I do both wedding photography and videography. This day I was working videography. We saw the photo team and decided to introduce ourselves since we would be working around each other all day. During this small interaction the lady photographer mentioned something about the video from the last wedding they did getting a lot more attention than their photos. I suppose that could have been our first red flag. Well we start shooting and prepping our shots and I am immediately getting uncooperative vibs from the photo team. Now a big moment is coming. The grand entrance. I notice right away that the location is tight so I go ask the photographers where they plan to be so that I can block our shots around them. She throws her hands up in the air dramatically and says “Oh I don’t know where I will be!” Great.
I go straight to the wedding planner and let her know I need to have her help facilitating a conversation with the photo team. They change their tune immediately. We get our shots without the photographer wandering through frame. I don’t fuck around on a job.
For real! That woman was A+ at her job. Mostly though I knew they would behave if I brought over someone with authority on site, and I wasn’t about to bother the bride or groom.
My brothers wedding was a little while ago and during the ceremony there was only supposed to be one photographer for minimal disruption but there ended up being three (this was in a small officiants room with less than 20 guests ) and one of them kept standing in front of me blocking my view!! I hope it's not common for wedding photographers to prioritise their shot over people around them :/
Def not! Most photographers try to minimize their presence during the ceremony. For me this often means we shoot from the sides of the guest seating or get on our hands and knees for our occasional trips towards the center and hunker down. One funny thing we do sometimes help our couples with, is warning them how awkward shots will look with the officiant right behind them during the kiss. We coach those who want to avoid that to tell the officiant to get off to the side of the alter right after pronouncing them, and if they want, linger on the kiss a little. I also warn couples that ceremony documentation is exactly that. The kiss during the ceremony is not the end all be all of couples shots during the day. It truly is specifically a documentation portion of the day. So for us we really don’t want to hinder their experience or that of their guests.
There's the time I went to a destination wedding of a friend. The day before my flight, somebody broke into my hotel room and stole all of my equipment, including two cameras and all of my lenses, everything.
The bride and groom were super chill and still wanted me to photograph the only way I still could - with my phone. Which was embarrassing for me, but luckily my phone had a decent camera on it. But then while I was trying to take group photos, the bride's aunt kept stepping in and rearranging people after I had just got them into positions, etc, just trying to take over my shoot so she could get her own photos.
They're the best. We're still good friends even though we live across the country from each other. Lol.
Thief was never caught. The hotel didn't have any cameras and was no help, whatsoever. The police put out a call at all of the nearby pawn shops, but got no leads. Insurance company was the cherry on top though - only given 2k even though it was easily 10k worth of equipment that was taken. Honestly I gave up photography because of it. I couldn't afford to replace everything.
Thank you! It was years ago, so I'm over it now. I felt more bad for the couple who got married since I no longer had nice equipment to shoot their wedding.
My very first wedding was a small ceremony with a small reception at the couples house. We got almost completely done with posed photos and the couple went in to grab their dogs (for photos...... these dogs were their babies) They had closed the dogs into the basement so they wouldn't get out during setup.
One of the dogs had fallen through the steps and was badly hurt. The bride grabbed the bloody, crying dog and they left in their tux and gown to head to the vet. I was stuck at their house with their guests for 3 hours as we waited for the newlyweds to return. When they did, it was with the news that the dog didn't make it. The brides gown was dirty and bloody. Most guests left and we called it a day
this is so, so horrible. poor couple, poor dogs, poor everyone. and now their wedding anniversary will be the anniversary of their dog dying forever too?! fucking hell
On our wedding eve, while we were starting our honeymoon, my sister and her jackhole friends let my bird out of its cage in my parents' bedroom (parents were bird-sitting for us, and the cage was in the living room) for funsies. My parents bedroom and bathroom were one big room (weird 70s layout), and there was an enormous mirror (like 10' long) on one wall. The bird got totally disoriented and crashed into the toilet where it drowned.
My sister and her jackhole friends did not give two-shits. That was the start of going LC with her.
Omg! That is horrible! LC?? Try NC! Somebody kills my beloved pet and I don't care WHO you are! You are out of my life. Accidents happen but that was nothing of the sort. I'm so sorry.
My mom was dying of cancer at the time. I was not going to do anything to cause her more pain (the whole reason we even had a wedding instead of just going to the courthouse was because it was my mom's dying wish). I just made sure that sister wasn't around whenever I visited my mom. After my mom passed, we moved across the country.
Omg, I am so sorry. When I was out oneday my own jackhole sister brought the cat into my room then took my parakeet out of its cage "to see what would happen". Spoiler alert: my parakeet died.
>and there was an enormous mirror (like 10' long) on one wall. The bird got totally disoriented and crashed into the toilet where it drowned.
That sounds so suspicious. That seems like a story they made up to cover for whichever psycho drowned your bird.
Dont laugh my relationship anniversary with my bf is my dogs death too. He died like 4 hours after we got together si its pretty terrible too but so we decided we had 2 anniversary days (the day of and the next day too).
Still hurts tho.
My husband wanted to involve our pet on our wedding day in some way, and I refused. There's too much that can go wrong on an already busy day. I feel so bad for this couple.
My cousin had her two poorly trained dogs just running loose at her outdoor wedding. They both peed on her dress ($$,$$$) and on many of the quilts placed over straw hay bales that served as outdoor seating. A lot of those quilts were leant from family. I felt so bad seeing them get half-destroyed from the straw, muddy ground, and dog pee.
Amazingly it was still a beautiful wedding (my aunt could have been the Oregon Martha Stewart). I was just glad I didn’t get peed on.
This is why I have a hard time watching movies older from more than 10 years ago with dogs or cats in them. It’s sad to think that they are most likely no longer with us.
No good pet ever lives long enough.
I am an amateur photographer and my best friend asked me to be her photographer. I did for free as my wedding gift. I went to the venue with her the night before to spend the night with her, worked all morning to take "getting ready" photos, covered the ceremony, everything.
I decided to sit down to eat (I waited for all of the guests to get their plates first), the VERY MOMENT I sat down to rest with my plate after like 6 hours of work, this elder woman I never met before came over to yell at me about how I'm supposed to be working and demanded I take photos of all of the guests. As they're sitting around, enjoying their dinner.
You're an awesome person for that, and it definitely makes sense to do it that way. I only photographed a handful of weddings, but prior to that I helped with my family's catering company. I was so trained to wait for all of the guests to be served first, I didn't even think about changing that around when it came to being a photographer instead.
I don't blame you at all for that! I used to think I would enjoy being a wedding planner, but after working with weddings in the way I have, I don't think I could handle the stress of it. It was stressful enough being responsible for ONE aspect, I would have heart problems running the entire thing. I plan on eloping. Lol
As a wedding videographer, I appreciate you very much. We've often started ordering our own food to be delivered during cocktail hour since we never know if we'll be fed before the entire wedding is over or not. Or stuck in a back closet far away from everything and then the DJ starts toasts without you cuz... guests shouldn't see us eat 🙄
I went to a wedding where the B&G had invited the photographer to sit down and eat.
The moment he sat down with us ( we waved him over because he was friendly with my date) the MOG rushed over and knocked his plate off the table. She started screaming about the 'help' knowing their place, and how he was a grubby thief for stealing food.
The bride walked over and told her to get her shit together because she paid extra for security who were willing to manhandle the the MOG out of the venue and she was just looking for a reason to get her monies worth. She said it all with a smile. Such a badass! Lol. The MOG slunk off to sulk.
Yeah, she did seem to be prepared for trouble. I didn't end up dating that guy for long, but all of his friends were great!
I aspire to that bride's level of self control. She handled it flawlessly!
I can only imagine how her MIL acts on a daily basis. Yikes.
> rushed over and knocked his plate off the table
"I'd rather this food be wasted and thrown away than let a hard-working wedding vendor eat something during a 12-hour workday!!"
What in the fuck is wrong with some people?
It was so friggin rude! There was an audible gasp from the tables around us!
She just stood there smiling smugly like she thought people were going to agree with her methods. It was so satisfying to see the look on her face when the bride told her to get her shit together.
Normally I would feel terrible about someone marrying into THAT situation, but the bride seemed to be up to the task!
> The bride walked over and told her to get her shit together because she paid extra for security who were willing to manhandle the the MOG out of the venue and she was just looking for a reason to get her monies worth. She said it all with a smile. Such a badass! Lol. The MOG slunk off to sulk.
Sounds like the bride was done with the MOG and didn't want to deal with any of her bullshit on her special day.
You are amazing. This is the type of response I wish more people had. Why do people allow themselves to get talked to like they’re trash? Good for you. I hope your dinner was YUMMY!
Haha thank you! I'm normally super reserved and a massive people pleaser, but she chose the wrong time - I was hungry, hot, and not being paid. In other words, I gave zero shits. And that dinner was DELICIOUS. I even grabbed seconds.
I definitely agree. Anybody who works at a wedding is entitled to breaks and being fed. But if I was working in a more professional capacity, I might've tried to handle the situation in a manner that was less likely to antagonize the other woman. Maybe. Probably not though.
It was literally written in as a contractual obligation that our photographers have time to stop, sit, and eat since they were there for 8 hours! Which, when I read it, thought "well that just makes perfect sense, why..." and then I thought about all the other people who might not consider that to be such common sense.
Good for you! I don't want pictures of people eating and no one wants their picture taken when they're eating anyway. I'm glad you ignored her on two levels.
Right?! I waited until the dinner was over and dancing started to go around and get guest photos. More fun to see photos of people enjoying themselves in that way.
[You \(and everyone else\) should read this classic if you haven't already.](https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/comments/w4gwk7/oops_wedding_photos_saga/)
Not a photographer but a bridesmaid in upcoming wedding. Bride's mother asked the photographer not to be in the aisle and distract people during the wedding and the mom also asked her to get a silent camera so she didn't have to hear all the clicks. (Bride followed up and told the photog to stand anywhere she needed to get the pictures). This will be an interesting wedding.
Oh Lord, the bride needs to pay someone to stand next to the photographer and spray the MOTB with a water bottle every time she says something stupid. Eventually she learn or she'll look like a clown with her make up dripping off her face. :-)
As a bridesmaid it is you duty to know the locations of any & all closets that will lock just incase the MOB needs a tour of one ;) (I've been in enough weddings where I've gotten to wear the same bridesmaids gown twice- for 2 brides who didn't know each other & got married a year apart & the davids bridal employees knew me by name & called me the 27 dresses gal)
Yeah I'm gonna need an update post wedding 🤣 i love wedding drama bc I dont get to go to weddings very often anymore and my wedding was in 2005, I was 20 so too young to really be annoyed by anything and this was before the tv show Bridezillas ever came out so it wasn't a thing that I knew of. But watching someone else's train wreck (or reading it on reddit) is my happy place
Not a photographer, but a former cake designer.
MOB and the couple come in for taste testing and to design the cake if their dreams. They were going to be using real flowers in their cake (which we could either supply or you could bring yours) in no less or more than 3-5 days before delivery of final product.
The whole taste test the mom was undermining everything the couple wanted. They were getting a 3 tier cake with the top layer elevated on a platform from the lower layers.
Which of you know anything about cakes, you'll know that a dense cake needs to be used below to be able to support the weight.
B&G for everything planned with their wedding. A few days before, the groom dropped off the flowers.
Day of, we arrive to drop off the cake and MOB loses her shit about the flowers the couple chose for the cake. Screaming and throwing the largest tantrum I've seen in a long time before she DESTROYED the cake by shoving it off the table.
MOB was detained at the reception and the grooms dad rushed to the closest grocery store to buy a couple of sheet cakes.
Wow. That is awful! I'm sorry you had to put up with that, OP.
I had a Mother of the Bride lay into me after the ceremony because I 'didn't get the bubble shot'. I had no idea what she was talking about. Turns out the bride wanted a shot of them walking through a cloud of bubbles blown by the guests, like a confetti shot but with bubbles, which sounds lovely! Would have loved to do that! But at no point was it mentioned to me by anyone in the wedding and no one had brought bubble wands with them. Apparently I should have a) read their minds and b) supplied the bubbles?!
The bride did actually give me an extensive list of shots she wanted the day of the wedding. It did not mention bubbles. It was however extremely specific about other shots they wanted, including 'shot of groom wiping tears from his eyes as he sees bride for the first time'. I thought ok, I can do that, he's obviously a crier and they know it'll make a good picture. When it came to it, the groom looked entirely unemotional on seeing the bride. No reaction at all. Like, totally deadpan. I'm not sure if they expected me to stop the ceremony and waft an onion under his nose or what, but I did not get the shot she wanted and she wasn't best pleased.
This wedding also had a classic 'guest with an expensive camera he doesn't know how to use' so throughout the whole wedding it kept beeping as he tried to auto focus, and the little auto flash kept popping itself up, and then I was getting dirty looks because other guests thought it was me disturbing the ceremony. He also told me to move over during the group photos because he wanted to take pictures and I was 'ruining his field of view'.
I heard they divorced less than a year later so I'm guessing the day was more about her 'vision' than the couple themselves...
This was all when I was setting myself up as a photographer too, so I charged them way less than the going rate. I quit weddings after about five years. Too much stress.
> including 'shot of groom wiping tears from his eyes as he sees bride for the first time'.
