Wedding photos rank among the most prized possessions of many a married couple, to be pored over with friends and loved ones for years to come.
According to NewsWeek, one photographer got a surprising reaction online after detailing how she did the unthinkable and deleted a newlywed couple’s photos from their big day.
In a post published on Reddit’s “Am I The A**hole” forum, the photographer explained that she took the decision after being denied a 20 minute break “to get something to eat and drink.”
In the post, which has garnered 17,000 upvotes and 2,200 comments, the photographer writing under the username Icy-Reserve6995 explained that she had been working for six hours straight when she made the request.
She said they had only agreed to take photos as a favor to the bride and groom, who are—or at least were—friends of hers and had recruited her in a bid to save money.
“I’m not really a photographer, I’m a dog groomer,” she explained (which might explain a lot). “I take lots of photos of dogs all day to put on my Facebook and Instagram, it’s “my thing” if that makes sense.”
She agreed to shoot the wedding for a flat $250 fee which they note “is nothing for a 10 hour event.”
On the day, she was tasked with “driving around following the bride as she goes from appointment to appointment before the ceremony, taking photos along the way.”
She also shot snaps throughout the ceremony, reception and during the speeches. At around 5 p.m. food was being served and, having been on their feet since 11 a.m., the photographer was looking forward to a well-earned break.
Unfortunately, the bride and groom had other ideas. “I was told I cannot stop to eat because I need to be a photographer; in fact, they didn’t save me a spot at any table,” she said.
Despite originally RSVPing as a guest, after agreeing to serve as photographer, she was dismayed to find her space at one of the tables had been given away. Instead, she was asked to mind the couple’s young child while they enjoyed the meal.
At this point, they admit they were “getting tired” and also “regretting doing this for next to nothing” noting that the venue was “unbelievably hot.”
“I told the groom I need to take off for 20min to get something to eat and drink,” they said. “He tells me I need to either be a photographer, or leave without pay.”
That proved to be the tipping point.
“With the heat, being hungry, being generally annoyed at the circumstances, I asked if he was sure, and he said yes, so I deleted all the photos I took in front of him and took off saying I’m not his photographer anymore.”
The photographer says that they have not spoken to the couple since as they went on honeymoon straight after their wedding, but people have started to ask about the photos from the big day.
In spite of the severity of her response, the photographer found herself inundated with messages of support on Reddit, where keyboard warriors, especially under the cloak of anonymity, were quick to condemn the newlyweds’ behavior.
One user, mon0chrom, said she had no reason to feel bad writing: “You could have risked your health and they treated you like s***.” Tanooki07 was stunned that they expected her to “work for 8.5 hours without food, with little water and no break….How did they think this would go?”
JuryNo7670 noted that their photographer was treated like a “paid guest” at their wedding saying it “helped make it a better celebration and helped with making it more fun which only enhanced the pics.”
HighPriestoftheBog said “it seems like common sense to also feed the photographer.”
“If they’re going to be there all day then they absolutely should be fed. Plus it just seems like the polite thing to do.” Greenlupin, meanwhile, surmised: “if your friend couldn’t have the manners to let have a simple break he can live with his f*** up.”
Despite garnering widespread support for her actions, the photographer did express some regret at deleting the pictures.
“In retrospect, I wasn’t thinking straight because now I’ve nothing to show for my wasted time,” Icy-Reserve6995 wrote in a follow-up post. “I just had to get out of there and make a point before I did.”
The story is just the latest example of how, when it comes to wedding days where emotions run high, things can and often do go wrong, much to the delight of people on social media.
In another recent example, a bridesmaid took the decision to quit her future sister-in-law’s wedding after she made a disparaging remark during a family lunch just a day before she was due to walk down the aisle.
Even more recently, an angry bride incurred the wrath of the internet after hitting out at her prospective guests for refusing to pay $3,000 to attend their wedding in Thailand.
- Excerpts courtesy NewsWeek
