A bride has been slammed as “unbelievable” after asking her photographer to commit fraud to cut her wedding costs.
The young woman, who is dedicated to organizing events, panicked when she realized that her budget was no longer enough to pay the photographer’s fees.
Australian couples spend on average between $33,000 and $53,000 on weddings, with a photographer typically taking up $3,200 of that budget.
The bride sent an email to the professional suggesting that she hire him to work on events for her company and charge him extra to compensate for her wedding.
“We are so excited to have you as our wedding photographer. It’s hard to believe we’re only a few months away,” she wrote.
‘I wasn’t sure how to approach this with you, but the budget has been expanding rapidly as we’ve gone through this process. I’m sure that happens with a lot of weddings and you’ve faced that many times.
‘I was wondering if we could work out a deal. I work in the events department at (a company) and I was wondering if I could hire you to photograph some events there, and you could charge them extra, and whatever extra you charge could be deducted from our remaining balance.
What do you think? Do you have any other ideas?
The bride sent an email to the professional suggesting that she hire him to work on events for her company and charge him extra to compensate for her wedding.
The shocking email labelled the “unhinged” girlfriend “tasteless” and “criminal,” with some urging the photographer to report the girlfriend to his workplace.
“Is this person also telling this to the florist, caterer or any other vendor?” one asked.
“Stop waiting to negotiate with creatives like photographers. If you can’t afford a professional photographer, ask a family member or friend to take some photos for you. That’s in very bad taste.”
Many could not believe that the bride would go to such extremes.
One woman suggested: ‘Just write: ‘I respectfully decline because I don’t want to go to jail.’
“That’s one way to lose a job,” wrote one. “I work in events and I can’t imagine someone who works in events doing something like that.”
A second said: “How can he apologize? I thought he was going to ask for an extension or payment plan, not fraud!”
“Why would someone sacrifice their integrity to give you a better rate?” one woman asked.
“Sometimes I wonder if people are ridiculously stupid or really that privileged,” said one.