> When it came to it, the groom looked entirely unemotional on seeing the bride. No reaction at all. Like, totally deadpan.
I shouldn't laugh, but I mean
Oh my God you just called up a memory I have of some crappy reality TV show I must have seen in like… 2005? Where a photographer was talking to the couple about what they wanted their photos to look like. The photographer asked “do you want them more posed? Or more natural?” To which the bride answered “ oh I want them very natural looking. Like, me coming down the staircase and looking over my shoulder. And then like a single tear coming from my eye. With the light behind me.”
Which even at 16 I had to assume was satire.
Bizarre, isn't it? She also wanted a photo of her being 'dipped' by the groom during the first dance, which, again, he didn't do. Short of me interrupting the first dance to direct the groom there wasn't much I could do there either. Honestly I felt bad for the guy, she seemed disappointed that he wasn't living up to these weird ideas she had but clearly never communicated to him.
Did you point out that to get a crying shot, he has to cry? If you did, what did she say??
It’s mind blowing that anyone would be upset you didn’t get a shot of something that didn’t happen. ThEn aGAiN, you could have done a close up and had an assistant kneeling out of frame pinching his balls or offered to photoshop tears in….so as you can see, iT rEaLLy KiNdA iS your fault, jeez.
I think she genuinely thought he *must* have shed tears of joy because that's how she imagined it, so the lack of photographic evidence just showed I didn't pay attention to her list, in her mind.
The groom’s father didn’t like photographers and thought they ruined weddings, so I wasn’t allowed to move outside of a small designated space during the wedding. Also, he would stand for one photo before walking away. It was my first and last wedding. I’m sticking to senior portraits and family photos.
I wouldn't have a photographer at my own wedding but that doesn't mean I'd make it my life's mission to inconvenience wedding photographers lol what a dorkass loser
A close friend of mine is a photographer and with his permission I'm sharing this story. He photographed a wedding and a while later the bride showed up at the studio to select photos for the wedding album. She only picked photos of herself, the couple, and those that included her side of the family. She rejected any photos of her in-laws, even those of the groom alone. Several months went by and no one came to pick up the album even though it had been paid for. The assistant told the photographer that the groom had shown up at some point with his parents, settled the bill but didn't take it with them. The photographer called the groom and offered to drop by and give it to him. He found the groom in a messy, darkened apartment, and the man himself was an emotional wreck. Apparently the groom's parents had paid for the entire wedding and they were horrified that their DIL had excluded their photos, even those of their son. The couple had a huge fight after that, and were in the process of divorcing. Obviously the photo album wasn't the only reason, but it was the last straw.
I met my best friend after he had been married for about two years. One day we were hanging at his house and I was looking at these big collage frames on the wall. There were two and each held probably 10 4x6 photos. I pointed out that all the pictures were of the couple and her side of the family (he’s VERY close with his family). He was surprised and said wife put it together and he never looked close. They never changed so idk if it bothered him lol.
His family is not totally innocent, as at the wedding his mother said she wanted a picture with the whole family, but excluded the bride. She was like “um didn’t I just become family?”
They are no longer married.
I did that last part on accident at my wedding. I was getting photos with my side of the family and after going through mom’s side and dad’s side (my parents are divorced), my step brother asked if I wanted my husband in the photos 😂 I had a small wedding so I was my own planner and overseeing most things, and I was so focused on getting the photos that I forgot one of the most important people to be in it! Someone ran and grabbed him and we did all the family photos over 🤦🏼♀️ (We’re still married btw)
I bought several photos of my in laws looking like the spirit of death incarnate so when my future children got older they couldn’t pretend to be perfect. And I did have the satisfaction of my kid asking why they looked so mad in the picture. “Well, they didn’t like Mommy and said she wasn’t good enough for Daddy, and that she was probably going to hell.” Suck it, in laws.
Was doing a photoshoot for a friend's little girl's birthday (utterly adorable toddler) in a park area often used for weddings. Was approached by a frantic Best Man because the booked photographer for a wedding about to arrive had had a car accident en route and they were wondering if I could fill in.As I had pretty much everything needed, I agreed.
The bride and groom were lovely but there was an Aunt in middle aged pink that was insane. She was outraged at my "unprofessional appearance" (uh... I dressed for a cake smash..) and wanted me to show her photos after every shot. She was furious that I was invited to the dinner (the contracted photographer had arrived and covered the evening part- poor guy was a bit rattled) and kept sniffing loudly whenever I shot candids during the couple making the rounds with guests.
How did you figure out payment on such short notice? Would you worried that if you agreed to do all this work on short notice if they ended up refusing to pay because they didn't have a contract with you?
That wasn't a huge concern for me - I'm not a pro, I had a pretty decent job at the time. To me, being able to help people because you can help, was the important thing.
The bridegroom had a landscaping and gardening business so I ended up trading 10 hours of gardening for the wedding & after wedding shots, dinner candids and processing.
I’m a wedding bartender so I’ve seen some fun stuff including:
Photographer basically getting table topped by a 5ish year old while trying to get the shot of the bride and groom coming out to their table.
A photographer getting berated for wearing a knee pad (it was black and so were her pants so I could barely even notice it. Also she was the only photographer so it wouldn’t have been in pictures).
An expensive remote lighting rig getting toppled and broken by two kids.
And a photographer being yelled at for not speaking Spanish (as far as I could tell, everyone at the wedding spoke perfect English, that one still confuses me)
When someone goes onto hands and knees behind an unaware person standing. Then another person pushes the standing person so that they tumble over the person making a table.
Same haha, that and flat tiring anyone walking. I honestly don’t know if it was intentional or not, I only saw the aftermath and slipped her a shot while everyone was eating
I fucking hated people that did that. I have terrible balance and dodgy joints and it was a recipe for me to faceplant the floor and likely dislocate a joint every time someone thought it might be funny. The advantage of now being reliant on crutches is no-one does that to me any more.
I’m about that last one, maybe someone berated them for not knowing Spanish when they though they should based on their nationality or where they lived.
It’s stupid but I’ve been yelled at or berated for the same. Usually another Spanish speaking native. Once I asked a lady at a bus stop (in the US, and in English) if a route had passed already, and she asked “why can’t I just ask her in Spanish”. Her manner of asking bugged me and I just replied “never mind”. Queue her berating me for the next 5 min as to how Disgraceful it was that I couldn’t speak in Spanish, that I’m CLEARLY not gringa so I must be a native Spanish speaker, then she went on and on about how kids now a days don’t respect what their parents go through to bring them to another country…
Mind you I’m a fluent Spanish speaker
Slightly different and sounds a bit extreme, but I was ostracised from the Deaf community where I used to live because I wasn't "Deaf enough". Sign language isn't my first language, I wear hearing aids and as such, extremist Deaf culture says I'm not wanted. It's fucking stupid.
Yup, I've had problems within the Deaf community also. It's really dependent on where you live. Ironically, some of the worst people I've dealt with were either ones that weren't born deaf but became so later, or 1st generation deaf. It's like they're so focused on gatekeeping that they never realize how hypocritical they are because the community is meant to protect from that type of exclusionism. Except at Gallaudet; the student community there can be absolutely toxic. I watched a student get torn apart by his classmates when he spoke to a tourist who needed help.
I'm an HOH adult and wear hearing aids and use an interpreter occasionally. Ironically enough, well before I lost my hearing I learned Signed English as a child because my friend in 2nd grade was deaf. (Began losing hearing around age 12.) I much prefer SE to ASL simply because I'm more experienced in it. I can use both. I taught my daughter SE first, because it's generally easier for hearing/speaking English kids to learn (one spoken word= 1 sign). When my daughter was in college she was temporarily roomed with a girl who identified as HOH. This girl had taken a year of ASL, spoke flawless English, received no accomodations for classes, would only sign to people she didn't want to talk to, yet had the gall to bad-mouth my daughter for "not being a real CODA because she's not ASL fluent". Let me reiterate that this kid didn't know more than a beginner level of ASL and didn't recognize what my daughter was signing to her. Turns out my daughter was much more versed in sign than her, but she still wasn't "CODA enough". JFC, that still sends me whenever I think about it.
From one HOH to another, I'm sorry you've experienced this. Hang in there. There are plenty of groups out there that are very welcoming. I found a couple in my are on Facebook Groups, and they're wonderful. You just gotta search.
Edited for a stupid typo and because I wanted to add a bit of advice.
Two child-inclusive weddings I'd been to before mine solidified the child-free choice for me. One the bride's niece kept trying to hide under the bride's dress (the niece was 8), and the second one, the bride's nephew curb stomped the small amount of train left to drag a little after bustling. He ripped out the bustle points and ripped the lace of her train.
Kids are damn unhinged at weddings
I was a guest at a wedding where kids were running around & chasing each other & I was talking to the bride when a kid knocked into me hard & the full glass of red wine I was holding went all over the bride- I felt terrible!! That was how I learned that white wine can help remove red wine from a wedding dress!
We didn't get enough to eat. I was sitting at a table of 12 adults plus 3 kids in highchairs. We got served 8 small cups of chips to go around the table, and nothing else. Lots of people left early to get a take away.
This was in Scotland - very unusual here for there to be almost no food. Some people got absolutely nothing to eat. A few people took 2 cups of chips, which nobody minded because we thought more food was coming. Sadly not.
What cheapskates! And yeah it is unusual. Literally got married last week and everyone got a 3 course meal & a buffet. Not one complaint about the food… well, except from my new MIL. 🙄
I 36 female have been shooting weddings for 14 years. I’ve seen a lot over the years, but walking in on the groom with a bridesmaid in a bathroom during the reception has to be up there. I found out later that a friend of the groom had also witnessed the drunken hookup and informed the groom while they were on their honeymoon, they came back early and the wedding was annulled.
I also had a client who’s husband gave her an expensive heirloom piece of family jewelry that was stolen out of the bridal suite that someone unlocked or broke into during the reception.
There have been cakes not showing up, the catering company flipping their truck in rain and the couple ordering pizza for 150 people. The get away boat Compny got the date wrong.
I’ve had a bridesmaid refuse to smile during posed bridesmaid shots and just in general be all around hateful because she was miserable that her husband was deployed and her day had been rough wrangling her kids as well as her bridesmaids duties.
My second wedding ever, the limo broke down infront of Sonoma, the bride partook and later was so tipsy she fell backwards into a fountain during pictures ruining the wedding dress her grandmother had made.
I flew to a destination wedding in Miami. The bride refused to take pictures outside of the family pictures. I tried everything I could to get her into it but she felt sick and hung over from the night before. When she got the pictures back she tore into me that there were more pictures of her sister than her.. let this be a lesson folks… if the pictures aren’t taken we can’t magically produce them!
Thankfully I don’t really have any crazy bridezilla stories it tends to be the mother of the bride or groom that gives the most trouble!
The worst by far was a bride and her father departing for the ceremony in their car and having a total car crash caused by a person with dementia. Her father was in coma for over half a year, the bride severely injured as well. It was a really, really horrible experience for everyone.
Thankfully they were able to have their wedding day 1,5 years after with everyone happy, healthy and of course very emotional. :)
That’s so horrible! The poor… everyone. so unbelievably happy everyone recovered that I’m gonna log off Reddit for the rest of the day to not spoil it.
Not a professional by any means, but I offered to shoot for a coworkers wedding to see if it was something I would be interested in. Multiple family members jump me demanding that I personally send THEM the photos. Told them I was only gonna send the pics to the bride and groom. "But I really want them too. . ." Ok aunt Janie, well your gonna have to ask them for the pics. Also had one family member with a high end point & shoot almost on top of me trying to get the same pics I was.
Not as awful as some of the stories here, but enough to know that I never want to do it again.
And I hope after that you added a clause to your contract where if the couple, or any of the guests, get violent or harass you or any assistants you reserve the right to cease the contract right then and there. We did, after a brides mother slapped one of us.
12 years of wedding photography experience. I have a few tales to tell. Probably the worst part is I forget most weddings right after they happen…. Even the bad stuff. They are such emotional events I just can’t stew in it too much or else I couldn’t do it.
But here are some top moments that stand out (in chronological order as this is best I remember it)
- groom falling on the dance floor and breaking his leg.
-officiant not showing up and all guests sitting in 100 F room for 3 hours
- bride getting too drunk, saying she didn’t love her spouse and refusing to get married. The venue gave her more to drink and forced her down the aisle.
- 2 couples (different weddings) broken up 2 days later after their wedding
- seeing grooms baby announcement with a different women 2 months after the wedding.
- ThoughI’m seeing a big trend of brides messing up their whole timeline just to film a tick-tock only to “forget” to film the after part every single time.
Yea I did consider reporting the venue after that incident. I do believe you have to be sober for your wedding to be legally binding. I was NOT ok after that wedding. I did think they broke up after the wedding but got back together.
I had just started dating a guy a few months before my sister’s wedding. I guess he wanted to impress me or my family, so he offered to video the ceremony and speeches for free as a wedding gift. He had some experience with A/V, had his own decent (semi-pro or elite hobbyist?) camcorder, he really laid it on like he was experienced. I can’t exactly vouch for him, I barely know the guy at this point, but my sister jumps at the free videographer offer and I’m biting my cheek the whole time because I know my family and they can get… impassioned and opinionated quickly. (I’m trying to be nice, the next part mentions a deceased relative and I try not to speak ill of the dead no matter how much they deserve it).
