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11-03-2011, 03:34 AM   #1
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It was bound to happen - Groom sues photog for a new wedding

One of the dangers of wedding photography, and one of the main reasons I don't do it unless someone has a gun to my back, is that it's a one time event unlike any other one time event. Well, that's the idea anyway. And every good wedding photographer knows this so bends over backwards to make sure they don't miss anything. Naturally, they cant shoot EVERYTHING, but they always get the important traditional bits. That too, is the idea. Miss the dance and the bouquet toss though and you've really screwed up. And thats exactly what one groom recently sued his photographer for. He's asking for the money he paid. Breaking new ground however, he is also asking the studio to pay upwards of $48,000 to re-stage the wedding for another photographer to shoot.

NYT: Groom sues photographer for new wedding - US news - Life - msnbc.com

The kicker... the couple were divorced last year... Of course, this shouldn't matter as far as the photography fee, and possibly some emotional damages... but re-staging a wedding with an EX wife is a bit over the top dontcha think?

Mike

11-03-2011, 03:45 AM   #2
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I don't know whether to laugh or shake my head. I really hope that the judge just gets the photog to reimburse what he was paid (if it is true that he failed his professional duties), but I think that for every dollar on top of that, which the groom is sueing for, the groom should have to do a lap of the block which the courthouse is on. Maybe not in one shot, but at least by the end of the year.

I very much dislike this "get-rich-quick" mentality people have about the legal system (at least in America and in Australia). Sadly it takes lawyers to change the rules and lawyers are the ones getting the benefit from people being stupidly litigious.... see the problem?
11-03-2011, 04:43 AM - 1 Like   #3
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Stories like that one make me want to move out to the middle of Montana somewhere and totally avoid humankind.
11-03-2011, 06:14 AM   #4
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Think I'll be steering clear of weddings my own self now.

11-03-2011, 06:51 AM   #5
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this is so huge that the groom is short of money and want it back !

Ok, the photog didn't do his job well apparently, however.

I'd really want to know how all this will end.
11-03-2011, 07:22 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by MRRiley Quote
re-staging a wedding with an EX wife
Ghastly thought!
11-03-2011, 08:05 AM   #7
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Professional photogs should use a contract which limits their liability for non-performance. I'm not even sure missing a specific shot or two is non-performance.

11-03-2011, 08:13 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by MRRiley Quote
The kicker... the couple were divorced last year...
Naturally.
11-03-2011, 08:14 AM   #9
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I have only shot weddings for friends and then it need my arm twisted.
this is over the top though
if the judge awards him any more than the fees involved she's just contributing to the problem.
I know weddings get expensive , but i can't see the appeal myself (i'd rather use the cash for a house down payment and have a small alternative wedding none of the over the top stuff
ours was small at city hall with immediate family and a couple of friends with a very nice dinner in a private dining room, then we threw a big party when we returned from our honeymoon for our friends. managed to pay the whole shot out of my pocket. Photos were done by w fellow tog who had been shooting pro for a couple of years as a wedding present
shots at the party were all by me with a polaroid and are way more fun than what i usually see
11-03-2011, 08:21 AM   #10
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The photographer should counter sue for breach of contract. Somewhere in the vows they say something about "till death do us part".
Obviously the bride and groom haven't kept up their part of that agreement and have rendered any images that the photographer did that day essentially useless.
11-03-2011, 09:16 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by SpecialK Quote
Professional photogs should use a contract which limits their liability for non-performance. I'm not even sure missing a specific shot or two is non-performance.
There are shots and there are SHOTS. The bride hugging her grandmother-in-law is a shot that you can miss. Afterall, no one photographer can follow both the bride and the groom around 100% of the time. You can miss aunt Bertha chatting with the wee little ring bearer, etc, etc. The B&G dancing and her throwing the bouquet on the other hand, are SHOTS that you DO NOT MISS! And frankly there is no reason, short of the photographer keeling over with a heart attack, to miss those shots... Period!!!

This ex-groom probably should get something back, but not necessarily all of it, unless he can prove the shots he did get sucked, or they didn't deliver the album or something significant like that. However, I agree the judge should laugh the "new wedding" out of court and possibly charge the guy for part of the studio's legal expenses for defending the frivolous part of this suit.

Mike
11-03-2011, 09:23 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by Wheatfield Quote
The photographer should counter sue for breach of contract. Somewhere in the vows they say something about "till death do us part".
Obviously the bride and groom haven't kept up their part of that agreement and have rendered any images that the photographer did that day essentially useless.
Bill, I assume you are making a comment on our litigious society since you and I both know that the photographer has no "standing" in that matter. However the bride and groom or, in this case the groom, does have "standing" to enforce the contract they had with the photographer.

Mike

Last edited by MRRiley; 11-03-2011 at 09:47 AM.
11-03-2011, 10:14 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by GibbyTheMole Quote
Stories like that one make me want to move out to the middle of Montana somewhere and totally avoid humankind.
Get some property big enough so I can come visit, preferably with a water source and some moose to shoot.
11-03-2011, 12:34 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by MRRiley Quote
Bill, I assume you are making a comment on our litigious society since you and I both know that the photographer has no "standing" in that matter. However the bride and groom or, in this case the groom, does have "standing" to enforce the contract they had with the photographer.

Mike
Tongue in cheek, for sure, but OTOH, there could be grounds for a class action suit on behalf of every guest who showed up and gave gifts to get their money back, since the bride and groom broke their contract (till death do us part).
As for missing the important shot, yes, the photographer is liable, but as long as he got most of the important shots, the damages to the B&G are mitigated by percentage.
What percentage of importance is the flower toss compared to the ring exchange or first kiss, for example? This is what the courts will need to decide when it hands out damages.
Also, what sort of boilerplate did the studio have in place in it's contract? When I was shooting weddings, I had a clause that released me from this sort of thing for several reasons, one of which was unforeseeable actions on the part of guests.
I wrote that one in after a particularly gruesome wedding where rather aggressive guests and family members seemed to go out of their way to mess up my pictures by jumping in front of me at key moments.
Personally, I don't think the guy has a leg to stand on, and in Canada, this case would likely already have been closed down by a judge.
11-03-2011, 02:16 PM   #15
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This is the reason why I would not want to shoot weddings. Even though the photographer didn't capture every possible moment, this lawsuit should be thrown out of court. I mean C'mon! This idiot is suing 6 years after the photos were taken. He's not even married to his wife anymore. Typical money hungry wall street thug!
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