Distraught bride sues after bungling wedding photographer ‘nicks guests’ snaps from Facebook and tries to pass them off as her own

A BRIDE was left devastated after realising the "professional" photos taken by their hired photographer were stolen from a family member’s Facebook.

Wendy and Michael Chambers, 32 and 43, from Royston, Barnsley, say their wedding day was ruined by "photographer from hell" Lesley-Jane Myers, known as ‘Pheonix Jane’, who lost more than half of their snaps.

But instead of confessing to the couple that her memory card had corrupted, the couple claim she stole 11 pictures from family members, including the bride’s sister, and had even cropped herself out of one she was in.

The newlyweds were promised more than 1,200 photographs from their big day, but only received 312 – and even the ones they did get were poor quality, with some shots too dark and others showing family members with red eye.

Photos were missing from the most important parts of the day including the wedding ceremony, bridal preparations before going to the church and family shots outside the venue.

In April the distraught couple won an appeal against Myers at Barnsley County Court for a breach of contract and was awarded £1,039.50.

Wendy Chambers, a care worker, said: “When I found out she’d lost so many photos from our ceremony I was absolutely heartbroken, I cried all the way to work.

“She told me there were over 1,200 pictures of really magical moments from our wedding day and in the end we only received around 300.

“Even the pictures we did have were terrible - they’re so dark I can barely see us.

“In some of them it looked like I have fake tan on and I don’t even wear it.

“We had red eyes in several of the pictures - it looked like they hadn’t been edited properly and they weren’t professional at all.

“It wasn’t until after that we realised some of the pictures had been stolen from Facebook – they were pictures that my family had taken.

“In one of the photos it was obvious that she had stolen it - in the original she is bent down taking the photograph herself and she then cropped herself out before sending it to us.”

Wendy said she couldn’t wait to receive the pictures from the best day of her life, but became suspicious when Myers became incommunicado.

She explained: “We messaged her by text and she didn’t reply, then by Facebook and she blocked me.

“We knew then that we had no other option but to take her to court.

“I’m relieved that we’ve won and she got what she deserved, I feel like I can now move on with my life.”

Wendy and Michael, who works as an Elvis impersonator, first spotted an advert for the photographer Lesley-Jane Myers, known as ‘Pheonix Jane’, on Facebook in 2014.

She offered the couple 10 hours of coverage for their wedding service, for which they paid £400, and they booked her for their wedding on April 25 last year.

Wendy said: “She was advertising on Facebook as Pheonix Jane and her pricing seemed really reasonable for the high quality pictures she showed us.

“She told us she was a professional, we went to her house and looked through brochures of her work and loved what we saw.

“My father and grandfather had both sadly passed away, so my Nan was thrilled when I asked her to walk me down the aisle.

“She bought a brand new outfit and we were all so excited.”

The couple first realised they were missing pictures two weeks after their wedding when the photographer provided 312 out of 1,237 images she claimed to have taken.

Myers admitted pictures had been lost due to a corrupted memory card and weeks later posted a letter apologising and left a cheque for £150.

But, after getting advice from a support group called ‘Wedding Scammers’, the disappointed couple took the photographer to court and were awarded £1,039.50 by the small claims courts – accounting for a £300 refund, £500 compensation, £185 in court fees, £2.50 travel expenses and £52 loss of earnings.

But despite receiving this compensation, it will never bring Wendy and Michael’s photos back.

Wendy said: “We trusted her to capture moments that no one else could and in return our memories are now ruined.

“I still have my dress and I’ve even thought about putting it back on, but it won’t be the same.

“All we want to do now is warn other people so they don’t suffer the same the same heartbreak on their wedding day like we did.”

Lesley-Jane Myers has declined to comment.