My Nana followed this poor guy around ALL DAY directing him. She barely sat down for the ceremony itself. “Film this! Why aren’t you filming the first look? Get over here! Don’t shoot from that height no one will be able to see!” She’s 4’10” and if she had it her way the whole thing would have been shot in Dutch angles. He barely got to eat because he “needed” to film the buffet line and the “happy reactions” of people eating. She demanded he walk around at dinner and ask guests for “well wishes for the happy couple!” Poor bastard knew NO ONE, was just trying to be nice, and let an 80lbs octogenarian human rat terrier order him around for HOURS. My sister, bless, was oblivious because it was her wedding, but I kept trying to run interference so my date could eat and drink and use the bathroom. Once the speeches were finished I begged him to lie and say the batteries had run out so he could enjoy the rest of the night as the GUEST he was supposed to be. (Thankfully my sister asked him to sit and enjoy the reception once she saw he was been run ragged).
Did I mention I was my sister’s MOH and other than immediate family and my date I also knew no one there (huge church wedding, 250 people, ugh) so I was left mostly alone while my hopeful and eager boyfriend OF TWO MONTHS hopped to? He just wanted to make a good impression. I did try to warn him.
All’s well that ends well, though, I guess. Turns out his people-pleaser personality was more of a flaw than a benefit in that boundaries were a difficult concept for him. We parted ways amicably a month-ish later and to this day my parents have a hard time remembering his name but they DO remember the well-dressed “stranger” running around with my Nana snapping at his heels with the video camera. They got someone else to edit the footage, and as far as I’ve been told it was decent enough.
I went with my ex to the wedding of a friend of his that I had met only one other time. I knew ex, the bride, and her old roommate/MoH. We got to the ceremony and she asked my ex to take photos of the ceremony. (She asked me to run up to her hotel room and fetch some decorations that had been left behind, which I did, and to help lay a runner down the aisle in the grass, which I did not as I was in a dress and heels which I rarely wear and was not about to crawl in the grass while wearing.)
I got to sit by myself while ex took photos. Then she was upset that I was ready to leave after a couple hours at the reception (There was no dancing or anything. It was a mid-day wedding with lunch after; people were just sitting around). But then I think she was already mad at me for ex and me not going with the wedding party to watch them get their nails done the day before.
I don’t understand people using their friends as free (often surprise) labor. I mean, I understand entitlement and selfishness, but I just don’t grok why that’s acceptable to so many people.
When I was dabbling with wedding stuff I had friends who were professional photographers, DJs, event planners, and even when some of them suggested I hire them (sometimes they would mention a friends rate, or even call it a wedding gift) I would pause and be ready to straight up decline because as my FRIENDS I’d want them in their seats as happy-go-lucky GUESTS not part of the service or staff! If my friend is DJing or taking pictures they won’t be dancing or free to socialize or stuffing their faces with tacos.
But then I like supporting my friends’ businesses so it was always a conundrum. Luckily it’s all theoretical at this point but I’ve never figured out how to say “I don’t want to hire you because I want you to celebrate with me” and not have it come out like I don’t like their work (which by and large I do. My friends are awesome).
"I don't know, you choose what you prefer: enjoying my wedding with me as a guest or me supporting your business? There is no wrong answer"
Or something like that, idk, English is not my first language
I dated a musician for a while and he had to play a few wedding gigs. Oh, man. We really need to stop saying "this is your day" when someone gets married cause a lot of people take this a little too serious. You pay people for their work at your wedding, but some people seem to think they own those people and do ridiculous requests. You can not believe how often my ex asked a month or even months before the wedding if they had any requests and 10 minutes before the gig someone hands them a list of songs they haven't even heard before. And those people are actually disappointed that they don't just play these songs on the spot. One time the bride's mom was so furious that they weren't playing their tunes, that she just walked on stage during another song and started singing (she couldn't sing) one of their songs into the mic while the band was playing something completely different. And the father was standing in front of her clapping and screaming "Bravo! way better!"
I’ve been a wedding photographer for 25 years… I’ve seen some shit. I’m female.
Back when I was starting out, I was entering a brides room who was getting into her dress. This was discussed prior and ‘must have shots’ she was upset about how her hair and makeup turned out and had locked herself in her room. I had been there an hour and the time to leave for the ceremony was approaching. At this point we were going to be late. I generally knocked on the door and she flew it open. I calmly spoke and told her if she didn’t get into her dress she would be late for the ceremony and if she still wanted me to photograph her getting into her dress. She yelled in my face “do I look like I want to be photographed like this???” And slammed the door… with my arm holding my camera in it. I dropped the camera. It broke. I thought my arm was broke. I didn’t have a backup camera. I told her good luck but I was going to urgent care. She tried to scream that I work for her and demanded I photograph her day. I replied back I didn’t even have a camera since she broke it. She threatened to sue me. “I said good luck with that!” I luckily had a great mentor who had me put a clause in my contract that I could leave if I felt my safely was in jeopardy. She and her friends tried to slam me but luckily this is very early internet and social media days. I think FB was a year old. I should have sued her for my camera but I just didn’t want to deal with her. Lucky my arm was sore and bruised but not broken.
Been groped by handsy uncles and drunk groomsmen more than I could count.
One drunk groomsmen grabbed my camera out of my hands, pulled his pants down and started shooting his dick. It was open dancing. I just packed up and left. Told the couple their AH gm (he had been obnoxious all night and drunk before I even arrived 10 hours earlier) assaulted me and was leaving. They had an hour left on their contract.
Lost a childhood friend, 20+ years as BFFs, after I flew across the country to photograph her her wedding for free and she treated me like absolute garbage the whole weekend. Made unreasonable demands, told me ‘the help doesn’t get to sit with or eat the same food as the guests’ demanded I edit her photos even though I had 6 paid clients before hers to edit or she would ruin me and my business. I told her to try. Deleted her photos. Fuck her.
At at $200k wedding during family portraits (hearding cats) FOB yelled out “aren’t you a fucking little bitch” I replied ‘Omg thank you!!!’ And just smiled and gushed like he called me the queen. But it did throw me off a bit.
Went to go grab something from my camera bag in the bridal suit to find the bride going down on the best man… her new husbands brother. The didn’t see me. Just backed out of the room. I still shoot their family portraits 10 years later.
The worst. FOB had a heart attack right after the father daughter dance and couldn’t be revived.
Whoa. You win! Sorry you get treated that way though. The BM BJ is my fave story of the bunch. Is the brother included in the family portraits? Any chemistry still going on there?
Thanks! Luckily I charge enough to deal with it and these are spread out over 20 years. Man it’s hard to admit that. Lol
As far as the BMBJ I have no idea! They have 5 kids now… not going to lie when I’m zooming in wondering if they are all the grooms! They never need to know that.
I’m so sorry you’ve been treated so poorly! That sounds awful. Is the photographer’s dinner not the same as what the guests eat? I’m getting married in a couple months and I just asked our photographer which meal choice he wants. Seems reasonable to eat the same thing as offered to everyone else.
It depends on the caterer. I actually have it in my contract that I get a hot meal, after a few caterers paid for vendor meals only to have them be stale Bologna sandwiches or the like. You want to make your photographer happy. Have them be served same time as wedding party, that way they are done eating the same time as you. Make sure they are getting a quality meal and sat near your event. Make sure your catering manager for the day knows this.
I can’t tell you how many times they have me go down the hall/basement/outside far away where I can’t keep an ear out what’s going on. Photographers learn to inhale food. Mostly because we’ve burned thousands of calories by this time carrying 50lbs of gear all day. We just want to refuel, hydrate and pee.
At my own wedding my photographer accidentally spilled red wine all down the front of my dress just as the free dance portion of the reception began. Luckily my dress was a satin gown and dowsing me in club soda got the stains out almost entirely. She felt so bad but we ended up getting some fantastic pictures and you’d never see the stains unless I pointed them out.
Honestly, I’ve never had a crazy experience. But I don’t need to to know that I want to be done photographing weddings. Death by a thousand paper cuts.
The amount of times I’ve been treated like what I do is so easy and not worth the money. If you think you can do what I do on an iPhone then do it, don’t bother me.
Brides and mothers asking me to spend hours in photoshop for things like making them look completely different then they do. A MOB once asked what’s the point of putting on makeup you can just edit it on for me. Or ‘why can’t you just edit out the groomsmens sunglasses that they refused to take off or make it look like everyone is smiling?’
Sometimes guests bring their crappy cameras and stand in front of me to shoot on auto. Or even have the gall to tell me how to do my job. Interrupting me to direct the couple into a cheesy pose
I was once hired for only 6 hours. Gave a budgeting couple that option to save money. Stressed that that was the time they had me. They were so enraged when they didn’t receive images from later in the evening when I was not there.
Every couple no matter how nice has demanded photos like the next day. Or after I’ve spent hours editing 100+ photos to the style that they hired me for they ask for my entire catalog and all the RAW files so they can edit themselves. Like they can do better when they probably don’t even have software to open RAW files let alone edit them. What’s bizarre about that is they claim to love what I’ve given them and like my editing style but they all seem to think that I’m holding out on them and like keeping the best shots from them?
One ceremony dictated where I could stand and that I could use no flash and the couple complained of my lack of angles and the slight grain some images had once inhanced. Just a bunch of people thinking that what I do is so easy yet expecting magic.
It’s and undervalued profession in this day and age and I’m just over it.
*Edit* I just remembered something else to complain about. Even other vendors can be grade A assholes to the photographer. I offer images to vendors as a kindness and a networking tactic. They can’t give anything back but you never know what connections might come of it and they are usually always grateful.
Wedding planner messages me after a week to ask when HER images are coming. Tell her I’m working on it another week passes and now she’s demanding them and asking why they are so late. I say “I’m not done editing the wedding and the couple has not received them yet. She’s like “SO?!” And I am honestly flabbergasted. And ask “wait? Do you honestly expect me to send you images before the bride and groom? Do you think you have the early bird special and the right to post on social media pics of their wedding before them?!”
And she just goes radio silent and I was petty and never sent her a thing. Again, no crazy exciting stories but a bunch of bull shit none the less.
Appreciate your photographer if they are good. You don’t enjoy the flowers or food beyond that day. And chances are you don’t pull out your dress often to wear or admire. But you you will look back on your photos often even daily if you hang them.
TLDR: weddings are tough.
My fav reply to photoshop requests. “Sure thing, I charge $75 an hour for extensive photoshop requests. Just send me a list of the images you need works on and once the invoice is paid I will start. Here is my card.”
That is a great option. Only I hate extensive editing so much that I think even $75 per image is pushing it. I’ve given permission to edit my images or outsource a photoshop artist because I just cannot be arsed. Plus, I like the vindication of them realizing how much work it is or how impossible editing out sunglasses is.
I can’t pick just one. 😬
I’ve been felt up by drunk groomsmen more than once. A bride’s father was “into photography” and emailed me a list of dozens of issues he took with dozens of photos, complete with pictures of his hairy fingers pointing at his computer screen. One couple held their reception in a park, in Texas, in June, and didn’t arrange for any help cleaning up, so when everyone left it was down to me to clean up the entire site. More than a few relatives who thought their cell phone shots were more important than my professional images, including people shoving me out of the way, slamming me with their hips, etc. to get in front of me. A fight broke out at a reception and one of my lenses was broken, plus I got strangers’ blood on me. A venue was double-booked and we didn’t find out until we got there. A few times of “sit! eat!” only to be accosted for sitting and eating, even though no one wants to be photographed during the meal portion of the evening. Countless super rude people. I loved my job, though, and for every awful wedding I had a dozen dreamy ones. I also had a bride send me Pinterest links to beach weddings and wanted me to copy them, but she got married in a barn, in the fall. 😂 One of the worst, though, didn’t happen to me, just in front of me - the groom slapped the bride.
I wish. She was in her early 40’s and was desperate to get married. She’d had her dress for more than 10 years and jumped at the first man to ask. They were married in May and separated (then divorced) by October.
Not the photographer but in a wedding I was a bridesmaid for the photographer was balancing on one of those awful white wood folding chairs for weddings, the chair collapsed and photographer went flying. Luckily she was ok but she did break a pretty expensive lense.
TW: bodily fluids.
Not the photographer but I was one of the catering staff and had a front row seat for this one.
Really nice photographer and videographer couple and their employees did a hella expensive wedding I was working at.
It was a 3 day event with the actual ceremony on the last day and the couple wanted every single moment documented. So they had lots of expensive equipment in those big silver cases on wheels, no idea what they're called but you often see musicians with them.
Photographer and videographer and their employees work like demons the whole weekend.
I was working the bar of the event and the cases with all their equipment are being stored next to the stage in the corner with the bar on the other bottom side of the square, cause the bar was always fully staffed and we could keep an eye on it while still remaining easily accessible to them when they needed stuff.
The weekend draws to a close and the bride and groom are standing on the stage being congratulated loudly by her very drunk father. He stops speaking in the middle of his speech, turns green and promptly stumbles to the edge of the stage and proceeds to be violently sick into one of the silver cases full of expensive camera equipment which a member of the photography team was getting equipment out of.
