Wedding Photographer Must Pay Nearly $2M to Couples Who Never Got Their Pictures

A wedding photographer has been ordered to pay $1.7 million after leaving hundreds of customers without the services they paid for.

In February, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson filed a lawsuit against Holly Christina Photography, alleging it misled and defrauded brides, engaged couples, and their families by failing to provide promised photography and videography services.

The wedding photography business — which was owned by husband and wife team Holly Christina Scott Ayscue and Christopher Ayscue — sparked huge outrage from unhappy customers in the state of North Carolina. Jackson’s office revealed that it had received hundreds of complaints against the company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, since January, with reported losses totaling approximately $1 million. Some customers received only “sneak peek” images but never got full wedding galleries or promised edited videos. Other couples did not receive refunds for future bookings after the business shut down.

On Monday, a judge sided with the North Carolina’s Attorney General’s Office in its motion for default judgment against the company Holly Christina Photography. WXII 12 News reports that the wedding photographer will be required to pay nearly $1.7 million. The motion says $599,468.88 is based on 142 consumer complaints submitted to the state and $1,114,000.00 is a total of 228 complaints each valued at $5,000 as a civil penalty.

The order says Holly Christina Photography failed to deliver raw and edited photographs and video footage to those couples within the 30 days of the Preliminary Injunction Consent Order entered by the court on May 11. According to a report by ABC 11 News, attorneys for the state presented their case in court on Monday, but no one representing Holly Christina Photography or its owners appeared.

North Carolina assistant attorney general Mercedes Restucha says that couples purchased wedding packages from Holly Christina Photography that included photography and videography services.

“They promised couples packages that included, but were not limited to, 700 edited photographs, a 30 to 45-second social media reel, and over an hour of video footage, including drone coverage of the ceremonies,” Restucha says, according to ABC 11 News.

The state says the 228 complaints fell into two main categories: couples who held their weddings but allegedly never received their promised photos or videos, and couples who paid deposits for weddings that were planned before the company shut down.

“As for the couples whose weddings were scheduled to occur, most of them paid in full after being encouraged to do so to receive a discount,” Restucha explains. “None of those couples received any assistance in arranging for an alternative photographer or videographer, and they have not received refunds of their deposits directly from the defendants.”

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