Mrs. Cherry Blossom, San Francisco
Age and Occupation: 27, Administrative Asst.
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, District Sales Manager
Engagement Date: December 23, 2006
Wedding Date: May 3, 2008
Venue: Zen Garden in the East Bay w/ reception in a floor-to-ceiling window Atrium with views of the Zen Garden
About Me: After 5 years of dating, we're finally ready to get hitched! I am a lovah of all things wedding, creative, crafty, and definitely DIY bc I love to add a personal touch to everything I gift or make. In my free time, I like to bake, spend time with our family, friends, and my doggies, read my guilty pleasure celebrity gossip and catch up on TV shows.
Sh*t Happens
January 17th, 2008 @ 5:39 pm by Mrs. Cherry Blossom
Yup it’s the poop poop parade. Monday was the start of some bad news for me and the mister. One of them being that we lost our videographer, Monster Crayons, a vendor we booked last March!!!! So you can imagine how bummed I was.
I received an apologetic letter via email from the co-owner of Monster Crayons stating the closure of their business and an address request to return our full deposit. With less than 4 months to the wedding and a could-be-near-freak-out session, I appreciate the fact that they took the initiative to notify their pending clients and offer us refunds. I am currently anxiously awaiting our refund (so I’ll keep you posted on that one) and am in search of a new videographer.
At first I was ready to give up and accept that we wouldn’t have a videographer. But I started searching anyway even though given our budget, it would be hard to find one that offered the amount of coverage we’d like and deliver great work …. but it seems hopeful. It could be a lot worse. I could have found out the day before the wedding, they could have not contacted us, the what if’s are endless but you just have to take what comes your way and run with it. We’ve got two vendors pending, and once we’ve received the refund and closed on a new videographer, I’ll let you gals know how it goes …
Wish me luck!
Have any of your vendors gone out of business after you booked them? What happened and were you able to get your money back?
27 Responses to “Sh*t Happens”
Eek. Sorry about that, Miss Cherry Blossom- I can’t imagine losing a vendor you booked last year just 4 months before the wedding. Good luck finding a new one- I’m sure things will work out in the end. At least he let you know- that’s one step above so many others.
Good luck! Everything happens for a reason so I am sure you will find someone even better to capture your day!
That must be so stressful, but I’m sure you’ll find someone awesome. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for any recommendations for you.
Good luck with the search. I’m sure everything will work out in the end 
oh what a bummer…but you’re taking it really well. Like they say when one door closes ten other open up, you just have to watch for them. Best of luck to you and I am certain you will find someone in no time 
Wow, that really stinks! I wonder what happened that they had to shut down?? =( I just browsed their website, and it looked like their pricing was very reasonable… dang!
We booked our videographer THREE DAYS before our wedding. He was a student at the nearby Art Institute of Dallas. He came to the rehearsal, ceremony, and all of the reception. We got a two copies of a beautiful DVD that included both pieces of the wedding, along with a highlights reel, and he’s sending us all the files should we ever need to make copies. All of this for $200.
So fear not! It may be a blessing in disguise!
Bummer. 
At least they sent a letter, and hopefully it isn’t for health reasons.
We used Wedding Technology (based in WA, but are seasoned travellers) if you want to check them out.
Good luck!
ouch. they were on my list of potential vendors too. but hey, you’re right at least they contacted you AND offered to return the deposit. so at least you can move that over to the new videographer. but maybe you can stumble upon a new one like kandance. have you checked out npva.org or weva.com? you can try there along with craigslist. i like to shop around via other vendor’s sites too since they tend to link up a lot. good luck #2!
thanks for the support everyone. i appreciate it. let’s hope it all pans out. sigh.
It’s not so bad - I get married in 5 weeks and our celebrant cancelled on us Wednesday as she has been scheduled for surgery! Luckily we’ve already found a new one - another plus for getting married on a Friday!
that sucks! BUT there are more fish in the sea…in the bay area, check out blue-moon-productions.com. andy is the owner and he was super nice…very accommodating and respectful of what i wanted. our video was shot by james but andy did the editing and it was great!!! i hope you choose to get another videographer, because it was one thing i’m SO glad i did!
I am so sorry! Ugh… I wish I had a recommendation for you, but I bet you will be able to find someone great! They haven’t recommended anyone? Thats the only other thing they might have done- talked to a few other vendors that they are friends with to see if they had open dates for you. I am mentally cataloging my vendors to see who might drop a bomb like that. Scary!!!
Everything happens for a reason, so try not to worry too much just yet. You still have time, so just think positive!
Fortunately we did not go through anything like this, but during our planning we found out that 3- THREE- of the vendors that we’d been thinking about went out of business or filed for bankruptcy! All I can say is thank goodness we didn’t book any of them!
I agree welshie, having a Friday wedding helped us out too. Our original venue was through family friends, but she had to have surgery, and we didn’t want to put any stress on her, so with 3 months to go, we shopped around for another venue. I think the only reason we were able to find something that didn’t require lots of travel was because of our Friday wedding.
that totally sucks! but i bet you will find something just as good if not better =) my little sister showed me a site recently and I think they are based in the bay area if you want to check it out…
good luck!
Wow, I can’t believe they went out of business. They shot my wedding in August, and I finally got my DVDs in late December. Guess I got in under the wire… I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!
My entire venue (ceremony & reception site) notified me 3 WEEKS before the wedding that the renovation would not be complete. So I had to fly to FL and make arrangements at another location. Luckily, the person at the original place was in a position to help as much as possible and when we found a new (beautiful but much more expensive) venue that was available on my date, they paid the difference! So it all worked out in the end. Best of luck on your search!
I’m sorry they went out of business on you! At least they went out of business when you still have a little time to find someone else…they could’ve gone after the wedding and made off with your video! Anyway, I think sometimes that rocky starts lead to smooth marriages…like my parents. Their reception site burned down ONE WEEK before their wedding. The only place they could get on such short notice was a fire hall. They’ve been married now for over 30 years. So, maybe the videographer going out of business will bring good luck to your marriage!
Muchos gracias for the support ladies and giving me suggestions and referrals. * smoochies *
To those ladies that endeared MORE hardships, I bow down to you for giving me more light to see my situation.
It’s getting hopeful, most importantly, I’m just waiting on my refund and then I can definitely move on. But there shall be good news to be made.
I’m sorry that happened to you so close to your date! It’s good that at least they notified you. I used Monster Crayons for our wedding in Sept, and we still haven’t gotten anything back.
Good luck with your vendor search! Other vendors we were considering were ModPixel Media and Lumitone.
Oh my gosh! We tried so hard to book Monster for our wedding but they wouldn’t return our calls or emails. So, we finally gave up on them.
We went with C3 Videography instead and they were great! Really responsive and very professional and they got along fabulously with our photographer.
We had a lot of problems with our harpist. The first harpist cancelled on us three weeks before our wedding and then the second harpist had a heart attack one week before our wedding. Luckily, the second harpist was kind enough to provide references to other musicians and we were able to book someone else!
I had also heard about their closing. What a bummer… Anyhow, I know a video production company in Oakland that might be able to meet your budget. If you want the detail, I can mail you their contact.
We haven’t gotten our refund either. Let me know when you do because I’m still waiting!
Any word from monster crayons? They filmed our wedding in October and we still haven’t heard anything (aside from the nice letter).
Futuredrz:
E-mail Phil Isleta with your contact info at phil@monstercrayons.com.
He is currently in possession of a box of tapes from Arneil’s house and he might at least have your raw footage. I am supposed to meet him 4/5/08 in San Francisco to pick up our raw footage.
Good luck!
