Everything you need for a California wedding
in Weddings ·
hollowpilot58 said:batelant says:
back in 2012.
It’s all a scam. I remember when they were shooting this whole thing—they were supposedly photographing some prince from Saudi Arabia at some fancy hacienda in Spain or whatever. Just pure smoke and mirrors...
And then, just a few days before, we found out the guy was a total fraud a married couple was actually dealing with. They had already paid him a deposit to shoot that obnoxious prince on short notice after being offered the gig. We only heard about it from a guy who plays in the band at their parties... because the couple called him to ask for help finding a photographer since the original guy screwed them over at the last second... as if he was actually going to find them a decent replacement after they'd already handed him a massive deposit...
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Yeah, true. A friend of mine went through this; he’s losing his mind over it. He reached out to the guys in the band to see if they could recommend someone, even though he’d paid the deposit a full year in advance. It really makes you wonder what the hell a deposit is actually for if not to secure a pro.
To make matters worse, this so-called "photographer" suggested he could come by a week before (or after, I can't quite recall) to do a little preliminary shoot.😂
Completely unprofessional.
I’ve been reading through this thread and I honestly don't get it—why is this guy so highly regarded?
I’m not trying to turn this into a pitch—though most of you probably already know what I do—but I handle legal escort services for high-stakes events, and the whole concept of a "capata" has always been a bit of a mystery to me...
When a couple puts down a deposit, it’s really just a guarantee for the service provider that they’ll actually show up on the big day... then the couple changes their mind, and suddenly the vendor walks away with an extra $300 in their pocket. Just how it goes...
So, when a "service provider" changes their mind, what’s the deal—just an old case file? Honestly, if they want to be serious about these agreements, they should be handing newlyweds, say, $250 upfront just to guarantee everyone shows up to collect their money...
I know it’s practically hardwired into our mentality—and honestly, we’re the ones to blame here. It isn't just about hiring a bad contractor... it's everything. Whether it's some guy fixing a sink or someone redesigning an entire apartment, we tend to treat these "masters" like they're infallible messengers from God. We circle around them, nodding along to every word, giving them total control over every decision, every cent... it's exhausting to watch.
Instead of being the one calling the shots because he holds the purse strings, he ends up looking like a total pushover to the guy actually doing the work...
We churned out about a hundred servings of mashed potatoes—and I probably had to deal with someone asking for capers four or five times because the newlyweds kept insisting on them. It’s easier that way... keeps them calm once they finally get it out of their system. Makes sense, I guess.
Out of those hundred or so, I only had one postponement where I actually thought, "Yeah, why not?"—though I don't really see it that way. I didn't have any calls scheduled for that day, so it’s not like I turned anyone down just to go out...
In my experience—if there’s no mutual trust and a bit of actual humanity baked into the deal—it doesn't matter what you do... you aren't going to find any success.
In about 90% of cases, those deposits are just being grabbed by people trying to fake a reputation—trying to act like they’re big-shot photographers, musicians, or whatever... or it’s that classic setup:
Are you free then, and then too?
Ugh, I need to check when I get home—I know I have a ton of mashed potatoes stashed somewhere, but my head is all over the place...
And there are two more birthdays coming up next year—honestly, I'd be happy if someone actually remembered to call...🙂🙂