Couples have spoken of their anger, frustration and pain after paying hundreds of pounds to a videographer who failed to send videos of their wedding and did not refund their money.
The BBC has seen a list of more than 100 people who are still waiting to receive their wedding video from Sarah L Stanton, who runs a company called Wallflower Weddings Movies & Content Material Creation in Gillingham, Kent. Some have been waiting for more than two years.
A Facebook group called Victims of Wallflower Videography (Wallflower Weddings Movies & Content material) has 285 members.
When contacted for comment, Ms Stanton said: “Those who know me know that I am not a scammer.”
Wealthy Smith paid Ms Stanton £850 to film their wedding in June 2023.
He still hasn’t received the video and said he “let it go a long time ago.”
“My wife is very sad because she lost her father and one of her good friends. “That was the last recording of those two people,” he said.
When approached by the BBC, Stanton said she was dealing with family issues.
She said: “Honestly, I don’t care what (her clients) do or say now.
“I’m tired of trying to change people’s opinions of me.”
In a video posted to his social media, Stanton uses an obscenity to describe his clients and says they were “threatening to take me to court left and right.”
pink studio photographyAmy Campbell from Bexley married in February 2023 and said in the run-up to the wedding Ms Stanton had been “attentive and communicative”.
His grandmother was very ill the week of the wedding, but Campbell said Stanton had provided a “sneak peek” of the video shortly afterward so she could see the ceremony before she died.
After that, Campbell said Stanton had “gone off the radar.”
“It would mean a lot to have the video that my grandmother saw,” he said.
Video held ‘for ransom’
Stanton has posted on his social media pages asking clients to send him a hard drive so he can transfer raw, unedited images of their weddings to him.
She said this would be “overexposed, underexposed, a lot of pointing at the ground, clumsy shots, blurry parts, and many others.”.
To receive their raw footage, Stanton has asked clients to sign a “contract” that exempts Wallflower Weddings Videography from editing their final film.
It also states that they cannot seek compensation, including a refund, or take legal action.
He added that if customers left negative reviews, “legal action will be taken against you and this will void this contract and allow me to recover the raws.”
Customers told the BBC they feel she is holding their videos for ransom.
Some of those who tried to get their hands on the raw material instead of waiting for an edited version have not yet received it.
Mark Thompson @ MST PhotographyAnother Surrey woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she had booked Mrs Stanton for her wedding in June last year but she did not turn up.
The woman said Ms Stanton’s failure to show up meant she had been anxious that day.
“I didn’t really listen to my husband’s vows because I was worried why she hadn’t shown up,” she said.
Although she was refunded the £910 she paid, she said she was “really upset” not to have a wedding video.
“All of these moments you want to show your future children,” he said.
Comparably, Shania Stanton (no relation) said she had booked Ms. Stanton for her wedding day but she didn’t show up.
When Ms. Stanton contacted the cameraman on Facebook, she told him she was blocked.
Although he received a refund, he was left without a suitable video.
“I grew up watching the mom and dad video and I wanted to show it to my kids,” Mrs. Stanton said.
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