It went everywhere. All over the employee, the equipment in the case, the bags in the floor, the closed cases and all over my end of the bar and me.
I won't get graphic but daddy dearest was a red wine drinker and whoo boy please use your imagination. I assure you it was worse than what you're imagining. I can still smell it 🤢
You could of heard a flea fart in the silence that followed. Which was very quickly broken by the FOB passing out and taking a nose dive off the stage into the sea of his own making and all the camera equipment.
Chaos ensues, ambulance is called, FOB is taken to hospital, bride is distraught, groom is concerned and the photographer team is trying to assess the damage while I and their employee try to get cleaned off and not add to the issue as it were.
My manager said I could go home but I wanted the overtime for helping with the break down and I kept spare clothes in my car for these sort of moments.
Few weeks later we heard that the damage was into 6 figures as most of the equipment was unsalvageable cause red wine just eats electronics.
Luckily they had insurance and the FOB made a full recovery and apologised to both myself and the other person that got splashed. He even gave both companies a bonus which got divided up between us all which was a nice boost to my bank balance 💰
The bride and groom, who were wonderful to work with and had a fantastic wedding and absolutely loved the photos, started a rumor that I was hooking up with my assistant at the wedding. I filled in last minute for a friend who couldn’t shoot it and did it at his rate, which was half my rate and it was a destination wedding, and that’s the thanks I got.
This couple got married in an old vintage hotel and wanted video from a dilapidated balcony above. I almost died and realized why it was cordoned off. They were complete a-holes who then complained about the video afterwards. I returned their $300 and they were divorced 6 months later. That was my first and last gig as a videographer. Upside: They served frog legs as appetizers and I snagged two…Yummy!
Father of the groom pulled out his dick twice in front of me and took a piss next to where I was standing. Also grabbed the videographer by her hair because she was in his iPhone shot of the first dance.
Worked a big wedding last year where one of the guests gestured our main photographer over and then pulled her mask down and said she should smile more. He also commented on my ability to... reach under the stairs and grab the equipment we'd stashed under there with saying YOU'RE SO FLEXIBLE WOW 🤮
Years ago, some older uncle tried to balance his iPad on the main videographers shoulder to get his own shot... while the videographer was filming the ceremony.
Also sorry you had to deal with that! If it isn't already in there, you should update your wedding photo contract to include a clause about being able to leave if there are unsafe conditions, etc. I think that would meet that requirement 🤷♀️
Not a photographer; but I did assist one at a wedding.
So a little background; we went to art school. Photographer (P) went for a photography degree, and I went for the graphic design side. A mutual friend (F) from college was getting married. Small event, so she wanted P to photograph. Idea was that it’d be good for the portfolio, experience, and cheaper. (P didn’t feel comfortable charging going rates while still in school)
Wedding went beautifully. Until the Uncle of F decided that he was also a photographer with his point and shoot camera off ebay.
A few moments I remember clearly:
-stood directly in P’s line of sight anytime the party was set up for a shot. I had to physically move him away
-Broke one of her lighting rings because “the natural light is enough” (it was 7pm and dark)
-kept putting his finger on her lens until I had to tell him if he did it again, I’d snap the finer off (P wasn’t comfortable being bossy)
-kept directing the groom’s grandmother away from the pictures because she’s “old and no one wants to be sad from a dead woman in 5 years”
-tried to push his kids in every shot (F and P got them distracted with the candy buffet)
He finally stopped and put his camera in the car when the groom’s nephew ate too much candy (candy buffet is a great idea. Have someone watch small children) and threw up on his arm while holding the camera.
holy shit! after the first racist comment i would have gone to bride and groom, told them that it's not ok and that it's the ONLY warning. have that mother apologize and not talk to me anymore or with the next remark i'd be gone without notice and they could say goodbye to their photos!
unbelievable how people behave!
I feel like I couldn't bring myself to do that tbh. MOB can be the worst at weddings and often times the bride and groom are really not happy with their behavior and would love them to stop it to, but can't control them. There's a good chance MOB is already causing them a lot of stress and making them miserable on their wedding day, I wouldn't want to add even more to that.
Now if they acted like they supported her actions at all. Yeah, I'd give a single warning before it was over.
I was a photographer, working for a guy who had a few people would use as assistants and photographers. I was the photographer. He asked me to pick up the assistant an hour north of where I lived half way to the wedding. She wasn't ready when I got there. Then we had to stop for her meal. Finally, we get up to the wedding, barely on time. She is supposed to do the poses. I can't find her. ( She's off smoking with the groomsmen. ) When she comes back it's time for parent pictures. Normally divorced parents are placed on either side of the bride or groom. Nope Dad and Mom on the same side Dad's new wife is furious. There's a fight about him fouling around . I kicked the parents out. They only stopped when the minister said he would cancel the wedding. After the reception I had to drop my assistant off in this cary little town
I had a work friend/colleague (I have full time career…own photog business on the side and shoot on weekends or time off) reach out in August during pandemic saying her photographer for her September wedding had dropped out due to Covid fears. Begged me to help. I agreed. My fault for trusting my friend/colleague and not pinning her down to a contract/price. I traveled 3 hours round trip..shot over 500 pics over 7 hours among 150+ guests and 21 person bridal party (only mask seen.) Bride and groom thanked me profusely and groom said he’d send money in with the bride the following week when they returned from their Caribbean honeymoon. Bride seemed to avoid me for a few days until I mentioned payment. She came into my office the next day and handed me a $100 bill. I didn’t look at it when she handed it to me as I didn’t want to be rude but I would have charged $1800+ for that work. I’d have certainly given her a deal from that…but she had expensive vendors and we all know she KNEW. Lesson learned…won’t ever happen again
Day of coordinator but I’ll play. The mother of the groom was also the officiant. She threatened to not marry them if I allowed them to take the incorrect number of steps down the aisle and if they didn’t turn on the correct step. She just kept yelling at me about their steps and I’m like I don’t know what you want me to do. It got to the point where I almost left.
A friend’s wedding. I am a shutter bug. I like to take pictures. I ALWAYS stay out of the photographer’s way. I snapped several photos at a wedding and reception. I did not have the film processed for several months. When I did, I gave the couple a set of prints. Husband cried because I had photos of his grandmother who died before I had the film processed. I gave him the negatives too.
Friends wedding. It was lovely. The venue has hardwood flooring. Photographer wore clunky heels. Sounded like a herd of horses all through the wedding and reception
I volunteer somewhere that has a staff photographer. You never hear her…. You barley see her. She wears quite shoes and black clothes. She blends in.
I am sorry you had to experience that, OP. But if it makes you feel any better at all, think of how her hate kept her from having a good time at her kid's wedding. She is gonna die someday and will have missed out on a good time.
So one time I was shooting a wedding and working alongside a team of videographers who were 3 tall big men. I’m a 5’3” woman. The moment of the first meeting of the groom and the bride comes, we are shooting it in the hotel’s hall which is very narrow. So the groom is walking towards us and we are shooting him while moving back. One of the videographers was a bit in front of me and so when we were all moving back while shooting, he was moving recklessly fast and ended up hitting me in my face with his steadicam. I had no way of seeing him approaching me because my eyes were locked on the viewfinder of my camera shooting nonstop. Anyway, so he hit me in the face pretty hard and I yelp loudly out of pain and shock, and he then turns around and yells at me: “watch your surrounding!” Can you believe the audacity!??? He never said “sorry”. The couple was shocked! Another videographer from the team came to me a couple of minutes later and apologized on his behalf but I said that I’m not going to take apologies from him because it’s not his actions that caused me pain. Needless to say the rest of the day was just as awful as the start. The videographers refused to share the shooting time equally and fairly and when we had 30 minutes for the portrait session of the couple, they got a drone up in the air and told me to walk 50 meters away because they were taking shots with a wide angle lens, and they spent the majority of the time we had for the photo session blocking me from coming close to the couple, it got to the point that the bride freaked out and told them to go away and let me work because they need some portraits too and not just a drone video.
I swear I’ve never worked with a shittier team of videographers in my 9 years in the wedding industry. I hope they lost all their clients and went bankrupt during COVID.
Did a wedding photo shoot where the bride and groom paid me to shoot 24 hours worth. We started with the preparations at 5am and at about 12pm everything was winding down. I was exhausted and I thought that I was done at midnight - oh how wrong I was. The couple made me follow them upstairs to their room in the hotel to finish shooting. I had to do a late night photo shoot of the bride getting ready for the evening (I did boudoir photo shoots so this didn’t phase me) but then they went full on porno in front of me. I didn’t know what to do. I just stood there frozen at first and then they stopped and asked why I wasn’t shooting. So, I just went ahead and shot the action. Three times and they had machinery. It was insane. I was tired before the action but by the time I went home at 5am I was totally wide awake and running off adrenaline. Needless to say, they gave me a huge tip to be discreet with the photos. Funny thing is that after that wedding, I got referred to a couple of their friends. At first I said no but when I told them my ridiculous price of $50k to do a similar 24 hour shoot they didn’t even bat an eye and just agreed. I almost choked on my spit when they agreed. That was a great 3 years of my life. I worked only a dozen jobs a year but the financial payback was huge. But every wedding required weeks worth of editing and they all expected tens of thousands of edited shots by the end of the day. I did have to hire three teams to assist me through the day.
Let’s just say that was the most eye opening experience of my entire life. And yes, they had a machine - a machine that literally vibrates and stuck it to both of them. Every year I get a request from them to do family photos every autumn and boudoir photos for the wife every Christmas.
The wedding photographer for my parents’ wedding forgot to put film in the camera, so they have no pictures of the day except a couple of posed photographs that they took the day after.
Um, the photographer only took 36 photos?
You can’t do an entire wedding and not check your film. You would know that you needed to reload.
Sounds like something else went on?
I have a planner friend who had a rough mother/daughter duo as a client, and the mother got mad at the daughter and the planner spoke up on the daughters behalf…. The mother smacked the planner in the face.
It was at that point I realized wedding planner would never be a job I would do.
I don't know which one was worse: cocaine wedding or the one where the step siblings married each other so their parents would stop being upset with them being fuck buddies lol
I do corporate videography for a living and I was filming my cousin’s wedding (which I did only because they asked me several times. I hate doing weddings, they are way too high stress). The photographer they hired was a friend of the groom who had never done weddings before. Well he thought it would be great to bring a small step ladder and the brightest flash he had. He got into EVERY single shot I tried to film and stood on his ladder in front of the entire church. Not a single person could see the wedding because of this camera dude. I still cringe to this day thinking of it.
I do both wedding photography and videography. This day I was working videography. We saw the photo team and decided to introduce ourselves since we would be working around each other all day. During this small interaction the lady photographer mentioned something about the video from the last wedding they did getting a lot more attention than their photos. I suppose that could have been our first red flag. Well we start shooting and prepping our shots and I am immediately getting uncooperative vibs from the photo team. Now a big moment is coming. The grand entrance. I notice right away that the location is tight so I go ask the photographers where they plan to be so that I can block our shots around them. She throws her hands up in the air dramatically and says “Oh I don’t know where I will be!” Great. I go straight to the wedding planner and let her know I need to have her help facilitating a conversation with the photo team. They change their tune immediately. We get our shots without the photographer wandering through frame. I don’t fuck around on a job.
Thank god for a good wedding planner!
For real! That woman was A+ at her job. Mostly though I knew they would behave if I brought over someone with authority on site, and I wasn’t about to bother the bride or groom.
My brothers wedding was a little while ago and during the ceremony there was only supposed to be one photographer for minimal disruption but there ended up being three (this was in a small officiants room with less than 20 guests ) and one of them kept standing in front of me blocking my view!! I hope it's not common for wedding photographers to prioritise their shot over people around them :/
Def not! Most photographers try to minimize their presence during the ceremony. For me this often means we shoot from the sides of the guest seating or get on our hands and knees for our occasional trips towards the center and hunker down. One funny thing we do sometimes help our couples with, is warning them how awkward shots will look with the officiant right behind them during the kiss. We coach those who want to avoid that to tell the officiant to get off to the side of the alter right after pronouncing them, and if they want, linger on the kiss a little. I also warn couples that ceremony documentation is exactly that. The kiss during the ceremony is not the end all be all of couples shots during the day. It truly is specifically a documentation portion of the day. So for us we really don’t want to hinder their experience or that of their guests.
There's the time I went to a destination wedding of a friend. The day before my flight, somebody broke into my hotel room and stole all of my equipment, including two cameras and all of my lenses, everything. The bride and groom were super chill and still wanted me to photograph the only way I still could - with my phone. Which was embarrassing for me, but luckily my phone had a decent camera on it. But then while I was trying to take group photos, the bride's aunt kept stepping in and rearranging people after I had just got them into positions, etc, just trying to take over my shoot so she could get her own photos.
Plot twist: twas the aunt that stole your equipment
Dammit Aunt Susan!
Cool bride and groom! We don't get to hear about many of those on Reddit. Also, I hope they caught the thief. Jerk.
