is the contract:</p>
<p > </p>
<p >"It is the intention of both <em>wedding planner </em>and the client to work together on the planning of the event. The consultant's role is that initially of an advisor. The client will make the actual selections and the consultant will implement those selections.</p>
<p > </p>
<p >Any cost estimate is designed to give you a starting point in the financial planning of your wedding. The estimated cost for each item is derived from either actual quotes from the vendor, consultant's professional experience or both.</p>
<p > </p>
<p >All vendors accepted by the client shall be liable for their own business practices. The consultant will do everything reasonable to assure that any vendor referred and accepted by the client is reputable and reliable. If a specific vendor cannot perform, the consultant under this agreement will make an effort to find a satisfactory substitute as directed by the client or in the consultant's best judgment.</p>
<p > </p>
<p >The Client, by signing this agreement agrees to hold harmless the consultant for any error, non-performance, or change made by a vendor. In event of litigation regarding this agreement, the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees.</p>
<p >The consultant has explained all services, fees and policies. This contract may be cancelled in writing for any reason. If cancellation occurs 30 days or less before the wedding, refunds are limited to any funds in excess of non-refundable deposits and out of pocket expenses. Should the event cancel within two weeks (14 days) prior to the scheduled date, 100% of the package price will be charged."</p>
<p > </p>
<p >Vague, yes?</p>
<p > </p>
<p > </p>
<p > </p>
</p>
-
<p>My apologies for not including those details - I wanted to try to keep it brief.<br>
The cost thing is hard to break down - it was a "package" for the wedding planner that included photography. I can tell you from looking through old emails with her that photography was considered an "add-on" to her basic package and started at $250. I'm going to go with that.<br>
The photographer was there for 2 hours. We were roughly 30 minutes late getting started (husband didn't follow my timeline!) so he had 90 minutes of shooting before we hopped in the limo to head to dinner. I estimate that he probably took 150-200 pictures because he was constantly snapping in our wedding video!<br>
The contract with the wedding planner was for them to provide a photographer and to give us an album with 30 pictures as well as a disc with images. By definition, they met the terms of their contract ... but they could have given us 30 pictures of our feet and met the contract so where does the customer satisfaction come in?<br>
One more minor detail (and this raises the Outrage-O-Meter in my opinion, in light of finding out now that these two are married) - the planner called me while I was on my way to the location where I was getting dressed for the ceremony - and told me that I was expected to tip the photographer as well. So he also was tipped for this service in addition to the money they made on "wedding planning" and "photography" with their package.</p>
-
<p>Hello everyone,<br>
I'm posting here as a newlywed bride, not a photographer ... I hope that's okay. I just have been lurking around and noticed that some of you have great insight into these topics - and I need a "professional photographer" point of view, if possible.<br>
We were married less than 3 months ago. We decided to get married in a different city from where we live ... we hired a wedding planner to book all the stuff that needed to be local there - kind of treating it as a "destination" wedding of sorts. She booked the location, ceremony officiant, flowers and photographer. Everything else was up to us - just as I wanted it, as my career deals with event planning and I know what I'm doing when coordinating schedules and getting vendors in line.<br /><br />The day went off without a hitch. Everything was as it should be - except that the wedding planner did not even come to our wedding. She just never bothered to show up. We were told she only goes to her "big" weddings. We were a little put off but set that aside - our issues started with the photography. I told the photographer that I did not like "traditional" wedding photos. We are a non-traditional couple and didn't want all the usual poses. Not too much to ask, I thought. Although this was expressed to the photographer as soon as I got to the ceremony site, he insisted on putting us into various poses for our entire session with him. I was disappointed - but I knew that he had taken at least some pictures where he was trying to catch us being natural.