Can we sue out wedding decorator?

Question

Well our wedding was great to everyone who showed up but to my wife it was a disaster. Out decorator really screwed up at the church and the reception place. there were to many things to name that were wrong and not what we paid for. Can we take her to court. We know how much money she owes us back but can we include damages as well. thanks for any help

Answer 1

Congrats on the wedding

I have no advice for you just a Biblical reminder. If this wedding decorator is a Christian, do NOT sue her but rather leave it to God. Christians are not to sue each other.

Also since the people who attended the wedding thought it was great, why then should you guys change their perspective by taking the decorator to court? That too, will be in their memories. I believe the only reason people go to the extremes during weddings is to impress their guest on their (couples) day. If it were not for that, couples would simply go to church to take their vows and be on their way to celebrate and that's really it. i hope you make a smart Godly decision not what the world conforms to. After all, the whole reason for the wedding is to Glorify God who sanctified it in the first place. As long as you love each other and glorify God, blessings will be released upon to you. Good luck and God bless

Answer 2

You will never win damages on a civil case like this. Unless you spent a boatload of cash on the decorator, suing her is not going to be worth it. My sister's caterer screwed her over by only delivering half the food and not providing about 50% of the services in the contract and my Mom sued her. (My mom paid the bill and had the contract with the lady.) They went to court 3 times (the first 2 times the caterer didn't show up) and on the third time my Mom won the case...but, the caterer went bankrupt and never paid. So, my mom was out the money she paid in the first place, plus all the time and money for court costs., etc.

If you decide to sue her anyway, make sure you have a contract and pictures illustrating that the contracted terms were not met. If you do not have 100% proof that she didn't provide all of her services, you will not win.

A lot of times decorating/design is in the eye of the beholder. You could get a judge who thinks the place looked great and that you are wasting their time. My advice is to just get over it. Do you really want this to be how you remember you wedding--by suing people and being unhappy about such frivolous matters?

Answer 3

You could file a civil suit. Don't know if you want to go through that. I wanted to sue my wedding coordinator. We left immediately for our honeymoon and she was to pick up my wedding dress from the hotel and take it to be preserved. She never picked it up and the hotel believes they gave it to another bride. That bride says she never got my dress. I was also upset because the coordinator did not unhook my train before I walked down the aisle. I had this long gorgeous train and it doesn’t show in any of my ceremony pictures or video. Also, she was responsible for retrieving all the disposable cameras from guests so I could develop the pictures. She didn’t do that either. I did see an attorney for all this- said I didn’t have a good case. Not enough there. I could pursue to sue- but my costs would probably be greater than what I would be awarded. According to him, the only real damage / monies to be awarded was the wedding dress. And he said that was the hotel’s negligence. (Hotel blamed the coordinator- not much they could do since this was 2 weeks later). So, I took the attorney's advice and filed a report with the Better Business Bureau. I felt better after that. I think that you would have a hard time proving that your decorator fell through on his contract- unless you have some things that were spelled out and he completely omitted them AND they were a significant portion of your payment. More than likely, it will be your opinion versus his opinion on whether everything was decorated as requested/ agreed upon. Whether a particular decoration is “good” is someone’s opinion and it’s not hard facts. Good luck- and congratulations on the wedding!

Answer 4

Unfortunately anyone can sue anyone for anything if they can get it into court. The real question is one of winning once you get there.

Rather than think "sue" immediately, have you talked to the decorator and tried to work something out between you. You say you "know how much money she owes us back." Why not ask for that much, and see what happens first?

If it was "great to everyone who showed up" you will be hard pressed to convince a court you were harmed or had any damages.

Answer 5

Sounds like you got the raw end of the deal. Not cool. She was definitely unprofessional and a liar. First, you need to look over your contract. If she fulfilled the terms in the contract, suing could do little, if anything. That's all she has an obligation to do. Yes. . . not cool. But that's how it works. You could try suing for emotional upset? I don't know how all that works, but it could get you somewhere, you never know. You could also contact a lawyer (more than one actually) and get a free consultation. They should be able to tell you if you have a case or not. Then, if they think you do, you could use a lawyer or you could take them to court without a lawyer. I do, think, though, that you should get some kind of legal advice before you pursue this. Suing and losing would just be a waste of time and money and energy, you know? Not a great way to begin your marriage. Regardless of it all, congratulations on your marriage. I hope you have a wonderful and flourishing marriage that lasts forever. =)

Answer 6

You can take her to court, but be sure you have all your papers, etc. You will need to have a copy of your contract with her stating exactly the things she was hired to do in detail. It should also state the price(s) she charged for everything. You also need a copy of your receipt showing you paid her the agreed upon amount (or a cancelled check will do).

You should also take pictures with you to show the judge specifically the items you were unhappy with.

Damages like mental hardship/distress? That is very hard to prove. It will really depend on the judge you get. If it's a woman, they will be more sympathetic to the fact that this is a one time thing that you've dreamed of all your life, etc.

Good luck!

Answer 7

Anything is possible now-a-days. You cant take anyone to court, over anything. But what you need is PROOF! I have watched enough Judge Judy to know that you MUST have proof...I would contact a lawyer, and get their opinion. Also, get any papers you can that states what you paid for, and pictures of what you got. I wouldn't sue for the amount of the things they got right, but for the things they got wrong, and as you mentioned, damages. This is one day that is supposed to be 'perfect' and you trust someone to give you that, and they let you down. I hope for the best, and hope you get some of your money back. Good luck!

Answer 8

You "can" sue anyone for just about anything. Just make sure you have all your documents saying what was supposed to be provided and any pictures of what was actually provided. Make sure you have a list of all the problems and what you did to get the decorator to correct them before the wedding. Research your local area or talk to the Clerk of Courts about what damages you may ask for.

Good luck.

To Sarge - that's what the court system is for, to recoup losses you have incurred or to get repayment for services that either weren't rendered or were incorrectly done. They have every right to sue if they didn't get what they paid for. Just because it was still nice doesn't mean they have to put up with not getting what they paid for.
I agree there are frivolous lawsuits, this isn't one of them.

Answer 9

I sincerely hope that when you get to the courtroom the judge tells you to blow it out your rear.

Before you even think about taking a matter to court you should attempt to settle it yourself. Go to the wedding decorator and ask for a partial refund (since it is mostly YOUR fault that the items at the wedding were wrong. It literally would have taken you 15 minutes a few weeks before the wedding to check out the decorations. I'm guessing that you didn't do that.). If they refuse, let them know that you will inform all your friends to avoid using their services.

If you sue them, you are wasting MY MONEY!

Answer 10

Do you need to go to court? Just show her your wedding photos and the contract. That should be ample evidence.
You shouldnt try to get all your money back, since you did accept the services on that day and used the decorations (yes, even though they were the wrong ones). Maybe after showing your evidence you will be able to get some money back.