DO NOT HIRE Maggie Mudd Photography

buttonedupbride

Hey DC brides,

Just wanted to send our the warning not to hire Maggie Mudd for any photography needs.  She took engagement pictures for a client of mine (I am a wedding planner in Chicago, also currently planning my own wedding) who lives in DC but got married in Chicago.  They took them in May, she  still hasn't recevied them.  We've both called and emailed her, starting in July, over 50 times and got no response.  I finally got her to answer the phone when I called her from my fiancee's cell phone number (an east coast area code) and she told me that the back up was due to a medical issue.  I believed her, she promised their pictures would be in the mail the following week.  They still haven't gotten anything and it's been almost three weeks now.  My client (the bride) was found by another one of Maggie's clients through Facebook with the same problem.  Apparently any one who used her this summer hasn't heard a peep from her since (even though she is updating her FB page like everything is hunky-dorey) and this particulare birde had to find a new photographer for her wedding coming up because she didn't trust that Maggie would show.  All of these brides paid deposits or paid in full and have requested their money back but received nothing. Some have gotten their lawyers involved, written to the Bettter Business Buearu, etc.  It's insane. Any post an angry client puts on FB is taken down immediately. 

As a small business owner (and a bride) I can't imagaine having to deal with this for my engagement or wedding photos.  I've spent hours try to help my client the photos and/or her money back. I just wanted to post something because there isn't much you can find out about her on the web---no wedding wire reviews, or yelp reviews,  just a FB page that would lead you to believe all of her clients are SO happy with her work. 

So while you are likely sick of wedding-land after your wedding, I'd encourage you to eventually review your vendors honestly and fairly.  If you were over-the-moon happy, let the world know.  It's a huge help to small businesses, especially.  If you are seething mad and can't think about your wedding day without wanting to punch a particular vendor in the face, post it and save another bride that misery.  Weddings are expensive and hiring up-and-coming professionals is a great way to save money but can also be nerve-racking. Worrying about whether your photog. is going to show up or not shouldn't be something you have to think about in the days leading up to your wedding.

Thanks ladies.

foreveryoungbride2011

that is just ridiculous. Thanks for sharing. 

sapienzanicole

I wanted to second the above poster!

We hired Maggie (and longtime friend) to photograph our wedding and engagement pictures. She was very responsive and very helpful in the beginning, however, once the engagement shoot was over, things turned south. It took approx. 10 weeks to receive the engagement pictures back (we were fine with the amount of time that it took to receive the photos), but there were several missing. After several e-mails back and forth, we got some of the missing photos that we were looking for. We had signed a contract and put down 1/3 of the total as a deposit. Several months passed, and we were unable to get a hold of Maggie to discuss wedding details and the possibility of extending our contracted time. Her voice mail box was and remains full, and she was not responding to any text messages, e-mails, facebook messages, or phone calls. In my search for another photographer, was told that Maggie had shut down her business to start a family. One final e-mail to Maggie, asking for a partial refund and her response was "I'm sorry that things have ended this way".

It seems that some brides have been happy with her work and her responsiveness, but it's upsetting that we have been forced to hire another photographer to ensure that our wedding day will be documented properly.