<br /><br />Fast forward to a month after the wedding, we received our wedding photos in the mail (after much arguing with the wedding planner who insisted that her fees did not include shipping the photos to us). We were incredibly displeased immediately. We got a cheap vinyl album with 37 pictures (our contract only called for 30 so this was a surprise) and only about 7 of those are worth anything - the rest are all terrible. People are blinking, people are making wierd faces, and then there are the posed photos I specifically asked to not have done - where we look unnatural and fake and uncomfortable. They provided a disc of photos - so I was relieved that I would then be able to pick different photos that I could reprint. Well, no - the disc had the 37 photos they printed and that's it. The album is one of those that you can buy at any WalMart or the photo department of your local grocery chain ... it has the plastic pages that you insert photos into and lines beside each plastic cover so you can write what it's a picture of.<br /><br />I emailed the photographer within two days and asked him if it would be possible to at least view the other photos, and to purchase a disc with them on it. He emailed me back right away, telling me that if there were other pictures, we would have been notified and since we weren't notified, there were no others. This was difficult for me to believe - there were no other pictures? I remember others being taken that weren't part of our 37! He also (rudely) suggested I ask our friends who attended to give me their copies. He called them our "other photographers". So I emailed again, being a little more precise. I reminded him that he sent our family and friends away so he could be alone and take pics of us - just him. Those were the pictures I was paying him for and wanted. Was there any way I could pay him for those photos? No reply. Two weeks later, I gently reminded him of the email. No reply. Two weeks later again (a month after my email) and I gently reminded him again. His one-sentence response the same day was "I am not able to help you". <br /><br />I decided to email the wedding planner. She is the one who insisted we hire this photographer (after I told her months before the wedding that I was going to book someone myself) and told us that he was giving her a great rate as a favour so we should stick with him. So in my email to her, I reminded her that she pushed this guy on me and now he was being curt and borderline rude with me when all I was doing was trying to figure out how I could get my hands on the rest of my photos. <br /><br />She emailed me back the next day and told me that they provided a photographer, they went above and beyond the contract by giving us 37 pictures instead of 30 ... and that the photographer cannot give us more photos. <br /><br />I was upset - and my husband doesn't like to see me upset - so he called the wedding planner when he got home and she started yelling at him and told him the following:</p>
<p >* there are no other wedding photos - he has deleted them all because of how bad they are <br />* we had no chemistry in our photos and were not working with the photographer to get good photos (although during the photography, he told us not to worry and that if he didn't get the shot, he'd keep taking pics until he got it) <br />* this was not the photographer's fault but ours (all the shots were bad, she said, but that was apparently because we were unphotographable) <br />* the photographer struggled to get those 37 out of the "terrible" photos we had (again, during the session, he told us that we had "at least 40 good pics") <br />* we obviously have "issues" in our relationship and are uncomfortable being around each other <br />* we're broke <br />* we are "low-end" clients<br />* she doesn't have to deal with us anymore because we are no longer her customers ("Thank GOD," she said) <br />* if we call or email her any further, she will have the cops called for harrassment <br /><br />My husband was <b>shaking</b> when I got home because he's never been spoken to this way. He did not once raise his voice but she was screaming at him the whole time, hung up on him twice and he kept saying "What are you talking about?" when he could get a word in edge-wise. <br /><br />I have discovered today in my Google searching that she and this photographer are married. Nowhere in my many emails through planning and the post-wedding discussions did either of them ever indicate this (major) detail. It's becoming clear to me that she was likely upset that I had admonished her husband (who I thought was just a vendor at the time) when I asked for her help in dealing with him.<br /><br />So there it is - and now here I am, at a complete loss for what to do. I would like nothing more than to forget I ever had to deal with this woman and her photographer husband. But I feel like I deserve some kind of refund or compensation for the way I'm being treated. Am I wrong?<br /><br />I need some kind of help, I think. I am at the point now where I need to redo my wedding photos - I cannot look back fondly on my wedding day through my pictures and I certainly cannot pass these crappy pictures onto future generations in our family. Technically, they met the terms of the incredibly vague contract we had with them - but where is the customer service? Can any of you give me advice on how to approach this with the planner / photographer? Opinions? A virtual shoulder to cry on?</p>
<p >Thanks so much in advance ...</p>
<p >~S~</p>
Refund for Photography?
in Wedding & Event
Posted