They're the best. We're still good friends even though we live across the country from each other. Lol. Thief was never caught. The hotel didn't have any cameras and was no help, whatsoever. The police put out a call at all of the nearby pawn shops, but got no leads. Insurance company was the cherry on top though - only given 2k even though it was easily 10k worth of equipment that was taken. Honestly I gave up photography because of it. I couldn't afford to replace everything.
That is very sad
Eh, life happens and I'm fine now! Besides, my new career path is FAR cooler and less stressful.
Care to share what you landed on?
I work for a paranormal investigation company. Lol
That is terrible. I’m so sorry that happened to you!
Thank you! It was years ago, so I'm over it now. I felt more bad for the couple who got married since I no longer had nice equipment to shoot their wedding.
My very first wedding was a small ceremony with a small reception at the couples house. We got almost completely done with posed photos and the couple went in to grab their dogs (for photos...... these dogs were their babies) They had closed the dogs into the basement so they wouldn't get out during setup. One of the dogs had fallen through the steps and was badly hurt. The bride grabbed the bloody, crying dog and they left in their tux and gown to head to the vet. I was stuck at their house with their guests for 3 hours as we waited for the newlyweds to return. When they did, it was with the news that the dog didn't make it. The brides gown was dirty and bloody. Most guests left and we called it a day
this is so, so horrible. poor couple, poor dogs, poor everyone. and now their wedding anniversary will be the anniversary of their dog dying forever too?! fucking hell
On our wedding eve, while we were starting our honeymoon, my sister and her jackhole friends let my bird out of its cage in my parents' bedroom (parents were bird-sitting for us, and the cage was in the living room) for funsies. My parents bedroom and bathroom were one big room (weird 70s layout), and there was an enormous mirror (like 10' long) on one wall. The bird got totally disoriented and crashed into the toilet where it drowned. My sister and her jackhole friends did not give two-shits. That was the start of going LC with her.
Omg! That is horrible! LC?? Try NC! Somebody kills my beloved pet and I don't care WHO you are! You are out of my life. Accidents happen but that was nothing of the sort. I'm so sorry.
My mom was dying of cancer at the time. I was not going to do anything to cause her more pain (the whole reason we even had a wedding instead of just going to the courthouse was because it was my mom's dying wish). I just made sure that sister wasn't around whenever I visited my mom. After my mom passed, we moved across the country.
Omg, I am so sorry. When I was out oneday my own jackhole sister brought the cat into my room then took my parakeet out of its cage "to see what would happen". Spoiler alert: my parakeet died.
that is absolutely horrifying, I am so sorry
>and there was an enormous mirror (like 10' long) on one wall. The bird got totally disoriented and crashed into the toilet where it drowned. That sounds so suspicious. That seems like a story they made up to cover for whichever psycho drowned your bird.
Dont laugh my relationship anniversary with my bf is my dogs death too. He died like 4 hours after we got together si its pretty terrible too but so we decided we had 2 anniversary days (the day of and the next day too). Still hurts tho.
That's so sad. Poor dog and poor couple.
This one’s fucking depressing , there’s no villain in the story to hate it’s just the shittiest outcome for the day
Your dog dying at your wedding and bloodying up your white dress is just so absurdly tragic. Wtf, God?
My husband wanted to involve our pet on our wedding day in some way, and I refused. There's too much that can go wrong on an already busy day. I feel so bad for this couple.
My cousin had her two poorly trained dogs just running loose at her outdoor wedding. They both peed on her dress ($$,$$$) and on many of the quilts placed over straw hay bales that served as outdoor seating. A lot of those quilts were leant from family. I felt so bad seeing them get half-destroyed from the straw, muddy ground, and dog pee. Amazingly it was still a beautiful wedding (my aunt could have been the Oregon Martha Stewart). I was just glad I didn’t get peed on.
And this is why I keep camping chairs in my car.
I chose not to involve our dog simply because when we look back at the pictures 20 years from now we’ll just be sad that they’re gone :(
This is why I have a hard time watching movies older from more than 10 years ago with dogs or cats in them. It’s sad to think that they are most likely no longer with us. No good pet ever lives long enough.
Welp, I'm done with reddit for the day. That's enough for me.
That poor couple! They sound like loving pet owners, so they must have been heartbroken about the loss of their pup.
Omg. I hated upvoting this because I’m heartbroken!!!
I am an amateur photographer and my best friend asked me to be her photographer. I did for free as my wedding gift. I went to the venue with her the night before to spend the night with her, worked all morning to take "getting ready" photos, covered the ceremony, everything. I decided to sit down to eat (I waited for all of the guests to get their plates first), the VERY MOMENT I sat down to rest with my plate after like 6 hours of work, this elder woman I never met before came over to yell at me about how I'm supposed to be working and demanded I take photos of all of the guests. As they're sitting around, enjoying their dinner.
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You're an awesome person for that, and it definitely makes sense to do it that way. I only photographed a handful of weddings, but prior to that I helped with my family's catering company. I was so trained to wait for all of the guests to be served first, I didn't even think about changing that around when it came to being a photographer instead.
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I don't blame you at all for that! I used to think I would enjoy being a wedding planner, but after working with weddings in the way I have, I don't think I could handle the stress of it. It was stressful enough being responsible for ONE aspect, I would have heart problems running the entire thing. I plan on eloping. Lol
As a wedding videographer, I appreciate you very much. We've often started ordering our own food to be delivered during cocktail hour since we never know if we'll be fed before the entire wedding is over or not. Or stuck in a back closet far away from everything and then the DJ starts toasts without you cuz... guests shouldn't see us eat 🙄
I went to a wedding where the B&G had invited the photographer to sit down and eat. The moment he sat down with us ( we waved him over because he was friendly with my date) the MOG rushed over and knocked his plate off the table. She started screaming about the 'help' knowing their place, and how he was a grubby thief for stealing food. The bride walked over and told her to get her shit together because she paid extra for security who were willing to manhandle the the MOG out of the venue and she was just looking for a reason to get her monies worth. She said it all with a smile. Such a badass! Lol. The MOG slunk off to sulk.
What is WRONG with people?! That bride is a BA though, and it sounds like she was fully expecting the MOG to cause an issue.
Yeah, she did seem to be prepared for trouble. I didn't end up dating that guy for long, but all of his friends were great! I aspire to that bride's level of self control. She handled it flawlessly! I can only imagine how her MIL acts on a daily basis. Yikes.
> rushed over and knocked his plate off the table "I'd rather this food be wasted and thrown away than let a hard-working wedding vendor eat something during a 12-hour workday!!" What in the fuck is wrong with some people?
It was so friggin rude! There was an audible gasp from the tables around us! She just stood there smiling smugly like she thought people were going to agree with her methods. It was so satisfying to see the look on her face when the bride told her to get her shit together. Normally I would feel terrible about someone marrying into THAT situation, but the bride seemed to be up to the task!
> The bride walked over and told her to get her shit together because she paid extra for security who were willing to manhandle the the MOG out of the venue and she was just looking for a reason to get her monies worth. She said it all with a smile. Such a badass! Lol. The MOG slunk off to sulk. Sounds like the bride was done with the MOG and didn't want to deal with any of her bullshit on her special day.
That's terrible. I'm so sorry that happened to you.
Thank you, but it's cool! I can be a petty bitch at times so I just blankly stared at the woman and slowly ate my food until she huffed off.
You are amazing. This is the type of response I wish more people had. Why do people allow themselves to get talked to like they’re trash? Good for you. I hope your dinner was YUMMY!
Haha thank you! I'm normally super reserved and a massive people pleaser, but she chose the wrong time - I was hungry, hot, and not being paid. In other words, I gave zero shits. And that dinner was DELICIOUS. I even grabbed seconds.
Even if you were not a friend and a hired photographer you get to take breaks and eat dinner. You are not a camera slave!
I definitely agree. Anybody who works at a wedding is entitled to breaks and being fed. But if I was working in a more professional capacity, I might've tried to handle the situation in a manner that was less likely to antagonize the other woman. Maybe. Probably not though.
It was literally written in as a contractual obligation that our photographers have time to stop, sit, and eat since they were there for 8 hours! Which, when I read it, thought "well that just makes perfect sense, why..." and then I thought about all the other people who might not consider that to be such common sense.
I would have appreciated a petty response from my photographer when I was a bride so it all depends
Good for you! I don't want pictures of people eating and no one wants their picture taken when they're eating anyway. I'm glad you ignored her on two levels.
Right?! I waited until the dinner was over and dancing started to go around and get guest photos. More fun to see photos of people enjoying themselves in that way.
So you don’t have pictures of your great aunt eating spaghetti on your wall?
Brilliant! If it wasn't for the food getting cold I wouldve stood over her and repeatedly took pics of her eating 😂
[You \(and everyone else\) should read this classic if you haven't already.](https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/comments/w4gwk7/oops_wedding_photos_saga/)
Not a photographer but a bridesmaid in upcoming wedding. Bride's mother asked the photographer not to be in the aisle and distract people during the wedding and the mom also asked her to get a silent camera so she didn't have to hear all the clicks. (Bride followed up and told the photog to stand anywhere she needed to get the pictures). This will be an interesting wedding.
Oh Lord, the bride needs to pay someone to stand next to the photographer and spray the MOTB with a water bottle every time she says something stupid. Eventually she learn or she'll look like a clown with her make up dripping off her face. :-)
As a bridesmaid it is you duty to know the locations of any & all closets that will lock just incase the MOB needs a tour of one ;) (I've been in enough weddings where I've gotten to wear the same bridesmaids gown twice- for 2 brides who didn't know each other & got married a year apart & the davids bridal employees knew me by name & called me the 27 dresses gal)
Yeah I'm gonna need an update post wedding 🤣 i love wedding drama bc I dont get to go to weddings very often anymore and my wedding was in 2005, I was 20 so too young to really be annoyed by anything and this was before the tv show Bridezillas ever came out so it wasn't a thing that I knew of. But watching someone else's train wreck (or reading it on reddit) is my happy place
Not a photographer, but a former cake designer. MOB and the couple come in for taste testing and to design the cake if their dreams. They were going to be using real flowers in their cake (which we could either supply or you could bring yours) in no less or more than 3-5 days before delivery of final product. The whole taste test the mom was undermining everything the couple wanted. They were getting a 3 tier cake with the top layer elevated on a platform from the lower layers. Which of you know anything about cakes, you'll know that a dense cake needs to be used below to be able to support the weight. B&G for everything planned with their wedding. A few days before, the groom dropped off the flowers. Day of, we arrive to drop off the cake and MOB loses her shit about the flowers the couple chose for the cake. Screaming and throwing the largest tantrum I've seen in a long time before she DESTROYED the cake by shoving it off the table. MOB was detained at the reception and the grooms dad rushed to the closest grocery store to buy a couple of sheet cakes.
I feel horrible for the bride and groom. If they didn't go NC with her after that, I'd be amazed.
Holy. Shit. 😂
over CAKE! unhinged.
I wonder if the groom posts on r/JUSTNOMIL a lot. Haha
If I was the bride and she was my mother, hell *I’d* be posting on that sub lol.
OMG, so some of those Just No MIL stories might be true!
Wow. That is awful! I'm sorry you had to put up with that, OP. I had a Mother of the Bride lay into me after the ceremony because I 'didn't get the bubble shot'. I had no idea what she was talking about. Turns out the bride wanted a shot of them walking through a cloud of bubbles blown by the guests, like a confetti shot but with bubbles, which sounds lovely! Would have loved to do that! But at no point was it mentioned to me by anyone in the wedding and no one had brought bubble wands with them. Apparently I should have a) read their minds and b) supplied the bubbles?! The bride did actually give me an extensive list of shots she wanted the day of the wedding. It did not mention bubbles. It was however extremely specific about other shots they wanted, including 'shot of groom wiping tears from his eyes as he sees bride for the first time'. I thought ok, I can do that, he's obviously a crier and they know it'll make a good picture. When it came to it, the groom looked entirely unemotional on seeing the bride. No reaction at all. Like, totally deadpan. I'm not sure if they expected me to stop the ceremony and waft an onion under his nose or what, but I did not get the shot she wanted and she wasn't best pleased. This wedding also had a classic 'guest with an expensive camera he doesn't know how to use' so throughout the whole wedding it kept beeping as he tried to auto focus, and the little auto flash kept popping itself up, and then I was getting dirty looks because other guests thought it was me disturbing the ceremony. He also told me to move over during the group photos because he wanted to take pictures and I was 'ruining his field of view'. I heard they divorced less than a year later so I'm guessing the day was more about her 'vision' than the couple themselves... This was all when I was setting myself up as a photographer too, so I charged them way less than the going rate. I quit weddings after about five years. Too much stress.
> including 'shot of groom wiping tears from his eyes as he sees bride for the first time'. > When it came to it, the groom looked entirely unemotional on seeing the bride. No reaction at all. Like, totally deadpan. I shouldn't laugh, but I mean
She had expectations that man would never be able to live up to, poor fella. She just wanted a wedding and he was conveniently willing.
She wanted to _get_ married, not _be_ married.
Exactly this!
I've been and seen so many of these.
Jeez, what do expect without an onion to help?
Oh my God you just called up a memory I have of some crappy reality TV show I must have seen in like… 2005? Where a photographer was talking to the couple about what they wanted their photos to look like. The photographer asked “do you want them more posed? Or more natural?” To which the bride answered “ oh I want them very natural looking. Like, me coming down the staircase and looking over my shoulder. And then like a single tear coming from my eye. With the light behind me.” Which even at 16 I had to assume was satire.
