Carte Blanche Feature
Dear brides,
I am sure many of you watched Carte Blanche Expose on Sunday night about the Wedding Photographer.
I am a wedding planner, and one of my clients hired Melanie to photograph and take videos of the wedding last year September. Melanie had an amazing package and a great presence at the meeting, and her references checked out. She failed to come to the wedding, and sent in another photographer and videographer (who seemed very nice and professional). This is unacceptable on so many levels. No couple wishes to have any strangers at their wedding. You simply cannot ask anyone to put their minds at ease and trust a stranger to take photographers of their special day. All in all, the bride was satisfied with her photographs, but it took her a very long time to get them from Melanie.
Melanie not only let down the couple, but she also compromised my business credibility and integrity. She put the other two photographers into most uncomfortable position and in the end failed to deliver services she was hired to do.
I would like to put current brides’ mind at peace – not everyone in the wedding industry are out there to rip people off. There are hundreds of amazing professionals who take great pride in their area of expertise. We work hard, and strive for exceptional levels of service.
When you check out references, past brides are not necessarily the best indicators. You may be talking to friend, or a relative posing as a bride. Moreover, from our side, we cannot ask past brides to keep on giving us references (image a few months down the line you getting phone calls and emails asking for your opinion on the service providers).
There are other ways. You can follow a service provider’s blog. Blogs are free, and allow professionals to show case their work, expertise and creative flair. This is especially true of the photographers. Most have a blog which is updated after each weekend.
You can ask your venue for the references on the companies which you are considering hiring for your wedding. Most often, it is the professionals in the industry that can give an accurate reference.
Perhaps even google the name of the company, or the directors, and see what the search engine reveals about them? You can check out Hellopeter to see if there was a complaint lodged agains a company in the past.
AND, trust your gut feeling. If the package seems to be too good to be true, then it probably is. If the provider does not insist on signing of the contract, your should be alarmed.
Honestly, there is a good reason why great photographers (or any other providers) charge certain rates – and that reason is based on providing a client with highest quality product and/or service. This is not to say you must spend exuberant amount of money on someone who has the highest price tag, but rather understand why they are charging certain rates and ask them if they are open to negotiation.
Good luck ladies :)
I don’t know how any photographer in his or her right mind can send someone else to photograph a couple’s wedding day. It is such an honor to be asked to do it in the first place.
~ Yvette de Beer, Innovate Photo
That really is disgusting! If it was one person complaining, then fair enough, but this photographer is clearly a really bad one and to think she sold her business so that other people could deal with her incompetence!!!
Our photographer was an absolute professional, in fact in his contract he signed that he would be there in person, taking the photos! So make sure you get that in writing. Plus we only paid him a 1500 deposit, and the balance of 10 000 was settled only when we got our photos.
I think this photographer and others like her have really made it hard for good photographers who are starting out to be taken seriously, but honestly, after this can you blame people for only wanting to use a photographer that they know?
Reading something like this, makes me wish there is some kind of council or board that all service providers have to answer to. Imagine some kind of accreditation that you have to earn, and this accreditation then shows a bride that a service provider is legitimate or not, but that would be in an ideal world . . .
Hi Yolandi,
There is something that is being set up currently, it is called SABIA. It is new (launched in February this year), and this is only the beginning. However,as a wedding professional I am terribly excited. The costs involved of being accredited with them is slightly high and I have postponed my listing until the recession lifts ;)
However, this does not prevent the bride from nominating my services (I received a nomination a few months ago even though I am not a member).
There is also a Marriage Meander Association, which is now also launching in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
I agree with you, wedding planning should not be some lucky draw. The people you select for your wedding should take pride in their work. I think it is a disgrace when some sees a wedding as some quick buck – shocking and disgusting! Most of us consider it a true privilege to be involved in someone’s special day.