Just Ask Georgia: 7/23/2025

GEORGIA, I have a question,

I (17m)agreed to take wedding photos for my cousin Sarah’s (26f) wedding. She wanted me to take photos of her getting ready, our grandmother putting a family heirloom necklace on her, the first looks, the wedding, the reception, and so on.

There was also another photographer present (a friend of the groom) who was taking photos of the groom and his side getting ready, as well as capturing images 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 the ENTIRE DAY. 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 everyone, including her new 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 the people she might want to give them to. I texted her 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 $50. She never responded.

For the next three weeks I texted, called, got in touch with her mother, and even stopped by her house to try and get the photos to her. She evaded every single attempt. Six months have now passed, and I was at the movies with my other cousin (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 taking so long.” I was livid. First, it was $50. Second, that was the deal from the start!

I told him to have her contact me within two days so we could meet up and exchange, or I was going to delete them. She never contacted me. After the two days, I deleted the photos and erased the USB drives. My aunt called me on day four, saying I threatened my cousin into paying me when she didn’t have the money. I corrected her, noting that still no money had changed hands, and it didn’t matter because the photos were gone.

My aunt, uncle, cousin, and a few other relatives refuse to talk to me or my parents because I deleted “precious photos that can never be taken again, all because of greed and laziness. My mom thinks I should apologize. My older brother thinks I held onto the photos longer than I should have in the first place. What do you think?

BYE BRIDE BYE

Dear BYE,

Well, the photos couldn’t be that precious to her if she couldn’t scrounge up $50 in a year and a half. Professional photographers sometimes take more than six months to deliver photos. You took the pictures and processed them so quickly; their lazy argument doesn’t hold water. Neither does calling you greedy.

Would I have erased ALL the photos from existence EVERYWHERE? No...I would have held them for ransom and asked a hefty professional photographer’s fee to access them.

With Love, GEORGIA