Sarah is GREAT!!! She is super friendly and highly professional. She made me feel relaxed and got great shots!! (even though I HATE getting my picture taken!). Our package including engagement pictures which she allowed us to have taken anywhere and spent a great deal of time making sure we were happy with the pictures!! A great value!! WORTH EVERY DIME. I would highly recommend her for ANY event especially a wedding!

I also used Sarah McAllister Photography for my recent April wedding, and I had the EXACT opposite experience with her as our photographer. I found her to be honest, open, talented, and professional. Familiar with her work, I contacted her after our engagement and request a meeting to go over her packages, prices, policies and photographic style. Not only was Sarah consistently on time to the numerous meetings we had, but came to the meeting well prepared with various examples of her photography as well as clear communication about her business.
Her contracts were clear, concise and to the point, with room to choose which options suited us as a couple. She explained her various packages, suggested which one she felt would be best suited for our style of wedding, and explained her VERY reasonable rates and method of a deposit, with secondary payment before the actual date. This is not a ridiculous practice within the wedding industry, and knowing that she would be giving us her full attention on our special day was comforting.
As the wedding approach, Sarah contacted me regarding wedding day details. We laid down specific beginning and ending times for her photography and she was very clear about the way she works. She suggested providing a list of shots we specifically wanted so she could make sure she captured our most precious moments - this is something that most wedding photographers appreciate, and most wedding magazines, blogs, and guides suggest you put together. As a couple, we wanted a lot of ‘captured moments’ during the ceremony, getting ready and the reception. We asked for posed pictures for bridesmaids and family, which Sarah did beautifully. Haha She even helped with my fake eyelashes!
At the end of the day, we received gorgeous pictures of our wedding day, which were delivered within the time frame stated in her contract. I can only say GREAT things about Sarah McAllister photography, and if our family grows, we plan on using her to help capture more special moments

The below statement is what was submitted to the Better Business Bureau in regards to this photographers performance. I urge anyone looking for a photographer to visit the Better Business Bureau site and apply their wedding photography suggestions in locating any wedding photographer. As of this morning this photographer has a D- rating with the Better Business Bureau as a result of the below complaint filed. Please contact the BBB and read the complaint in its entirety in regards to this photographer before signing a contract with her!

To whom it may concern;

This complaint is in regards to the ethical practices of Sarah McAllister Photography. My husband and I contracted with Sarah McAllister to be the photographer at our wedding. Ms. McAllister required that our payment be made in full prior to the wedding date which we complied with. Upon receipt of the photos I contacted Ms. McAllister about the quality and quantity of photos received. At that time, Ms. McAllister agreed to return $1500 of our $2000 payment. Ms. McAllister has since reneged on that agreement.

When I received the photos there was not even one usable photo of the bride and groom. They are all either too far away to see faces or EXTREMELY grainy and are of poor quality. I have gotten reports from a number of the guests that they were not surprised by the quality or quantity as they had all observed Ms. McAllister standing around not taking any pictures for the majority of the event.

Part of our contract was for shots of the reception. I have pictures of children which she claims to have taken during the reception who were not part of the wedding. I have pictures of a horse. But there are no pictures of my husband and me socializing with our family on that day. There was also a book signing held at the reception that we also have no pictures of. In effect, Ms. McAllister missed over half of the wedding activity. Ms. McAllister contacted me after making the verbal agreement to refund the monies to let me know her intent to renege. While we were in the midst of negotiations regarding this issue, Ms. McAllister actually hung up on me. In my opinion, that act alone is suggestive of her intentions and her ethics.

Since confronting Ms. McAllister, I have been in communication with a number of my guests as they all are asking where the pictures are. 14 of the guests have reported seeing Ms. McAllister not performing. More specifically, I was told by one guest that she saw Ms. McAllister hanging around, talking with her sister (her sister was her assistant for the day) and not taking pictures for the majority of the event. Another guest stated that he wondered how the photos would turn out considering that she spent over an hour standing around the horse when the reception was taking place above in the reception hall and during the ceremony she was standing in an area where it would have been impossible to achieve good shots of anything other than the backs of people's heads.

Another part of our contract with Ms. McAllister was for the number of images. We contracted and paid for 300+ images. We received 304 files, but there were multiple images that were re-purposed on various disks. She had images on the disks that were in color, b/w, and sepia. I admit, that is a very good tactic for allowing your client to see what the individual images will look like in the various coloring; however those images do not qualify as separate images. Nearly half of the photos received fall under this particular category.

The day of the shoot, she was asked multiple times to take her camera out and start taking pictures. She arrived at 10AM and she did not start taking pictures until nearly 12PM. Both my husband and I had to request multiple times that she get out her camera and start taking pictures. Part of the contract was that she was paid to take pictures for 10 hours ($100/hour). I only have 3-5 hours worth of photography and most of that is pictures of cake, horses, the backs of people's heads, children whom were not part of the wedding, dogs, flowers, the rings, etc. but few pictures (none are of print quality) of the people who attended the wedding more specifically THE BRIDE AND GROOM. It is impossible to "re-shoot." In order for us to have pictures suitable for portraits or print (which is what she was contracted to provide), my husband and I will have to hire another more ethical photographer as Ms. McAllister has failed to comply with her end of the contract.

At this time we are asking that Ms. McAllister comply with her verbal agreement to return the $1500 or we will begin with legal proceedings and negative reviews of her business and her lack of ethical business practices. She has produced 3-5 hours of photos (quality or not)...at $100/hr $500 is what she has earned at the most. At this point, I feel that this is fair and reasonable to follow through with our verbal agreement that only ¾ of our payment be returned. Should Ms. McAllister fail to respond or comply with these demands we intend to request full repayment along with assessing additional charges for the cost of delay to us, our business, and our friends and family in a court.

Ms. McAllister is responsible for holding up her end of the contract. She failed to do so. She should be held responsible for her breach and we intend to pursue this to the fullest extent allowed.