Bride Who Issued Five-Page Checklist to Wedding Photographer Goes Viral After Withholding Payment
Add this to the long list of things not to do while wedding planning. One bride was recently shut down on Facebook after she shared what she believed was a helpful tip for her fellow to-be-weds. What happened instead was that the bride’s proposed tip revealed a rather unreasonable demand of bridezilla proportions.
“So I’ve been listening to a lot of people who’ve already had their weddings,” she wrote in a since-deleted Facebook that was screen-grabbed by The Irish Sun. “And they said one of their biggest mistakes was not telling the photographer all the shots they wanted. So I’m going to use the next five pages to write down each shot detailed in the form of a checklist to give to the photographer. He cannot get his final payment until they’ve all been taken.”
In photos of the handwritten list, which were published alongside her post, itemized shots can be seen to include a long list of names coupled with either the bride or the groom, or both, so that every possible combination of guests and bridal party is laid out in excruciating detail.
The bride noted that she would be creating a similar list for her videographer.
“This is a one time thing and I want to make sure I have every picture and video shot I wanted,” she continued. “Hope this helps someone who may have passed this up in their planning process.”
Rather than the praise and gratitude that she likely expected, however, the bride was instead flooded with comments from other brides, wedding photographers, and former wedding photographers, most of whom condemned her suggestion.
“I’m a wedding photographer and that’s not how it works,” one user wrote. “I would walk out of there. We take ‘requested photos’ list but sometimes a shot just doesn’t happen the way someone envisions it. This is why I have a contract, which says ‘I will do my best to take all the requested shots, but I am not responsible for missed shots’ and also that my money is due before the wedding.”
Added another commenter: “Just let the professionals do their job and don’t hire people you don’t trust.”
Other users expressed sympathy for the bride wanting to make sure her big day was fully captured, but noted that she was not going about it in a kind or ethical way.
“I’m all for making a list for the photographer to have so they can make sure to get all the shots you want,” one commenter wrote. “Wedding days are crazy and you don’t always think about things that are still super important. But threatening not to pay them? Nope, no professional is going to accept that. There’s a reason they require payment in full before the actual wedding.”
Check out The Knot’s suggested shot list here and more tips on working together with your wedding photographer.
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