Dynamic Reflections Videography

First let me say, we ended up not working with Brian from Dynamic Reflections Videography. In fact, we fired him a 2 weeks before the big day. As a "super-planner," that was a very difficult choice for me, but let me explain why:

We originally chose Brian to be our videographer because he seemed very talented and affordable. But as the months went by, I realized we made a poor decision.

First, he does not meet with couples in person. I found that, and still do, to be very odd. He books clients over the phone. In lieu of meeting, I requested a sample DVD to show his style of videography. He never mailed me one. Also, a few months after booking him, he raised his prices. He told me it was because he didn't want to "appear too cheap" and deter prospective customers.

Two times during our year of planning, Brian asked us to front him the entire balance of our contract (several hundred dollars). Based on contract terms, the money was not due until much closer to the wedding. We felt very uncomfortable him asking us TWICE. The first time we could understand, but a second time seemed unnecessary. When we told him we could not, he didn't even say "It's ok, but thank you anyway." He just ignored our email. Even through all this, I put Brian's name out there. I even entered and won a Facebook contest he started for promoting his business. My prize was a photo montage. He told me to have the photos to him 2 weeks before the wedding. So two weeks before, I emailed him our photos. He wrote back with a nasty response telling me that I would need to purchase a jump drive or burn the photos on a disc and mail them to him in the order I wanted them presented, along with our choice of music. We live 10 minutes from one another, but he flat refused to meet in person to exchange the photos. Now I'm no video magician, but I know the basics of making a photo montage. What sort of prize was I being given if I had to do all the leg work? By this point, we were feeling uncomfortable and annoyed with Brian, but here's the BIG reason we fired him:

A few weeks before the wedding, I chat with Brian on Facebook. I wanted to discuss our vision as a couple for the video. Brian continually interrupted me and basically told me he was the professional and knew how to do his job. As a client, I felt as if it was perfectly OKAY to discuss our concerns and what we wanted for our video. We were paying him several hundred dollars. He actually told us on Sept 23, and I quote "I can't promise I will shoot it exactly the way you want it."

I later sent him an email going over final details, as I did with all vendors, requesting a response back. And here's where the story gets funny. A day later I posted a Facebook status COMPLETELY unrelated to him, but he seemed to think it was directed towards him personally. And here's the Facebook message I received:

Subject line: wtf

"First of all, I don't appreciate your little comment. I'm not an idiot, I know it was directed at me. You can get an attitude and be pissy with me all you want, but your email has been low on my priority list today. I have been in and out most of the day, taking care of paperwork for my new job, helping a sick relative, running errands and picking my kids up. I told you I would send you a reply today. It's still today. I got home a couple hours ago. And I sent you your reply a little bit ago.

Second, and I have asked you this before. If you want to ask me questions that are wedding related, please use my email. I don't mix the two.

Now, havning said that, it would be best that I remove you from Facebook. "

Now let's look at this closely. 1) He basically cussed at me (we all know what wtf means), a CLIENT, and told me I had an attitude and was being pissy; 2) He asked me not to mix facebook and email regarding his business, yet he FACEBOOK messaged me this. 3) He removed me from Facebook. HOW OLD ARE WE?!

I found Brian to be VERY childish, unprofessional, inflexible with clients, and made me very, very uncomfortable. I admit, I am a very detailed bride and I ask a TON of questions, sometimes the same question if I've forgotten the answer. But I feel like that's OKAY since this is an important event and we're paying him a lot of money. I never once was rude with him, so when he said those things to me, I decided that it would be best to no longer work with him. I sent him an email telling him how I didn't appreciate the way he treated me and that I would not longer be in need of his services. His response was no more professional than his 'wtf Facebook message.'

Needless to say, my husband and I are 110% glad we did not work with him. We ended up finding a much better videographer and were THRILLED with the outcome. See my other reviews for more info.