Would book with her again and again !
I booked with Crystal during Covid, and to say it was challenging would be an understatement. Planning a wedding in the middle of a pandemic wasn’t fun—it just piled on the stress. Family came at me from every direction with opinions, fears, and demands. Even with all that, our actual wedding day was beautiful.
I hadn’t planned on writing a review for Crystal—not because she did anything wrong (she didn’t), but because my photos spoke for themselves. My gallery is exactly what I wanted, and I’m more than happy with it. I feel lucky she was part of my wedding day. For me, the best “review” has always been recommending her to other brides, which is why I’m writing this now.
I’m in a few Facebook groups where I share my wedding experience—vendors I loved and what worked for me etc , I love helping future brides with finding the right vendors and just giving general wedding advice not all advice will work for each couple but I am happy to help . I came across a post about Crystal from what looked like a bride’s sister, and my heart sank. I read it a few times before I even commented because I was honestly disgusted. I also see Nikki left the same review on WeddingWire that she was posting in fb wedding groups. After seeing responses from past clients and vendors who’ve worked with Crystal, I wanted to make sure she had my support. She still does. I’m always raving about her and telling new brides to book her. I comment on fb posts when brides to be are looking for photographers , I loved working with Crystal and will continue to show my support to her . I love when a friend hires her and I get to catch up at the wedding. I still follow her on Facebook and love seeing all the weddings she posts. It makes me proud that she was my photographer.
The claim that Crystal is “rude” really stood out—because it’s not true. She was never rude. She was direct. And that’s exactly what I wanted. I needed someone who would tell my family “no” when it mattered and make sure what I wanted actually happened. Why wouldn’t a bride want that? There’s a difference in being firm and direct with what needs to be done, and just flat out being rude. I highly doubt in all honesty Crystal was rude. Based on much of what I have seen Nikki comment with in the fb groups, I tend to believe Nikki was the one being rude and Crystal was just doing her job.
I hired Crystal for a reason: she knows what she’s doing. A location might look fine to you, but if the light is harsh, the shadows are bad, the background is distracting, the space is too tight, or the timing will wreck the schedule, you need a pro who will say so. That’s her job. At my own wedding, there was a spot I thought might work, but Crystal pointed out we’d be squinting straight into the sun and the pictures would be blown out. She was right, and I’m glad she steered me away from it. And honestly, why was the sister so worried about where photos were taken? The photos are for the couple. Crystal worked for the bride, not for her. I find it odd that Nikki is so concerned with what she claims Crystal didn’t do – When it wasn’t her wedding and I laughed when I saw a vendor comment and say “ she has a job to do. Were you in the way, micromanaging, etc.? She has a timeline to stick to—were you interfering with that? She has a contract “ based on Nikkis comments she was probably trying to micromanage and interfere with the wedding.
Now to the other claims. Nikki said it took “over 16 weeks” and the photos were “sub-par.” That wasn’t my experience at all. My photos came back in the timeframe Crystal gave me in our contract, and the quality was great. Also, 16 weeks is normal for weddings—many photographers take longer than that. Wedding galleries aren’t tossed together overnight. I’d rather wait and get them done right- and I knew it would be a few months before I got my photos back and I was happy with that. Every photographer I interviewed before hiring Crystal had the same turnaround time frame policy some where even a year after the wedding – So again Nikki clearly doesn’t understand and I am guessing she had no clue what the contract actually said.
She also said there were “zero ceremony, zero reception, no first dance or cake cutting.” I find that hard to believe – First she complains Crystal refused to take photos that the bride wanted – But then she said the Gallery was delivered – so I am pretty sure the bride got the gallery and Nikki made up a reason to complain . My gallery had all of that and more—ceremony, reception, first dance, cake cutting, family formals, and a ton of candids I didn’t even know she caught, but every wedding is different so not galleries are going to be the same nor have the same amount, Some of the experiences that happened at my wedding might not happen at another wedding. And I have a real question here: did the bride even wait for the gallery to fully load before Nikki decided photos were “missing”? When I first opened my gallery on my phone, it took a while for every image to show up, it was only loading about 5 images so I thought something was wrong with my gallery. The email that came with my gallery even said to allow time for the files to load. I stepped away, came back, and there were 400+ photos ready to view. They don’t all pop up at once on a phone. It feels like Nikki was looking for reasons to complain. I bet $100.00 if I asked Crystal to see this brides gallery, not only would she let me see it, I bet I would find the photos Nikki claims are missing. I find it hard to believe Crystal would attend a wedding and not take a single photo and then email a bride an empty gallery.