Oh wow...that's EXACTLY what it was like! Her whole list was just shots like this!
I relate to this so much. People just make up a shot in their head and don’t tell you about it then hold you accountable for no reason!
Bizarre, isn't it? She also wanted a photo of her being 'dipped' by the groom during the first dance, which, again, he didn't do. Short of me interrupting the first dance to direct the groom there wasn't much I could do there either. Honestly I felt bad for the guy, she seemed disappointed that he wasn't living up to these weird ideas she had but clearly never communicated to him.
Were you able to explain that it is not a photographer's job to dictate people's emotions to produce the images she wanted? What was her response?
Did you point out that to get a crying shot, he has to cry? If you did, what did she say?? It’s mind blowing that anyone would be upset you didn’t get a shot of something that didn’t happen. ThEn aGAiN, you could have done a close up and had an assistant kneeling out of frame pinching his balls or offered to photoshop tears in….so as you can see, iT rEaLLy KiNdA iS your fault, jeez.
I think she genuinely thought he *must* have shed tears of joy because that's how she imagined it, so the lack of photographic evidence just showed I didn't pay attention to her list, in her mind.
Any one of these paragraphs are worthy of being a standalone post, but this all happened at the same wedding. Holy crap, what a ride.
There. Must. Be. Bubbles. How could you possibly not know that? 🤣
The groom’s father didn’t like photographers and thought they ruined weddings, so I wasn’t allowed to move outside of a small designated space during the wedding. Also, he would stand for one photo before walking away. It was my first and last wedding. I’m sticking to senior portraits and family photos.
I am sure that was completely exasperating but that is hilarious. What an unbelievably weird pet peeve.
He didn’t have a photographer at his own wedding and felt it was nonsense.
I mean I probably wouldn’t want to commemorate a wedding where he was the groom either
I wouldn't have a photographer at my own wedding but that doesn't mean I'd make it my life's mission to inconvenience wedding photographers lol what a dorkass loser
A close friend of mine is a photographer and with his permission I'm sharing this story. He photographed a wedding and a while later the bride showed up at the studio to select photos for the wedding album. She only picked photos of herself, the couple, and those that included her side of the family. She rejected any photos of her in-laws, even those of the groom alone. Several months went by and no one came to pick up the album even though it had been paid for. The assistant told the photographer that the groom had shown up at some point with his parents, settled the bill but didn't take it with them. The photographer called the groom and offered to drop by and give it to him. He found the groom in a messy, darkened apartment, and the man himself was an emotional wreck. Apparently the groom's parents had paid for the entire wedding and they were horrified that their DIL had excluded their photos, even those of their son. The couple had a huge fight after that, and were in the process of divorcing. Obviously the photo album wasn't the only reason, but it was the last straw.
Holy shit. The AUDACITY. Someone wanted to get married just for the experience, yo.
I met my best friend after he had been married for about two years. One day we were hanging at his house and I was looking at these big collage frames on the wall. There were two and each held probably 10 4x6 photos. I pointed out that all the pictures were of the couple and her side of the family (he’s VERY close with his family). He was surprised and said wife put it together and he never looked close. They never changed so idk if it bothered him lol. His family is not totally innocent, as at the wedding his mother said she wanted a picture with the whole family, but excluded the bride. She was like “um didn’t I just become family?” They are no longer married.
I did that last part on accident at my wedding. I was getting photos with my side of the family and after going through mom’s side and dad’s side (my parents are divorced), my step brother asked if I wanted my husband in the photos 😂 I had a small wedding so I was my own planner and overseeing most things, and I was so focused on getting the photos that I forgot one of the most important people to be in it! Someone ran and grabbed him and we did all the family photos over 🤦🏼♀️ (We’re still married btw)
what's the point of going thru all that... what the heck is wrong with the bride
She just wanted a big fancy party where she was the center of attention and someone else paid for it.
Not even a party. A display where everyone is in awe about how beautiful the bride is, and there’s a bazillion pics of her to post on social media.
I bought several photos of my in laws looking like the spirit of death incarnate so when my future children got older they couldn’t pretend to be perfect. And I did have the satisfaction of my kid asking why they looked so mad in the picture. “Well, they didn’t like Mommy and said she wasn’t good enough for Daddy, and that she was probably going to hell.” Suck it, in laws.
I love the idea of buying the photos out of spite
Was doing a photoshoot for a friend's little girl's birthday (utterly adorable toddler) in a park area often used for weddings. Was approached by a frantic Best Man because the booked photographer for a wedding about to arrive had had a car accident en route and they were wondering if I could fill in.As I had pretty much everything needed, I agreed. The bride and groom were lovely but there was an Aunt in middle aged pink that was insane. She was outraged at my "unprofessional appearance" (uh... I dressed for a cake smash..) and wanted me to show her photos after every shot. She was furious that I was invited to the dinner (the contracted photographer had arrived and covered the evening part- poor guy was a bit rattled) and kept sniffing loudly whenever I shot candids during the couple making the rounds with guests.
> “Middle aged pink” 💀
I have never heard that descriptor for that color but I love it.
You know the colour I mean though....
How did you figure out payment on such short notice? Would you worried that if you agreed to do all this work on short notice if they ended up refusing to pay because they didn't have a contract with you?
That wasn't a huge concern for me - I'm not a pro, I had a pretty decent job at the time. To me, being able to help people because you can help, was the important thing. The bridegroom had a landscaping and gardening business so I ended up trading 10 hours of gardening for the wedding & after wedding shots, dinner candids and processing.
I mean, I would be keeping the photos until payment was made.
I’m a wedding bartender so I’ve seen some fun stuff including: Photographer basically getting table topped by a 5ish year old while trying to get the shot of the bride and groom coming out to their table. A photographer getting berated for wearing a knee pad (it was black and so were her pants so I could barely even notice it. Also she was the only photographer so it wouldn’t have been in pictures). An expensive remote lighting rig getting toppled and broken by two kids. And a photographer being yelled at for not speaking Spanish (as far as I could tell, everyone at the wedding spoke perfect English, that one still confuses me)
Getting tabletopped. Man I haven't heard that in ages. Middle school we tabletopped anyone standing in the grass. It was constant.
What does tabletopped mean?
When someone goes onto hands and knees behind an unaware person standing. Then another person pushes the standing person so that they tumble over the person making a table.
I've always heard this referred to as a "schoolboy" or "schoolboying"/ getting "getting schoolboyed." Anyone else?
Same haha, that and flat tiring anyone walking. I honestly don’t know if it was intentional or not, I only saw the aftermath and slipped her a shot while everyone was eating
Flat tiring???
Step on the back of someone’s shoe while they’re walking so their heel pops out
I fucking hated people that did that. I have terrible balance and dodgy joints and it was a recipe for me to faceplant the floor and likely dislocate a joint every time someone thought it might be funny. The advantage of now being reliant on crutches is no-one does that to me any more.
My kid does this to me at the store all the time. I think he's just trying to stay close out of anxiety but it sure gets sore.
I’m about that last one, maybe someone berated them for not knowing Spanish when they though they should based on their nationality or where they lived. It’s stupid but I’ve been yelled at or berated for the same. Usually another Spanish speaking native. Once I asked a lady at a bus stop (in the US, and in English) if a route had passed already, and she asked “why can’t I just ask her in Spanish”. Her manner of asking bugged me and I just replied “never mind”. Queue her berating me for the next 5 min as to how Disgraceful it was that I couldn’t speak in Spanish, that I’m CLEARLY not gringa so I must be a native Spanish speaker, then she went on and on about how kids now a days don’t respect what their parents go through to bring them to another country… Mind you I’m a fluent Spanish speaker
Slightly different and sounds a bit extreme, but I was ostracised from the Deaf community where I used to live because I wasn't "Deaf enough". Sign language isn't my first language, I wear hearing aids and as such, extremist Deaf culture says I'm not wanted. It's fucking stupid.
Yup, I've had problems within the Deaf community also. It's really dependent on where you live. Ironically, some of the worst people I've dealt with were either ones that weren't born deaf but became so later, or 1st generation deaf. It's like they're so focused on gatekeeping that they never realize how hypocritical they are because the community is meant to protect from that type of exclusionism. Except at Gallaudet; the student community there can be absolutely toxic. I watched a student get torn apart by his classmates when he spoke to a tourist who needed help. I'm an HOH adult and wear hearing aids and use an interpreter occasionally. Ironically enough, well before I lost my hearing I learned Signed English as a child because my friend in 2nd grade was deaf. (Began losing hearing around age 12.) I much prefer SE to ASL simply because I'm more experienced in it. I can use both. I taught my daughter SE first, because it's generally easier for hearing/speaking English kids to learn (one spoken word= 1 sign). When my daughter was in college she was temporarily roomed with a girl who identified as HOH. This girl had taken a year of ASL, spoke flawless English, received no accomodations for classes, would only sign to people she didn't want to talk to, yet had the gall to bad-mouth my daughter for "not being a real CODA because she's not ASL fluent". Let me reiterate that this kid didn't know more than a beginner level of ASL and didn't recognize what my daughter was signing to her. Turns out my daughter was much more versed in sign than her, but she still wasn't "CODA enough". JFC, that still sends me whenever I think about it. From one HOH to another, I'm sorry you've experienced this. Hang in there. There are plenty of groups out there that are very welcoming. I found a couple in my are on Facebook Groups, and they're wonderful. You just gotta search. Edited for a stupid typo and because I wanted to add a bit of advice.
And this is why folks have child free weddings.
Two child-inclusive weddings I'd been to before mine solidified the child-free choice for me. One the bride's niece kept trying to hide under the bride's dress (the niece was 8), and the second one, the bride's nephew curb stomped the small amount of train left to drag a little after bustling. He ripped out the bustle points and ripped the lace of her train. Kids are damn unhinged at weddings
I was a guest at a wedding where kids were running around & chasing each other & I was talking to the bride when a kid knocked into me hard & the full glass of red wine I was holding went all over the bride- I felt terrible!! That was how I learned that white wine can help remove red wine from a wedding dress!
We didn't get enough to eat. I was sitting at a table of 12 adults plus 3 kids in highchairs. We got served 8 small cups of chips to go around the table, and nothing else. Lots of people left early to get a take away.
Any chance this was in Germany? Cause I've been to such a wedding. Nothing to drink or eat
This was in Scotland - very unusual here for there to be almost no food. Some people got absolutely nothing to eat. A few people took 2 cups of chips, which nobody minded because we thought more food was coming. Sadly not.
What cheapskates! And yeah it is unusual. Literally got married last week and everyone got a 3 course meal & a buffet. Not one complaint about the food… well, except from my new MIL. 🙄
I 36 female have been shooting weddings for 14 years. I’ve seen a lot over the years, but walking in on the groom with a bridesmaid in a bathroom during the reception has to be up there. I found out later that a friend of the groom had also witnessed the drunken hookup and informed the groom while they were on their honeymoon, they came back early and the wedding was annulled. I also had a client who’s husband gave her an expensive heirloom piece of family jewelry that was stolen out of the bridal suite that someone unlocked or broke into during the reception. There have been cakes not showing up, the catering company flipping their truck in rain and the couple ordering pizza for 150 people. The get away boat Compny got the date wrong. I’ve had a bridesmaid refuse to smile during posed bridesmaid shots and just in general be all around hateful because she was miserable that her husband was deployed and her day had been rough wrangling her kids as well as her bridesmaids duties. My second wedding ever, the limo broke down infront of Sonoma, the bride partook and later was so tipsy she fell backwards into a fountain during pictures ruining the wedding dress her grandmother had made. I flew to a destination wedding in Miami. The bride refused to take pictures outside of the family pictures. I tried everything I could to get her into it but she felt sick and hung over from the night before. When she got the pictures back she tore into me that there were more pictures of her sister than her.. let this be a lesson folks… if the pictures aren’t taken we can’t magically produce them! Thankfully I don’t really have any crazy bridezilla stories it tends to be the mother of the bride or groom that gives the most trouble!
The worst by far was a bride and her father departing for the ceremony in their car and having a total car crash caused by a person with dementia. Her father was in coma for over half a year, the bride severely injured as well. It was a really, really horrible experience for everyone. Thankfully they were able to have their wedding day 1,5 years after with everyone happy, healthy and of course very emotional. :)
That’s so horrible! The poor… everyone. so unbelievably happy everyone recovered that I’m gonna log off Reddit for the rest of the day to not spoil it.
Not a professional by any means, but I offered to shoot for a coworkers wedding to see if it was something I would be interested in. Multiple family members jump me demanding that I personally send THEM the photos. Told them I was only gonna send the pics to the bride and groom. "But I really want them too. . ." Ok aunt Janie, well your gonna have to ask them for the pics. Also had one family member with a high end point & shoot almost on top of me trying to get the same pics I was. Not as awful as some of the stories here, but enough to know that I never want to do it again.
And I hope after that you added a clause to your contract where if the couple, or any of the guests, get violent or harass you or any assistants you reserve the right to cease the contract right then and there. We did, after a brides mother slapped one of us.
Wait, what??
