It was one of the biggest day of their lives. Little did they know that things wouldn't go as they were planned.

Paul and Chareen Wheatley, from Leeds, were about to get married in September 2015. They both wanted this day to be perfect and they planned everything accordingly. They found a student photographer, Chloe Johnston’s advertisement on a social networking website. They got in touch with her. They agreed to pay her £500 for nine hours' work after she told them she was an up-and-coming professional photographer who was keen to make a name for herself in the Wedding industry.

But hiring her was one of the biggest mistake of their lives. The Couple was asked to hand over the whole amount before the wedding.

Chloe disappeared immediately after receiving the payment. She only confirmed she was attending the night before their wedding. On the big day, Chloe arrived 45 minutes late. 

That’s not it. After arriving late she spent most of the time clicking her own pictures.  She didn’t have any lighting equipment or any photography plan. She didn’t follow picture brief and constantly asked the couple what pictures they wanted.

The couple ended up with just 15 'rubbish' pictures of their reception. These pictures are grainy and very badly photographed. In the photograph of the couple cutting their cake, the groom can barely be seen, while in a shot of the cake itself the top has been sliced off the photograph. In some other pictures the family members were in weird positions.

Not only this, but the bride was forced to walk through mud for photo shoot that didn't involve groom. She took the bride off alone for an hour to take pictures in the boggy woods, muddying her dress and shoes, while leaving the groom alone due to his mobility problems. There are hardly any romantic pictures of the couple together.

“Chloe told us she was professional and was an up and coming photographer trying to make a name for herself, we took her at face value and were too trustworthy,” said Mr Wheatley.

 “After we paid her we couldn't get in touch with her again, and we didn't think she was going to turn up until she sent us at message at 10pm the night before our wedding. She turned up 45 minutes late to our reception with no equipment other than her camera and a photography bag, no camera stand, no wide lenses, nothing to bounce the light or even lighting. On my wedding day I was walking with a slight limp due to my knee placement, Chloe was aware of it but asked us both to go for a long walk in the muddy woods which I couldn't do. Instead she took my wife and even though she was holding her dress up while walking through the boggy, damp woodland with lots or puddles it was covered in mud and got torn - it cost us £200 in dry cleaning bills.”

“Throughout the whole thing she looked very chilled out and in the evening I hardly saw anything of her,” added the groom. “Instead of having lots of photos from the evening there was 15 at the most, later we discovered that instead of doing her job she was having fun in the photobooth - we never even gave her permission to even be in there. I wouldn't have minded her having a joke with a picture or two if her own pictures were adequate but they weren't.I couldn't believe the cheek of what she'd done, instead of concentrating on our reception she was messing around taking selfie’s at our expense.”

 (This is Chloe)

The couple filed for a refund and won. The court ruled that the Wheatley’s should be refunded their £500, and given an additional £35 for court costs. The Leeds County Court asked Chloe to pay the couple £605 but she didn’t do so forcing the couple to get a bailiff. Instead; she took to social media to complain about the couple. The couple finally reclaimed the money, including an additional sum for the bailiffs just two weeks ago.

“I was happy with the pictures,” she said. “I showcased the day through their eyes, on the wedding day itself the couple were lovely. I did everything I could have and more at that wedding, I was happy with their photographs and they were. If he wanted a professional photographer, wanted lighting, this and that, he should have paid for that but he didn't he paid for a student. When I went into photograph booth, I went in for a minute and a half; I did that because there was nothing going on. He will do anything to drag my name through the mud, when all I tried to do was help with him and his wife with whatever problem they had against me even though they loved the product, and he's now done this to a young female.”

The couple has a message for all the other to-be-married couples, “While it's too late for us to get nice pictures that actually reflect our wedding day at least we can warn others to hire a professional photographer. We were too trusting with Chloe and while we've been able to get a refund from her it'll never replace those moments we lost on our big day.”