The “gaslighting” comment? That one made me shake my head. I had a delivery hiccup myself—but it was because of my email, not Crystal. My work system blocked her message and threw it into quarantine, and I’ll admit I don’t check that folder often. Crystal had actually sent my gallery weeks before I even reached out. When I contacted her, she confirmed the email address she sent it to and immediately offered to resend it. I gave her a different email because I didn’t want the same thing to happen again. That’s not gaslighting—that’s being professional. Spam filters and company servers cause issues all the time, and it’s not fair to pin that on the photographer.
What also doesn’t sit right with me is how Nikki seems to claim she knows her sister’s email history inside and out—when emails were sent, how many times, and what was said. Unless the bride gave her full access, that doesn’t make sense. Either way, I’ve never had a problem with Crystal not responding to me. And honestly, the idea that a business owner should answer within minutes of an email is unrealistic. We all have work, families, and busy lives. Expecting an instant reply and then calling it “gaslighting” is just ridiculous.
Paid a lot of money for sub-par service” is another reach. You’re not just paying for pictures when you hire a wedding photographer. You’re paying for experience, skill, and leadership on one of the most stressful days of your life. A good photographer doesn’t just click a button; they manage the timeline, organize family photos (which is no small task), make judgment calls about locations, lighting, and pacing, and keep the energy of the day moving forward. That’s exactly what Crystal did for me. She wasn’t just there to deliver images—she was there to protect the flow of my wedding day.
From the start, Crystal listened and respected what I wanted. On our final call, I told her I didn’t want to spend my whole day taking pictures. She honored that completely. We got the family shots I wanted, she kept us on schedule, and when my mom tried to push for more, Crystal handled it with kindness but also firmness. That’s not “rude”—that’s what professionalism looks like.
And beyond logistics, she made it fun. She kept me calm when nerves hit, she made us laugh, and she carried herself with the kind of confidence that makes everyone relax. By the end of the night, she didn’t feel like just my photographer—she felt like a friend who had my back the entire day.
What makes Nikki’s review so frustrating is that she was just a guest, not the bride, not the groom, not even someone directly working with Crystal. Yet she’s out here writing as if she knows what really happened. She claims “guests thought Crystal was rude”—but let’s be real: Crystal wouldn’t have had any reason to interact with the guests at all outside of bridal party, immediate family, or when she was grabbing candid shots. Guests don’t know the photography plan, they don’t see the contract, they don’t hear the pre-wedding calls where the couple lays out their wishes. So how could they judge her performance? The only people qualified to review a photographer’s work are the actual clients—the couple who hired her. Everyone else is just an outsider watching a small piece of the day.
And this is where Nikki completely misses the point. A wedding photographer works for the bride and groom. Not the sister. Not the guests. The fact that Nikki feels entitled to dictate what photos should’ve been taken, how fast emails should be answered, or where Crystal should’ve shot shows she doesn’t understand the role at all. A guest’s opinion doesn’t outweigh the actual client’s experience—and as an actual client, I can say without hesitation that Crystal was worth every penny and more.
At the end of the day, I’m proud to say Crystal was my wedding photographer. She gave me a full, beautiful gallery, she kept my day running smoothly, and she did it all with professionalism, honesty, and kindness. I still rave about her to new brides, and every time I see her work pop up on Facebook, I’m reminded of how lucky I was to have her. One bitter guest review doesn’t erase years of happy clients, talented work, and vendors who respect her. If you want a photographer who will truly fight for your day to be everything you want it to be—book Crystal with A Wave of the Wand Photography. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.