Before the deposit: check the vendor is real, and is who shows up

Portfolios of weddings that never happened, contracts closed in a direct message, and a lead photographer you never met. Five checks before money moves.

Most wedding vendors are exactly who they say they are. The few who are not follow a handful of patterns, and each pattern has a cheap check you can run before you pay anything.

The patterns

Work that never happened. Couples have booked photographers whose entire portfolio was AI-generated: no real couples, no real weddings (Maroo, a software company for wedding vendors). The Vendor Table, a podcast for wedding professionals, gave a whole episode to a Chicago AI wedding photography scandal.
Money before a conversation. A Better Business Bureau spokesperson told InvestigateTV to be wary of contracts agreed in a matter of minutes online or on Instagram, to talk to a human being before spending that kind of money, and not to pay an all-in deposit for a wedding venue.
The person on the website is not the person who comes. Some studios send an associate photographer, who is the lead on your day, not a helper; one photography business describes an associate as someone entrusted to “essentially BE you” (Aftershoot). That can be a fine arrangement. It should be one you agreed to.

Five checks before you pay

A whole wedding, not the highlights. Ask for a full gallery from one real wedding, not the best ten images on Instagram, and talk to a past couple (Maroo). A vendor with no footprint beyond one social account deserves a closer look.
A name in the contract. For photo and video, the contract names who shoots your wedding and what happens if that person cannot come.
The terms in writing. The payment schedule and the cancellation policy are written down before you pay. Research the vendor through more than one source and ask for references (InvestigateTV).
A conversation with a person. A call or a meeting before a large payment, never a contract closed in a direct message.
A credit card. The FTC’s dispute process lets you challenge credit card charges for things that were not delivered as agreed; your letter has to reach the card issuer within 60 days of the first bill with the charge. It covers credit cards and other revolving credit, so a deposit paid in cash or through a payment app does not get it.

Ownership

Whoever books a vendor runs the five checks and files the contract and receipts in one shared place. If a deal feels rushed, slow it down on purpose: a real vendor is still there after a phone call.

Sources

A wedplan.ai guide on the Budget & money board. More planning guides.