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Brides Beware of Bella Pictures

If my husband and I had our wedding day to do over the ONLY thing we would change would be the photography.  They were very helpful when it came time to take my deposit, after that I it was very difficulty to get any answers from the company.  Leading up to the time of our wedding I always had to make contacts with my coordinator and had to wait several days for a reply, typically via email.  I never received a phone call in response.  Worse than the service was our photographer.  I honestly believe it was his first day as a photographer.  He had over 2 hours to complete portraits and I still did not get half the pictures I wanted and I only had a wedding party of 6, including myself and my husband.  The photographer had absolutely no innovative ideas and asked several times what exactly was I looking for, I eventually told him a photographer who knew how to do the job he was hired for and I did not see him again until after the ceremony, which there are only pictures of our backs for the ceremony.  He missed critical parts of the ceremony as well as the reception.  After waiting over a month for pictures to be posted online, I was even more disappointed to discover that the photographer could not frame a shot.  Every single shot was off center with exit signs, trash cans and bystanders in the background. Creating the album was a hassle as well and again when I attempted to reach my consultant I never received a phone call in return to address my concerns.  Now I have FINALLY received our album we are completely disappointed.  Overall, we are completely disappointed with the entire experience.  This is a really abridged version of the events, but I hope is that couples in the future will at least know how disappointed we are.

Re: Brides Beware of Bella Pictures

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    edited December 2011
    I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience. Thank you for posting, this will be considered!
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    edaneeedanee member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi!I used Bella Pictures as well and my photographer missed pictures of the ceremony as well. He only took pictures of our backs. I can not believe this company is getting away with the unprofessional photographers they send.Who was your photographer?
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    alliecarrie41alliecarrie41 member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    bella gets awful reviews.. i am really suprised the knot still lets them run ads here. 
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    edited December 2011
    i am so sorry about everything that happened!  i was briefly considering bella, but i found another photographer who i adored instead.  have you asked any of your friends and family if they have any of their own pictures?  so many people bring their own cameras to weddings.  these might not look "professional" but at least you might get some shots of the important moments.
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    edited December 2011
    I would like to introduce myself, as I am new to posting, but certainly not new to wedded life, and I simply had to write a response to this concern because I think that this is a potential mistake that many couples can make...

    Did your Church have any restrictions that would not allow the photographer to get any shots at different angles other than your 'backs'?

    You may want to consider that some parishes do place flash and movement restrictions on photographers, and whereas they try to find the best location, they cannot always get the ideal shots if they are restricted from moving during the ceremony.

    I know during my sister-in-law's wedding, the photographers (non-Bella) were flash-restricted and were forced into the last row behind the guests, per the Officiant's orders - not much you can do in that situation!  All of my sister-in-law's photos during the ceremony were from the one head-on angle in the back of the church, and there was nothing she could do about it, nor the photographers!

    Honestly, this is a scenario that ANY photographer would encounter, not just Bella...

    I think the lesson to be learned here is that couples need to be aware of possible restrictions and communicate those to their photographer so that there is no disappointment in the take.  Anyone would be disappointed with only one 'cookie cutter' angle at the ceremony, but if you were not prepared and/or did not brief the photographer ahead of time, then quite possibly you may need to share in the responsibility.

    I think we may be a little hasty in the judgment of blame, but of course, as a past bride, this is an extremely difficult thing to have happen, and I certainly feel your pain!

    Has Bella attempted to resolve this issue with you at all?

    Good luck to you!
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    edited December 2011
    I think her gripe was more than just that there were only pictures of her back during the ceremony.  She was disappointed with:
    a) lack of communicating during planning
    b) lack of imagination of her photographer
    c) poor time management of her photographer that resulted in fewer pictures taken than she wanted
    d) missing critical moments
    e) poor framing of shots
    f) difficulty with communication during the album process

     And this post was months old, why bring it up again?
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