Dec. 15, 2011

A double wedding in one for the same bride:

I have just completed writing about Uncle Kay’s funeral and stating the fact that he had stopped using contracts in his business and had gone through his life with very few disappointments. I too had done the same with few disappointments. I did have one wedding however that was a little disappointing in a young lady from Gunnison who took advantage of my generosity in business. I try to do what the bride’s want and to make their wedding fun. This particular bride wanted me to do engagement pictures up American Fork canyon but due to weather we did it at BYU and then later went to American Fork canyon. She also wanted bridal pictures taken in two spots which we did. Then the day of the wedding she had requested that I come to Manti early to do pictures but when I told her that the temple generally suggests that it not be done since the brides seem to get into the temple late, I suggested that she not do it but that I would do whatever she wanted. Well I never heard from her so on the wedding day we took a few pictures at the temple then traveled to Gunnison for the luncheon and then back to Manti for the rest of the pictures making it essentially twice as well. We then returned to Gunnison for the reception. I had started charging $800.00 for the entire set of wedding pictures in the business and collecting usually at the reception. Well she had required so many expensive things for her wedding that she had drained her parents funds completely dry and in fact her brother had been helping her pay for the wedding expenses including the honeymoon and she had drained his finances as well.

I processed the pictures but it took a couple months to finally get her to pick them up. She had wanted to wait until her dad could pay for them. I finally convinced her that I would rather have her enjoying the pictures than to have them setting around my place. She picked them up and then paid approximately $400.00 in a couple of payments. She called almost a year later and asked if she owed any more and when I told her she said that she thought it was all paid up. I wondered then why she called. But she said she would get it to me. Well I very easily could have been incorrect in what she had paid and she may well have paid in full I have not gone back to my records to check because I know whatever it is it was sufficient if it meant not having to put that father through anymore expense. I do it for fun not to end up fighting over it and feel I can still love the people better if I don’t try to make it a big deal and let them decide for themselves when and if it is done.