For all the joy weddings bring, they also bring considerable stress and anxiety.
Namely over the price.
Indeed, the average wedding in the United States costs roughly $30,000.
As a result, brides and grooms tend to look for every possible corner they can cut and save a little money.
The cousin of Redditor Illios505 realized they could save some cash by hiring the original poster (OP) instead of a professional photographer.
While the OP was more than happy to agree, he grew increasingly frustrated after the wedding, first being met by radio silence from the bride and then told he would be paid considerably less than the agreed-upon price.
Having finally had enough, the OP felt there was only one thing to do.
Worried they may have gone too far, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for deleting my cousins precious wedding photos?”
The OP explained that when their cousin tried to lowball him for his work at the wedding, he felt drastic measures were called for.
“I (17 M[ale]) agreed to take wedding photos for my cousin Sarah’s (26 F[emale]) wedding.”
“She wanted me to take photos of her getting ready, our grandmother putting a family heirloom necklace on her, the first look, the wedding, the reception, etc.”
“There was also another photographer (a friend of the groom) who was taking photos of the groom and his side getting ready, and he was also taking photos at the wedding/reception.”
“Since I wasn’t a professional photographer by any means, I told her I would only charge $50 for the entire day.”
“And when I say entire day, I mean it.”
“From 8 am until 10 pm I was with her taking photos and basically being harassed by her, her bridesmaids, and my aunt.”
“She was a full-on bridezilla the entire time, not just to me but basically everyone, including her husband.”
“It was a long day, to say the least.”
“So after all of that, I went home, edited the photos, and copied them onto individual USB drives for people she might want to give them to.”
“I texted Sarah a couple of days later to let her know they were ready and that I would happily meet up with her to exchange them for the $50.”
Here’s where things went off the rails.
“She never responded.”
“For the next three weeks, I texted, called, got in touch with her mother (my aunt), and even stopped by her house to try and get the photos to her.”
“She evaded every single attempt.”
“6 months passed since the wedding, and I was at the movies with my other cousin (19 M[ale]), who was Sarah’s younger brother, and a couple of our friends.”
“He tells me, ‘By the way, Sarah was wondering when you were going to give her the photos.'”
“‘She said she would pay you the $10 if that’s the only reason you’re talking so long.'”
“I was livid.”
“First, it was $50.”
“Second, that was the deal from the start!”
“I told my cousin this and said to tell Sarah if she wanted them, she needed to contact me within 2 days so we could meet up with the payment, or I was going to delete them.”
“This might come as a shock considering the title of this, but she never contacted me.”
“The 2 days passed, and I deleted the photos and erased the USB drives.”
“Less than a week went by before my aunt called me in a fit because I ‘threatened’ my cousin into paying me when she ‘didn’t have the money.'”
“I told my aunt that she has had a little over 6 months to pull together $50 (which she knew was the agreed-upon amount), that she refused to respond to me no matter what I tried, and that it was too late now because the photos were gone.”
“My aunt, uncle, and a few other relatives have been refusing to talk to me or my parents because I deleted ‘precious photos that can never be taken again, all because of greed’ (literal quote).”
“My mom thinks I should apologize and am just being stubborn.”
“However, my older brother thinks I held onto the photos longer than I should have and that I should have deleted them after the first week of trying to get into contact with her and being dodged/ignored.”
“So, AITA for deleting my cousins wedding photos?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for deleting his cousin’s wedding photos.
Everyone agreed that since the OP’s cousin was unwilling to pay the agreed-upon rate for her wedding pictures, then he was under no obligation to give them to her.
“NTA.”
“I don’t see how you could have tried any harder than you did.”
“She obviously didn’t care about seeing the photos if she’d been ignoring you for six months.”-Yikes44
“She had a whole wedding, and then couldn’t get 50 bucks for the photos?”
“In 6 months?”
“NTA.”- barugosamaa
“NTA.”
“I couldn’t imagine asking a family member to do all that then not to pay them, not to reply to them, then lie to other family members about what was promised; she realizes an actual photographer for the full day charges around 2k?”- Churchie-Baby
“NTA.”
“Sounds like the photos weren’t very important to them.”
“Kind of dumb on your part to delete them all, though.”
“Should have kept them and jacked up the price when they ask for them.”
“It’s not like having a thumb drive is a burden to you.”- hops4beer
“NTA.”
“The photos couldn’t be that precious if the bride wasn’t able to get n contact with you for half a year.”
“Especially after you tried to get in contact.”- Trevena_Ice
“Definitely NTA.”
“You both agreed on a price at the beginning. You fulfilled your end of the bargain, and then when she didn’t keep up her end, the product was no longer available.”
“I probably wouldn’t have deleted them for other members of the family, but I can see the issue of not wanting them to give the photos to cousin without paying.”
“Glad you stood your ground, and I hope your photography journey goes well!”- MavisEmily1983
“NTA.”
“Also, professional photographers sometimes take more than 6 months to deliver all wedding photos, so the slow argument is bs.”
“$50 is like free photos.”- SmutnySmalec
“NTA at all.”
“Wow, your cousin and her family are incredibly entitled.”
“$50 for a full day of work and follow-up photo editing and copying onto disks is dirt cheap.”
“There is no excuse for her not being able to pay you that amount, especially after 6 months.”
“The fact that she kept avoiding you after the wedding and after her brother told her to get in touch with you when you filled him in shows not only a level of disrespect but also how dishonest she has been with everyone.”
“Honestly, she is so immature. How did she even get married?”
“I would send a group chat to the whole family restating the agreement, the number of attempts you tried to reach her, and her lack of responding.”
“Tell them how disappointed you are in your cousin for her dishonesty, lack of respect for your time and effort, her greediness in trying to scam a teenager.”
“Had she simply responded back to you and indicated her monetary situation, you could have worked out a simple payment plan.”
“Six months passed; she could have paid you like $10/month if she was that broke.”
“Tell them all she only has herself to blame for how she handled the situation and frankly how disappointed you are with her and all the rest of her family for treating you badly and not holding her accountable for her actions that created this avoidable situation.”
“Your mom needs to step up and defend you!”
“Honestly, the money now is the least of it.”
“It’s the principal of the matter and the disrespect and dishonesty which are glaring.”
“Show her these posts.”- jackb6ii
“NTA.”
“I agree with your brother.”
“$50.00, and you followed her the whole day.”
“OMG, she is a cheapy.”- Aggravating-Film-221
“NTA.”
“The fact she still hasn’t contacted you is so funny tho.”- ReportSufficient7929
“NO offense to the OP at all (and their pictures might have been wonderful, who knows), but who in their right mind hires a teenager for 50 bucks as their WEDDING photographer?”
“My cousin just got married, and her photographer was like four grand.”
“NTA.”- justputonashirt
“NTA.”
“If she didn’t want to look at or post photos for half a year, then they weren’t very precious to her.”
“I’m sure that wedding wasn’t cheap.”
“Someone between her and her husband and their parents couldn’t pay you the measly $50?”
“She was grossly underpaying you and didn’t even pay you that.”
“I’m glad you deleted them.”
“Shows her right for acting like a spoiled brat.”- Neither_Ask_2374
No bride should be deprived of their wedding pictures.
Unless, of course, they refuse to pay for them.
The fact that the bride even felt she had to communicate through her brother to tell the OP he was getting less than half of the agreed-upon rate just about says it all.
A problem that could have been avoided with a bit of common decency and 50 measly dollars…