Frustrated brides have revealed their wedding day joy has been “ruined” in some ways after they desperately tried to retrieve video footage taken by a company they hired.
A group of 50 Sydney brides have come together after discovering they were all Chasing photos or videos A few months after their marriage.
Some brides have also expressed disappointment that important moments from their wedding weren't captured, or that the photos that were provided had people's eyes closed or what they believed were weirdly edited.
Erin Valentine married Andrew in May of this year.
They booked an award-winning company called Andres & Company to capture their special day.
The couple paid the company around $4,500 in cash for the photos and video and were confident it was something they wouldn’t have to worry about on their big day.
“We got engaged in June last year and have been saving every penny for our wedding but we're still feeling the pinch,” Erin told news.com.au.
On her wedding day she was surprised to see that there was a videographer and photographer present, whom she had never met before, even though she was engaged to Andres & Co.
Erin said she was extremely disappointed that the important moments of her wedding couldn't be captured.
“Before that, there's a video of my husband asking his nanny to walk him down the aisle, which actually went viral on TikTok with 1.5 million views. That was very important to Andrew and I, we made it very clear that we couldn't miss this moment because it's so important,” she said.
“But when it actually happens you can see the photographer running away and we don't have any professional footage or photos, so it's really sad.”
“I don't have any photos of me and my mom together and she paid for the dress. I understand some things get left out but I don't have any photos of me, my mom and my dad.
“You're so overwhelmed on the day that you pay a professional to make sure the important moments are captured, so when I look back it's sad that didn't happen. These were moments that were non-negotiable.”
However, she doesn’t blame the photographer and videographer who were there on the day, as she says she wasn’t given any information despite spending hours filling out forms and picking out inspiration from Pinterest.
Erin revealed that she had to chase Andres & Co. for weeks to get her photos and that the photographer even contacted her claiming he hadn't been paid for his services.
“She said (the company) had forgotten about me and I found out she and the videographer had been booked on Gumtree the day before the wedding,” he said.
“So when I talked to (the company) about this, they assured me they vetted replacements carefully, but they took away my opportunity to communicate what I wanted.”
The video was promised to be delivered 14 weeks after the wedding, but it's now five months and she hasn't received it. She said the company has ignored her.
“Emails are not being returned, calls are being rejected and any attempt to contact (the company) is unsuccessful. Now I have to spend more money to get access to my videos,” he said.
The service manager said the videographer, who also claimed he has not been paid by Andres & Co., offered to edit and supply the video for $1,000.
Meanwhile, the photographer also provided raw photos from the wedding day and Erin said she was surprised to see these “beautiful” pictures did not include photos of the key people in her life.
The 31-year-old said the “fight” to get back what she paid for has taken a huge toll on her, describing the situation as “absolutely horrific”.
“This whole ordeal has taken away the joy of my wedding, a day for which my husband invested his life savings and I spent every moment of the last 10 months preparing for,” she said.
“I think I got framed at our pre wedding shoot.”
Chrislyn D'Costa is another Sydney bride who felt frustrated by her experience with Andres & Co. The couple paid $6000 for their wedding package and got married in October 2023.
He received his photos in December 2023.
“They were beautiful, but some of the photos were not usable. People's eyes were closed and the lighting was off. I expected better screening and service,” he told news.com.au.
“There weren’t any other photos of me and my parents and those were really meaningful, but I had no choice.”
The marketing professional said he sent back about 12 photos and asked for alternatives.
When he received the video, he said the edits had made it factually incorrect, and asked for it to be amended.
The 31-year-old woman said she had to threaten to approach the relevant government authorities in June to get the photos back, but she has still not received the videos.
“I was sending emails (to the company) begging them not to worry about the modifications, please give me the video file, activate the link, I just want the video and I don't have any footage,” she said.
“Emails are being bounced back, mobile phone notifications have gone off, when calls are made they go straight to voicemail and Facebook messages sent to the business go unanswered. It feels like the company has gone completely underground.”
Now he has lodged a complaint with NSW Fair Trading, Erin has also made the same complaint.
“I cried on the phone to Fair Trading two days ago which was a bit embarrassing. We were just heartbroken. My husband and I paid for our own wedding and that's not common amongst our friends and it's a huge financial stake in the cost of living and the one-time cost of your wedding,” she said.
“We are looking at paying more money to edit the raw footage. We want to start a family and to lose such a large sum of money in this economy and get nothing in return is a blow. It's devastating.”
NSW Fair Trading confirmed that it had received 44 complaints against Andress & Co since October 2023.
Anne Hearn and her husband, Brad, paid $4000 for the photograph and video package.
They almost pulled out of Andres & Co. to shoot their wedding, as they found it difficult to contact the company before their wedding day.
They got married in March this year and while they received their wedding photos, they are still waiting for their video, almost six months later.
“When we follow up, we are told the work will be done soon, they just need a few more weeks, and now our emails are being bounced and phone calls are not being answered,” he said.
The public servant found a videographer the same day who offered to edit his video footage for $1,000.
“We think it's fair because he hasn't been paid either, but we don't have a money tree,” he said.
“We paid for something we didn't get and now we need to pay again, or else we'll lose those memories. We'll pay, but that means we'll have to live without other things because we didn't budget to pay twice.”
She said she was also not happy with the photos, with some of the edited photos being blurry and some of the photos taken awkwardly, with multiple couples and their bridal party in the same location.
He added that the wedding ceremony was “unplugged,” so guests also did not have any other photos to take.
The 47-year-old said the stalking experience left her “feeling sick” and stressed.
Lauren Newcomb and her fiancé are trying to recover the money taken from them.
She said Andres and company never came to their pre-wedding engagement shoot in August.
He had paid 50 per cent deposit for the wedding and engagement shoot package.
He said the couple has issued a demand letter for $2,754 but have yet to receive a response.
“Unfortunately, though, my story is one of the better ones,” he added.
“At least now I have the chance to change my mind and book someone else before my wedding. It's extremely frustrating to lose money for no reason and with no explanation.”
NSW Fair Trading said issues raised by consumers included paying for photography and video services for their wedding, but after paying, the business does not respond.
“Others say the company attended their wedding but did not supply all the product they paid for,” the spokesperson said.
“NSW Fair Trading has attempted to contact the business to resolve these issues, but the business has not responded. As a result, NSW Fair Trading is currently investigating Andress & Co. As the matter is still ongoing, no further comment can be made.”
Andress & Co. said on its website that it was a 2023 Wedding Industry Awards Top 10 and a 2024 Wedding Industry finalist.
News.com.au has contacted the company for comment.
