'Photographer from hell' spent more time taking snaps of herself, ruined couple's wedding day
A UK couple say their wedding day was "ruined" by an amateur photographer who arrived late and spent more time taking pictures of herself at the reception's photo booth than of the couple.
Paul and Chareen Wheatley took the student “photographer from hell” to court to claim back the $926 they paid to capture moments on their special day.
Chloe Johnston, 20, advertised herself as a professional photographer on Facebook claiming she has a "passion" for the industry.
"She pretty much ruined our wedding day by not taking nice pictures for us to remember it by - she was a photographer from hell," Mr Wheatley said.
The 42-year-old groom didn't think Ms Johnston would even show after they weren't able to get in touch with her until 10pm the night before their wedding in September last year.
Ms Johnston arrived 45 minutes late to the wedding in Leeds with just a Nikon DSLR in hand and was too busy taking pictures of herself posing with a moustache prop at the photo booth the couple hired for guests, Mirror UK reports.
The fake photographer was paid for nine hours work but the couple received only 15 photographs from the evening of their wedding reception.
The couple claim Ms Johnston made the bride clamber through muddy puddles for a photoshoot in the woods that left her dress filthy.
Mr Wheatley has mobility issues and wasn't able to join his wife in the mud, so he was forced to watch her take romantic shots with her bridesmaids instead.
"On my wedding day I was walking with a slight limp due to my knee placement, Chloe was aware of it but asked us both to go for a long walk in the muddy woods which I couldn't do," Mr Wheatley said adding this cost the couple a further $370 in dry cleaning bills.
In December the couple won their appeal for a refund through the Leeds County Court but Ms Johnston caused more headache and refused to pay them back.
The Wheatleys were forced to hire a bailiff to track down the student and just two weeks ago they received about $900.
"Chloe told us she was professional and was an up and coming photographer trying to make a name for herself, we took her at face value and were too trustworthy," Mr Wheatley said.
“The photos aren’t a true reflection of our day and we can’t replace that, we can’t redo the photos.
"They are awful, most of them aren't taken properly with some people partly cut out, the quality of the images were rubbish too."
Ms Johnston insists she did a good job and only went into the photo booth because "there was nothing going on".
“I showcased the day through their eyes on the wedding day itself,” she told Caters.
“I did everything I could have and more."
Ms Johnston believes she is the victim and said that if the couple wanted a professional photographer - who uses lighting - they should have paid for one and not a student.
"He will do anything to drag my name through the mud, when all I tried to do was help with him and his wife with whatever problem they had," she said.
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