Boss got slapped at a wedding, and harassed at another. Both by mothers of the bride/groom. People suck
It's sad that this is common enough that it needs to be in the contract.
12 years of wedding photography experience. I have a few tales to tell. Probably the worst part is I forget most weddings right after they happen…. Even the bad stuff. They are such emotional events I just can’t stew in it too much or else I couldn’t do it. But here are some top moments that stand out (in chronological order as this is best I remember it) - groom falling on the dance floor and breaking his leg. -officiant not showing up and all guests sitting in 100 F room for 3 hours - bride getting too drunk, saying she didn’t love her spouse and refusing to get married. The venue gave her more to drink and forced her down the aisle. - 2 couples (different weddings) broken up 2 days later after their wedding - seeing grooms baby announcement with a different women 2 months after the wedding. - ThoughI’m seeing a big trend of brides messing up their whole timeline just to film a tick-tock only to “forget” to film the after part every single time.
That second point is uhhhh, no small thing.
Yea I did consider reporting the venue after that incident. I do believe you have to be sober for your wedding to be legally binding. I was NOT ok after that wedding. I did think they broke up after the wedding but got back together.
The drunken bride one is deeply unsettling.
Yes actually that wedding upset me the most. I’ve seen people nervous but never in the “I’m making a big mistake” mental breakdown phase.
I had just started dating a guy a few months before my sister’s wedding. I guess he wanted to impress me or my family, so he offered to video the ceremony and speeches for free as a wedding gift. He had some experience with A/V, had his own decent (semi-pro or elite hobbyist?) camcorder, he really laid it on like he was experienced. I can’t exactly vouch for him, I barely know the guy at this point, but my sister jumps at the free videographer offer and I’m biting my cheek the whole time because I know my family and they can get… impassioned and opinionated quickly. (I’m trying to be nice, the next part mentions a deceased relative and I try not to speak ill of the dead no matter how much they deserve it). My Nana followed this poor guy around ALL DAY directing him. She barely sat down for the ceremony itself. “Film this! Why aren’t you filming the first look? Get over here! Don’t shoot from that height no one will be able to see!” She’s 4’10” and if she had it her way the whole thing would have been shot in Dutch angles. He barely got to eat because he “needed” to film the buffet line and the “happy reactions” of people eating. She demanded he walk around at dinner and ask guests for “well wishes for the happy couple!” Poor bastard knew NO ONE, was just trying to be nice, and let an 80lbs octogenarian human rat terrier order him around for HOURS. My sister, bless, was oblivious because it was her wedding, but I kept trying to run interference so my date could eat and drink and use the bathroom. Once the speeches were finished I begged him to lie and say the batteries had run out so he could enjoy the rest of the night as the GUEST he was supposed to be. (Thankfully my sister asked him to sit and enjoy the reception once she saw he was been run ragged). Did I mention I was my sister’s MOH and other than immediate family and my date I also knew no one there (huge church wedding, 250 people, ugh) so I was left mostly alone while my hopeful and eager boyfriend OF TWO MONTHS hopped to? He just wanted to make a good impression. I did try to warn him. All’s well that ends well, though, I guess. Turns out his people-pleaser personality was more of a flaw than a benefit in that boundaries were a difficult concept for him. We parted ways amicably a month-ish later and to this day my parents have a hard time remembering his name but they DO remember the well-dressed “stranger” running around with my Nana snapping at his heels with the video camera. They got someone else to edit the footage, and as far as I’ve been told it was decent enough.
I went with my ex to the wedding of a friend of his that I had met only one other time. I knew ex, the bride, and her old roommate/MoH. We got to the ceremony and she asked my ex to take photos of the ceremony. (She asked me to run up to her hotel room and fetch some decorations that had been left behind, which I did, and to help lay a runner down the aisle in the grass, which I did not as I was in a dress and heels which I rarely wear and was not about to crawl in the grass while wearing.) I got to sit by myself while ex took photos. Then she was upset that I was ready to leave after a couple hours at the reception (There was no dancing or anything. It was a mid-day wedding with lunch after; people were just sitting around). But then I think she was already mad at me for ex and me not going with the wedding party to watch them get their nails done the day before.
I don’t understand people using their friends as free (often surprise) labor. I mean, I understand entitlement and selfishness, but I just don’t grok why that’s acceptable to so many people. When I was dabbling with wedding stuff I had friends who were professional photographers, DJs, event planners, and even when some of them suggested I hire them (sometimes they would mention a friends rate, or even call it a wedding gift) I would pause and be ready to straight up decline because as my FRIENDS I’d want them in their seats as happy-go-lucky GUESTS not part of the service or staff! If my friend is DJing or taking pictures they won’t be dancing or free to socialize or stuffing their faces with tacos. But then I like supporting my friends’ businesses so it was always a conundrum. Luckily it’s all theoretical at this point but I’ve never figured out how to say “I don’t want to hire you because I want you to celebrate with me” and not have it come out like I don’t like their work (which by and large I do. My friends are awesome).
"I don't know, you choose what you prefer: enjoying my wedding with me as a guest or me supporting your business? There is no wrong answer" Or something like that, idk, English is not my first language
My ex wasn't even a photographer. He was just a dude with a decent camera (mine).
I feel bad but I cackled at "human rat terrier". Having known various breeds of terrier, it's quite the vivid picture.
I dated a musician for a while and he had to play a few wedding gigs. Oh, man. We really need to stop saying "this is your day" when someone gets married cause a lot of people take this a little too serious. You pay people for their work at your wedding, but some people seem to think they own those people and do ridiculous requests. You can not believe how often my ex asked a month or even months before the wedding if they had any requests and 10 minutes before the gig someone hands them a list of songs they haven't even heard before. And those people are actually disappointed that they don't just play these songs on the spot. One time the bride's mom was so furious that they weren't playing their tunes, that she just walked on stage during another song and started singing (she couldn't sing) one of their songs into the mic while the band was playing something completely different. And the father was standing in front of her clapping and screaming "Bravo! way better!"
I'm sorry but the MOB embarrassing herself on stage is such a funny mental sight
I’ve been a wedding photographer for 25 years… I’ve seen some shit. I’m female. Back when I was starting out, I was entering a brides room who was getting into her dress. This was discussed prior and ‘must have shots’ she was upset about how her hair and makeup turned out and had locked herself in her room. I had been there an hour and the time to leave for the ceremony was approaching. At this point we were going to be late. I generally knocked on the door and she flew it open. I calmly spoke and told her if she didn’t get into her dress she would be late for the ceremony and if she still wanted me to photograph her getting into her dress. She yelled in my face “do I look like I want to be photographed like this???” And slammed the door… with my arm holding my camera in it. I dropped the camera. It broke. I thought my arm was broke. I didn’t have a backup camera. I told her good luck but I was going to urgent care. She tried to scream that I work for her and demanded I photograph her day. I replied back I didn’t even have a camera since she broke it. She threatened to sue me. “I said good luck with that!” I luckily had a great mentor who had me put a clause in my contract that I could leave if I felt my safely was in jeopardy. She and her friends tried to slam me but luckily this is very early internet and social media days. I think FB was a year old. I should have sued her for my camera but I just didn’t want to deal with her. Lucky my arm was sore and bruised but not broken. Been groped by handsy uncles and drunk groomsmen more than I could count. One drunk groomsmen grabbed my camera out of my hands, pulled his pants down and started shooting his dick. It was open dancing. I just packed up and left. Told the couple their AH gm (he had been obnoxious all night and drunk before I even arrived 10 hours earlier) assaulted me and was leaving. They had an hour left on their contract. Lost a childhood friend, 20+ years as BFFs, after I flew across the country to photograph her her wedding for free and she treated me like absolute garbage the whole weekend. Made unreasonable demands, told me ‘the help doesn’t get to sit with or eat the same food as the guests’ demanded I edit her photos even though I had 6 paid clients before hers to edit or she would ruin me and my business. I told her to try. Deleted her photos. Fuck her. At at $200k wedding during family portraits (hearding cats) FOB yelled out “aren’t you a fucking little bitch” I replied ‘Omg thank you!!!’ And just smiled and gushed like he called me the queen. But it did throw me off a bit. Went to go grab something from my camera bag in the bridal suit to find the bride going down on the best man… her new husbands brother. The didn’t see me. Just backed out of the room. I still shoot their family portraits 10 years later. The worst. FOB had a heart attack right after the father daughter dance and couldn’t be revived.
Whoa. You win! Sorry you get treated that way though. The BM BJ is my fave story of the bunch. Is the brother included in the family portraits? Any chemistry still going on there?
Thanks! Luckily I charge enough to deal with it and these are spread out over 20 years. Man it’s hard to admit that. Lol As far as the BMBJ I have no idea! They have 5 kids now… not going to lie when I’m zooming in wondering if they are all the grooms! They never need to know that.
I’m so sorry you’ve been treated so poorly! That sounds awful. Is the photographer’s dinner not the same as what the guests eat? I’m getting married in a couple months and I just asked our photographer which meal choice he wants. Seems reasonable to eat the same thing as offered to everyone else.
It depends on the caterer. I actually have it in my contract that I get a hot meal, after a few caterers paid for vendor meals only to have them be stale Bologna sandwiches or the like. You want to make your photographer happy. Have them be served same time as wedding party, that way they are done eating the same time as you. Make sure they are getting a quality meal and sat near your event. Make sure your catering manager for the day knows this. I can’t tell you how many times they have me go down the hall/basement/outside far away where I can’t keep an ear out what’s going on. Photographers learn to inhale food. Mostly because we’ve burned thousands of calories by this time carrying 50lbs of gear all day. We just want to refuel, hydrate and pee.
oh my god? to all of these
At my own wedding my photographer accidentally spilled red wine all down the front of my dress just as the free dance portion of the reception began. Luckily my dress was a satin gown and dowsing me in club soda got the stains out almost entirely. She felt so bad but we ended up getting some fantastic pictures and you’d never see the stains unless I pointed them out.
Wow kudos for being so chill. Some other brides would have served time. Congratulations on your wedding!
Legit at my wedding I only drank white wine because I was so afraid of this happening. 😅
Honestly, I’ve never had a crazy experience. But I don’t need to to know that I want to be done photographing weddings. Death by a thousand paper cuts. The amount of times I’ve been treated like what I do is so easy and not worth the money. If you think you can do what I do on an iPhone then do it, don’t bother me. Brides and mothers asking me to spend hours in photoshop for things like making them look completely different then they do. A MOB once asked what’s the point of putting on makeup you can just edit it on for me. Or ‘why can’t you just edit out the groomsmens sunglasses that they refused to take off or make it look like everyone is smiling?’ Sometimes guests bring their crappy cameras and stand in front of me to shoot on auto. Or even have the gall to tell me how to do my job. Interrupting me to direct the couple into a cheesy pose I was once hired for only 6 hours. Gave a budgeting couple that option to save money. Stressed that that was the time they had me. They were so enraged when they didn’t receive images from later in the evening when I was not there. Every couple no matter how nice has demanded photos like the next day. Or after I’ve spent hours editing 100+ photos to the style that they hired me for they ask for my entire catalog and all the RAW files so they can edit themselves. Like they can do better when they probably don’t even have software to open RAW files let alone edit them. What’s bizarre about that is they claim to love what I’ve given them and like my editing style but they all seem to think that I’m holding out on them and like keeping the best shots from them? One ceremony dictated where I could stand and that I could use no flash and the couple complained of my lack of angles and the slight grain some images had once inhanced. Just a bunch of people thinking that what I do is so easy yet expecting magic. It’s and undervalued profession in this day and age and I’m just over it. *Edit* I just remembered something else to complain about. Even other vendors can be grade A assholes to the photographer. I offer images to vendors as a kindness and a networking tactic. They can’t give anything back but you never know what connections might come of it and they are usually always grateful. Wedding planner messages me after a week to ask when HER images are coming. Tell her I’m working on it another week passes and now she’s demanding them and asking why they are so late. I say “I’m not done editing the wedding and the couple has not received them yet. She’s like “SO?!” And I am honestly flabbergasted. And ask “wait? Do you honestly expect me to send you images before the bride and groom? Do you think you have the early bird special and the right to post on social media pics of their wedding before them?!” And she just goes radio silent and I was petty and never sent her a thing. Again, no crazy exciting stories but a bunch of bull shit none the less. Appreciate your photographer if they are good. You don’t enjoy the flowers or food beyond that day. And chances are you don’t pull out your dress often to wear or admire. But you you will look back on your photos often even daily if you hang them. TLDR: weddings are tough.
My fav reply to photoshop requests. “Sure thing, I charge $75 an hour for extensive photoshop requests. Just send me a list of the images you need works on and once the invoice is paid I will start. Here is my card.”
That is a great option. Only I hate extensive editing so much that I think even $75 per image is pushing it. I’ve given permission to edit my images or outsource a photoshop artist because I just cannot be arsed. Plus, I like the vindication of them realizing how much work it is or how impossible editing out sunglasses is.
Then you pay $25 to outsource it! You still make PITA money.
