Sorry, this might be a long one because I think some back story is necessary. My sister's best friend -- we'll call her K-- is a pro photographer. I used to model. A few years ago she had a huge project and asked me to model, for free, and as payment she'd make sure I got all of the photographs to put them in my portfolio. It was a brutal 14-hour day and it was not fun, but I stuck it out and did my best as a favor to K. I never got one single photo from her. For over a year I would message her, text her, etc and just ask if she had any ready to send yet. Never got a single one. I finally gave up and I was beyond annoyed.
Fast-forward to this year when I got engaged, and my sister insisted that I hire K to do my wedding photos. I brought up the modelling incident and said I don't want to risk never receiving my wedding photos. My sister nagged me to no end and insisted that K is a big important professional now and we'll have a contract etc etc so there's no way she'll screw it up. My sister is a really pushy bitch and I'm a total chicken, so I gave in, even though my gut was telling me this was a bad idea.
K agreed to do the wedding photos at a discount, essentially as a favor to my sister. We signed the contract and I gave her the $1,000 deposit she required. A few months later my sister and I got in a huge nasty fight like we've never had before (long long story) and we don't speak anymore. She was supposed to be my MOH (I have no idea why I chose her, since she's always treated me like garbage. Yes, I'm an idiot and made a poor choice) but now I doubt she'll even bother to show up to the wedding (and side note here, I did not "demote" her or kick her out of the wedding party, but it seems she wants nothing to do with it).
A few days ago I e-mailed K a really simple question (how much time should we set aside for photos if we want to include a first look?) and she hasn't responded. I know for a fact she's constantly on her computer/phone. She posts on social media about 50 times per day, and usually e-mails me right back. But I haven't talked to her since my sister and I had that huge blow-up, and maybe she's decided to choose sides.
Since my wedding photos were K's favor to my SISTER, and my sister won't speak to me anymore, maybe K doesn't even want to do my photos anymore.
Part of me is in a panic now, and I wish I had just listened to my gut in the first place, so now I want to bail on her. Yes, I risk losing the deposit which sucks and it might really piss off K, but my wedding photos are not something I want to risk. I really regret hiring her. And yes, we have a contract, but if she "fails to perform," the best I can do is sue for my money back, which will not replace the photos, and I would be devastated.
Am I over-reacting? Will she be professional and just do the photos as we agreed, regardless of my issues with my sister (her best friend)? Or should I finally listen to my instincts and hire someone else? The wedding is about 7 months away so there's still time to find a different photographer. This is really stressing me out. Any advice would be much appreciated.
*edited because TK ate my paragraphs
* the update is posted in the thread since this part is already so insanely long!