WISCONSIN — A local photography company is collecting payments from brides then failing to deliver on signed contracts.
Since that story, we've heard from dozens of other SB Photography customers including Mariah Jeske-Brill. She said the company owes her nearly $2,000.
A year and a half before her fall 2024 wedding, Jeske-Brill booked SB Photography to capture her big day. However, earlier this year, she said she started seeing bad reviews about the company with people saying they weren't getting their photos.
So, she reached out to SB.
"I wanted to amend our contract because I wanted a date put in there stating like 'you're going to receive your photos back in this amount of time," Jeske-Brill explained.
The company amended her contract and listed specific time frames, but then, she changed course after seeing TMJ4's story.
"Around May, I saw the story and I was like I can't. I don't want to go through with this anymore. We still had enough time that we could cancel and get all of our money back besides the deposit," Jeske-Brill said.
SB owes Jeske-Brill $1,875.
SB's contract states they "must be notified of cancellation no less than 120 days before the originally scheduled day of the wedding."
For Jeske-Brill's September 14th wedding, that date was May 17th.
Documents show SB signed the cancellation on May 7th, Jeske-Brill signed it on May 13th.
"Signed it, never heard anything back. Literally since May, never heard from them," she said.
"And you haven't gotten your money back," Rae asked.
"Have not gotten my money back," Jeske-Brill responded. "I'm looking at my credit card account every day to see if any money has come in and there's nothing."
On September 4th, Jeske-Brill emailed one of SB's owners, Adam Aten saying she hadn't gotten her refund and was in the process of filing a small claims suit against the company.
In less than 20 minutes, Aten responded saying SB's refunds are processed within 120 days and if Jeske-Brill can't wait, she can dispute the charge with her credit card provider.
"I didn't wanna dispute it with my credit card company. I wanted to voice my opinion and my concerns and make sure nobody else books with them," Jeske-Brill added.
It's now been 144 days and Jeske-Brill still doesn't have her refund.
She's not the only one either.
"I reached out to you because I had seen that you did a previous story against SB Photography. Honestly, I felt like I was the only one this was happening to," former customer, Jennifer Santiago, said.
Santiago booked SB Photography for her wedding a year and a half ago. She ended up taking the company to court and won.
However, it wasn't an easy road for Santiago.
"This is something that should never happen to a bride. I mean, that's the day you've dreamed of since you were a little girl," Santiago said.
It's a dream now tainted after Santiago said she hired SB Photography for her summer 2023 wedding, and they failed to provide everything that was promised.
"They still owed me both canvas prints, the wedding photo book, and the engraved USB drive with all the edited photos on it," Santiago added. "Right around the corner from our one year anniversary, so I was like it's time. I'm sorry, this is the end of this. I'm done begging them for something that I've paid them to do."
Santiago showed TMJ4 a year's worth of emails to SB Photography.
On June 27th, more than a year after her wedding, she sued the company in small claims court.
"Something needs to happen to these people, like they need to be held accountable," Santiago added.
Right before the trail began, Santiago said she got all of her items except the USB drive.
"The court will go on the record and call 24SC836 Jennifer Santiago versus Adam Aten and Sheryl Kelley," Walworth County Judge Peter Navis said.
Through an open records request, TMJ4 obtained the audio recording from the hearing in August.
"I am suing for half the cost of the wedding photo package, $1,687.50, and all associated court fees," Santiago said to the judge.
Navis heard arguments from both sides.
"SB Photography has breached their contract. They have not fulfilled their contract, and we are now a year, two months, and 14 days past my wedding," Santiago explained.
"Due to a lot of circumstances that came out of COVID impacting our business and industry, we got delayed on timelines," SB's Co-Owner Adam Aten argued.
"We were dealing with basically a crumbling business, which at the end of this year, you know, we'll be out of business. We stopped booking new weddings and new couples just because of the impact of COVID and getting review bombed by our couples," Aten continued.
During that court proceeding was the first time we had heard from Aten. We tried calling him this past spring for our first story and never heard from him.
Aten's co-owner, Sheryl Kelley, testified too.
"We had a flawless track record for a decade, better than anybody else, and we gave away more than anybody else on the planet, and then when people decided they were going to tank us, the second we got slightly behind, they couldn't show a smidgen of kindness when we gave up our whole lives," Kelley said.
"I've heard what I needed to hear from you, alright," Judge Navis interrupted.
"Contract Law is a harsh law. Contract Law does not care about people's feelings, does not care about circumstances, what Contract Law cares about is was there an agreement, was that agreement fulfilled, and if the agreement was not fulfilled, what's the remedy," Navis explained.
Navis awarded Santiago the amount she was seeking.
"The judge had ordered that they [SB Photography] pay you $2,027 back. Do you think you're ever going to see that money," Rae asked Santiago.
"Unfortunately, I don't to be honest with you," Santiago responded.
In court, SB Photography said it would finish out orders and give "everything to our couples."
Court documents show the owners were ordered to pay Santiago by September 24th. Santiago said that hasn't happened.
Rae reached out to SB Photography to see if they would do an interview.
Aten, one of the co-owners called Rae back and said that Rae ruined their lives and their business and hung up.
In the last year, TMJ4 has talked to four different brides who were SB Photography Customers. Courtney Remus is still missing photo items. Andrea Brusky never got her refund. Mariah Jeske-Brill is owed a refund too, and hasn't gotten it. Lastly, Jennifer Santiago is owed a partial refund and court fees, and she too, hasn't received it.
If there's something you want Jenna Rae to investigate, email her at Jenna.Rae@tmj4.com.
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