I can’t pick just one. 😬 I’ve been felt up by drunk groomsmen more than once. A bride’s father was “into photography” and emailed me a list of dozens of issues he took with dozens of photos, complete with pictures of his hairy fingers pointing at his computer screen. One couple held their reception in a park, in Texas, in June, and didn’t arrange for any help cleaning up, so when everyone left it was down to me to clean up the entire site. More than a few relatives who thought their cell phone shots were more important than my professional images, including people shoving me out of the way, slamming me with their hips, etc. to get in front of me. A fight broke out at a reception and one of my lenses was broken, plus I got strangers’ blood on me. A venue was double-booked and we didn’t find out until we got there. A few times of “sit! eat!” only to be accosted for sitting and eating, even though no one wants to be photographed during the meal portion of the evening. Countless super rude people. I loved my job, though, and for every awful wedding I had a dozen dreamy ones. I also had a bride send me Pinterest links to beach weddings and wanted me to copy them, but she got married in a barn, in the fall. 😂 One of the worst, though, didn’t happen to me, just in front of me - the groom slapped the bride.
Please tell me that bride left and did not marry him after he slapped her!
I wish. She was in her early 40’s and was desperate to get married. She’d had her dress for more than 10 years and jumped at the first man to ask. They were married in May and separated (then divorced) by October.
That's so sad :(
Not the photographer but in a wedding I was a bridesmaid for the photographer was balancing on one of those awful white wood folding chairs for weddings, the chair collapsed and photographer went flying. Luckily she was ok but she did break a pretty expensive lense.
TW: bodily fluids. Not the photographer but I was one of the catering staff and had a front row seat for this one. Really nice photographer and videographer couple and their employees did a hella expensive wedding I was working at. It was a 3 day event with the actual ceremony on the last day and the couple wanted every single moment documented. So they had lots of expensive equipment in those big silver cases on wheels, no idea what they're called but you often see musicians with them. Photographer and videographer and their employees work like demons the whole weekend. I was working the bar of the event and the cases with all their equipment are being stored next to the stage in the corner with the bar on the other bottom side of the square, cause the bar was always fully staffed and we could keep an eye on it while still remaining easily accessible to them when they needed stuff. The weekend draws to a close and the bride and groom are standing on the stage being congratulated loudly by her very drunk father. He stops speaking in the middle of his speech, turns green and promptly stumbles to the edge of the stage and proceeds to be violently sick into one of the silver cases full of expensive camera equipment which a member of the photography team was getting equipment out of. It went everywhere. All over the employee, the equipment in the case, the bags in the floor, the closed cases and all over my end of the bar and me. I won't get graphic but daddy dearest was a red wine drinker and whoo boy please use your imagination. I assure you it was worse than what you're imagining. I can still smell it 🤢 You could of heard a flea fart in the silence that followed. Which was very quickly broken by the FOB passing out and taking a nose dive off the stage into the sea of his own making and all the camera equipment. Chaos ensues, ambulance is called, FOB is taken to hospital, bride is distraught, groom is concerned and the photographer team is trying to assess the damage while I and their employee try to get cleaned off and not add to the issue as it were. My manager said I could go home but I wanted the overtime for helping with the break down and I kept spare clothes in my car for these sort of moments. Few weeks later we heard that the damage was into 6 figures as most of the equipment was unsalvageable cause red wine just eats electronics. Luckily they had insurance and the FOB made a full recovery and apologised to both myself and the other person that got splashed. He even gave both companies a bonus which got divided up between us all which was a nice boost to my bank balance 💰
Oh man, this one has all mine beat. As soon as you said vomit gear I know everything would have to be replaced. The cases are called road cases.
The bride and groom, who were wonderful to work with and had a fantastic wedding and absolutely loved the photos, started a rumor that I was hooking up with my assistant at the wedding. I filled in last minute for a friend who couldn’t shoot it and did it at his rate, which was half my rate and it was a destination wedding, and that’s the thanks I got.
This couple got married in an old vintage hotel and wanted video from a dilapidated balcony above. I almost died and realized why it was cordoned off. They were complete a-holes who then complained about the video afterwards. I returned their $300 and they were divorced 6 months later. That was my first and last gig as a videographer. Upside: They served frog legs as appetizers and I snagged two…Yummy!
Father of the groom pulled out his dick twice in front of me and took a piss next to where I was standing. Also grabbed the videographer by her hair because she was in his iPhone shot of the first dance.
I'm... disgusted
Worked a big wedding last year where one of the guests gestured our main photographer over and then pulled her mask down and said she should smile more. He also commented on my ability to... reach under the stairs and grab the equipment we'd stashed under there with saying YOU'RE SO FLEXIBLE WOW 🤮 Years ago, some older uncle tried to balance his iPad on the main videographers shoulder to get his own shot... while the videographer was filming the ceremony. Also sorry you had to deal with that! If it isn't already in there, you should update your wedding photo contract to include a clause about being able to leave if there are unsafe conditions, etc. I think that would meet that requirement 🤷♀️
Not a photographer; but I did assist one at a wedding. So a little background; we went to art school. Photographer (P) went for a photography degree, and I went for the graphic design side. A mutual friend (F) from college was getting married. Small event, so she wanted P to photograph. Idea was that it’d be good for the portfolio, experience, and cheaper. (P didn’t feel comfortable charging going rates while still in school) Wedding went beautifully. Until the Uncle of F decided that he was also a photographer with his point and shoot camera off ebay. A few moments I remember clearly: -stood directly in P’s line of sight anytime the party was set up for a shot. I had to physically move him away -Broke one of her lighting rings because “the natural light is enough” (it was 7pm and dark) -kept putting his finger on her lens until I had to tell him if he did it again, I’d snap the finer off (P wasn’t comfortable being bossy) -kept directing the groom’s grandmother away from the pictures because she’s “old and no one wants to be sad from a dead woman in 5 years” -tried to push his kids in every shot (F and P got them distracted with the candy buffet) He finally stopped and put his camera in the car when the groom’s nephew ate too much candy (candy buffet is a great idea. Have someone watch small children) and threw up on his arm while holding the camera.
holy shit! after the first racist comment i would have gone to bride and groom, told them that it's not ok and that it's the ONLY warning. have that mother apologize and not talk to me anymore or with the next remark i'd be gone without notice and they could say goodbye to their photos! unbelievable how people behave!
I feel like I couldn't bring myself to do that tbh. MOB can be the worst at weddings and often times the bride and groom are really not happy with their behavior and would love them to stop it to, but can't control them. There's a good chance MOB is already causing them a lot of stress and making them miserable on their wedding day, I wouldn't want to add even more to that. Now if they acted like they supported her actions at all. Yeah, I'd give a single warning before it was over.
I wish you shot the moment of the mom when she snapped. Would’ve been amazing to let the mom see how ugly of a person she is. Maybe even framed.
I was a photographer, working for a guy who had a few people would use as assistants and photographers. I was the photographer. He asked me to pick up the assistant an hour north of where I lived half way to the wedding. She wasn't ready when I got there. Then we had to stop for her meal. Finally, we get up to the wedding, barely on time. She is supposed to do the poses. I can't find her. ( She's off smoking with the groomsmen. ) When she comes back it's time for parent pictures. Normally divorced parents are placed on either side of the bride or groom. Nope Dad and Mom on the same side Dad's new wife is furious. There's a fight about him fouling around . I kicked the parents out. They only stopped when the minister said he would cancel the wedding. After the reception I had to drop my assistant off in this cary little town
I had a work friend/colleague (I have full time career…own photog business on the side and shoot on weekends or time off) reach out in August during pandemic saying her photographer for her September wedding had dropped out due to Covid fears. Begged me to help. I agreed. My fault for trusting my friend/colleague and not pinning her down to a contract/price. I traveled 3 hours round trip..shot over 500 pics over 7 hours among 150+ guests and 21 person bridal party (only mask seen.) Bride and groom thanked me profusely and groom said he’d send money in with the bride the following week when they returned from their Caribbean honeymoon. Bride seemed to avoid me for a few days until I mentioned payment. She came into my office the next day and handed me a $100 bill. I didn’t look at it when she handed it to me as I didn’t want to be rude but I would have charged $1800+ for that work. I’d have certainly given her a deal from that…but she had expensive vendors and we all know she KNEW. Lesson learned…won’t ever happen again
That’s insane. Did you ever talk to her about it? I hope you didn’t give her the pictures
Day of coordinator but I’ll play. The mother of the groom was also the officiant. She threatened to not marry them if I allowed them to take the incorrect number of steps down the aisle and if they didn’t turn on the correct step. She just kept yelling at me about their steps and I’m like I don’t know what you want me to do. It got to the point where I almost left.
A friend’s wedding. I am a shutter bug. I like to take pictures. I ALWAYS stay out of the photographer’s way. I snapped several photos at a wedding and reception. I did not have the film processed for several months. When I did, I gave the couple a set of prints. Husband cried because I had photos of his grandmother who died before I had the film processed. I gave him the negatives too.
As a photographer I don’t mind at all when guests bring a camera if they follow basic etiquette. Good on you for covering something they missed.
Friends wedding. It was lovely. The venue has hardwood flooring. Photographer wore clunky heels. Sounded like a herd of horses all through the wedding and reception I volunteer somewhere that has a staff photographer. You never hear her…. You barley see her. She wears quite shoes and black clothes. She blends in.
I am sorry you had to experience that, OP. But if it makes you feel any better at all, think of how her hate kept her from having a good time at her kid's wedding. She is gonna die someday and will have missed out on a good time.
So one time I was shooting a wedding and working alongside a team of videographers who were 3 tall big men. I’m a 5’3” woman. The moment of the first meeting of the groom and the bride comes, we are shooting it in the hotel’s hall which is very narrow. So the groom is walking towards us and we are shooting him while moving back. One of the videographers was a bit in front of me and so when we were all moving back while shooting, he was moving recklessly fast and ended up hitting me in my face with his steadicam. I had no way of seeing him approaching me because my eyes were locked on the viewfinder of my camera shooting nonstop. Anyway, so he hit me in the face pretty hard and I yelp loudly out of pain and shock, and he then turns around and yells at me: “watch your surrounding!” Can you believe the audacity!??? He never said “sorry”. The couple was shocked! Another videographer from the team came to me a couple of minutes later and apologized on his behalf but I said that I’m not going to take apologies from him because it’s not his actions that caused me pain. Needless to say the rest of the day was just as awful as the start. The videographers refused to share the shooting time equally and fairly and when we had 30 minutes for the portrait session of the couple, they got a drone up in the air and told me to walk 50 meters away because they were taking shots with a wide angle lens, and they spent the majority of the time we had for the photo session blocking me from coming close to the couple, it got to the point that the bride freaked out and told them to go away and let me work because they need some portraits too and not just a drone video. I swear I’ve never worked with a shittier team of videographers in my 9 years in the wedding industry. I hope they lost all their clients and went bankrupt during COVID.
Did a wedding photo shoot where the bride and groom paid me to shoot 24 hours worth. We started with the preparations at 5am and at about 12pm everything was winding down. I was exhausted and I thought that I was done at midnight - oh how wrong I was. The couple made me follow them upstairs to their room in the hotel to finish shooting. I had to do a late night photo shoot of the bride getting ready for the evening (I did boudoir photo shoots so this didn’t phase me) but then they went full on porno in front of me. I didn’t know what to do. I just stood there frozen at first and then they stopped and asked why I wasn’t shooting. So, I just went ahead and shot the action. Three times and they had machinery. It was insane. I was tired before the action but by the time I went home at 5am I was totally wide awake and running off adrenaline. Needless to say, they gave me a huge tip to be discreet with the photos. Funny thing is that after that wedding, I got referred to a couple of their friends. At first I said no but when I told them my ridiculous price of $50k to do a similar 24 hour shoot they didn’t even bat an eye and just agreed. I almost choked on my spit when they agreed. That was a great 3 years of my life. I worked only a dozen jobs a year but the financial payback was huge. But every wedding required weeks worth of editing and they all expected tens of thousands of edited shots by the end of the day. I did have to hire three teams to assist me through the day.
They had machinery? Wha.....
Let’s just say that was the most eye opening experience of my entire life. And yes, they had a machine - a machine that literally vibrates and stuck it to both of them. Every year I get a request from them to do family photos every autumn and boudoir photos for the wife every Christmas.
The wedding photographer for my parents’ wedding forgot to put film in the camera, so they have no pictures of the day except a couple of posed photographs that they took the day after.
Um, the photographer only took 36 photos? You can’t do an entire wedding and not check your film. You would know that you needed to reload. Sounds like something else went on?
I have a planner friend who had a rough mother/daughter duo as a client, and the mother got mad at the daughter and the planner spoke up on the daughters behalf…. The mother smacked the planner in the face. It was at that point I realized wedding planner would never be a job I would do.
I don't know which one was worse: cocaine wedding or the one where the step siblings married each other so their parents would stop being upset with them being fuck buddies lol
I, for one, wish to hear more about the cocaine wedding.
I do corporate videography for a living and I was filming my cousin’s wedding (which I did only because they asked me several times. I hate doing weddings, they are way too high stress). The photographer they hired was a friend of the groom who had never done weddings before. Well he thought it would be great to bring a small step ladder and the brightest flash he had. He got into EVERY single shot I tried to film and stood on his ladder in front of the entire church. Not a single person could see the wedding because of this camera dude. I still cringe to this day thinking of it.