Videographer James McDonald Connell ordered to pay, newlyweds out of pocket and without footage

A renowned Gold Coast videographer has been found guilty in court of getting paid for wedding videos he never supplied to gutted couples after an extensive investigation.

Corinne and Anthony Wong on their wedding day. Picture: via Facebook

A Gold Coast videographer found to have left seven newlywed couples thousands out of pocket and without prized wedding footage has been ordered to cough up any film he has, a court heard.

James McDonald Connell, trading as Anchored Cinemas, appearing in Southport Magistrates Court on Monday, was found guilty of seven counts of wrongly accepting payment under Australian Consumer Law.

In one instance Mr Connell allegedly accepted over $4000 from a Pimpama groom and captured wedding footage in May 2022.

More than a year later he later emailed the client to tell him the raw footage had been deleted and allegedly offered a refund - but it was never paid.

The court also heard how a representative of Mr Connell allegedly attended another customer’s wedding in 2022 and captured footage.

When the bride emailed Mr Connell two months later to inquire about her video, she reportedly received a generic response saying they were busy and would be in touch.

It was alleged an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading found seven couples who paid Mr Connell more than $27,000 for wedding videos they never received between August 2020 and September 2023.

It was also alleged Mr Connell’s clients did not receive refunds. He was fined $7500.

It will be alleged in October 2023, Mr Connell was declared bankrupt with a total of 91 creditors and debt of more than $303,900.

Corinne and Anthony Wong at their Engagement Party. Picture: vis Facebook

Newlyweds Corinne and Anthony Wong were among couples $3300 out of pocket and without a wedding video.

“Getting video of the wedding was pretty important so we made that a priority with the budgeting,” Mrs Wong said.

“Leading up to the ceremony all the communication seemed pretty normal. We had a couple of meetings to discuss how the day was going to run.

“It wasn’t until we came across a Facebook group created because of issues with this videographer we realised anything was wrong.

“I really wanted to have that footage to remember and look back on. It’s pretty devastating because that’s a loss of a memory that can’t be recreated.

“I didn’t grow up with my dad, so I was very close to my grandfather. [He] passed away four months after the wedding and that really was the last occasion we were all together, so the footage meant a lot.

“I keep thinking back to how we could have researched more, but I don’t know what more I could have done.”

Corinne and Anthony Wong (middle) on their wedding day. Picture: via Facebook

Mr Wong said after the ceremony, they never heard from Mr Connell.

“After the ceremony it was pretty much radio silence from him. I sent a few emails and tried to call as well. After a while we gave up on getting the wedding video, but he said he’d send us the raw footage.

“He sent us a dropbox that had nothing uploaded and we never received the hard drive he promised.

“Eventually his Instagram and website disappeared and that was when we started to panic.

“If a contractor doing your house and the contractor falls through, you can still get another contractor.

“But this is something that is once in a lifetime, and not something we can get back.”

Commissioner for Fair Trading Victoria Thomson said it was unacceptable to be taking someone’s money with no intention of delivering the promised service.

“Today the Office of Fair Trading held James McDonald Connell to account for his actions which had devastating consequences for the many newlyweds whose special days have been tarnished,” Ms Thomson said.

“These consumers did all the right things, seeking recommendations from people they knew and reading online reviews.

“There’s only one opportunity to capture a wedding day and these consumers have lost that moment in time they will never get back.”

While the newlyweds won’t be compensated via courts, they may be able to obtain a partial refund as part of the bankruptcy process

OFT worked with Mr Connell to have raw footage returned to newlyweds.

The court was told a server failure wiped most of the recordings, however three were spared.

Mr Connell was ordered by Magistrate Dominic Brunello to deliver footage of these three weddings by January 6.

If Connell doesn’t supply the footage, OFT will take Mr Connell back to court.