‘The bride wanted me to break the law just so she could save a few bucks’

“That budget is about to get a whole lot tighter when she loses her job…”

3 min read

August 26, 2024 - 9:13AM

Family Life

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A bride has been blasted online after trying to encourage her wedding photographer to commit “criminal fraud” so she could save cash.

Let's not beat around the bush: Weddings are bloody expensive. No matter how much you intend to spend planning your big day, it’s likely that you’ll blow your budget in one place or another along the way.

So it’s no mystery why many couples search for nifty ways to save a bit of cash in the lead-up to their big day. However, one bride took things too far by expecting her vendors to do something very illegal in the hopes of earning a discount.

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Sorry, but this bride's budget-friendly hack is totally illegal. Picture: Reddit

“I’m sure this happens with a lot of weddings…”

The bride began the email by sharing her enthusiasm for the upcoming nuptials.

“Hard to believe it’s only a few months away,” she said in a post that recently went viral on Reddit.

While she is beyond executed for her wedding, the bride admitted that her “budget has been rapidly expanding”, and she required a bit of assistance from the photographer.

However, she “wasn’t sure how to approach” the sensitive topic.

“I’m sure this happens with a lot of weddings, and you’ve dealt with it many times,” she said.

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“I was wondering if we could work something out.”

At first, the plan sounded relatively harmless.

“I work in the events department … I’m wondering if [we] could hire you to photograph some events there,” it continued.

As part of this epic plan, the bride suggested the photographer “overcharge” the company for the event, and “whatever you overcharge, you could take off our remaining balance”.

The bride may have thought she found a secret loophole to save some cash, but what she was suggesting was actually a form of kickback, an illegal payment made to someone as compensation for favourable treatment or another service, such as “money, a gift or anything of value”, per Investopedia.

Ah yes, fraud, it’s the perfect solution!

It’s no secret that weddings are ridiculously expensive, and sure, it’s very easy to blow the budget organising your big day, but is it worth potentially getting into major legal trouble for a bit of a discount?

Would you rather wear white on your big day or an orange jumpsuit?

Well, the bride seemed to think this budget-savvy hack was a brilliant idea, but wanted to put it to the photographer first. “What do you think?” she asked. “Do you have any other ideas?”

Um, maybe pay the price you all originally agreed to pay?

“I overspent on my wedding, wanna do some criminal fraud to help me out?”

Online, people were baffled by the bride’s “ridiculously stupid” suggestion.

“I beg your finest pardon?! I thought she was going to ask for an extension or payment plan but FRAUD?!” read a shocked comment.

“Would you like to work at a second gig but technically only be paid for one?” another asked.

“That’s not how expanding budgets work,” one person schooled the bride. “That budget is about to get a whole lot tighter when she loses her job,” someone joked.

“Imagine it not occurring to you that maybe putting this in writing and telling the photographer where you work could be a decision that could come back to haunt you,” penned a fifth.

Amongst those scratching their heads and furrowing their brows, others offered advice to the photographer.

“I’d be sending that text right to her employer,” someone advised. “Don't walk. RUN! Get away from this disaster,” read a comment.

Some passed advice to the bride, too. “If you can't afford it, don't get it,” read a suggestion.