Faith and Micah’s wedding is one that I will remember forever. Up until this point, I had only shot local weddings in Georgia. I have always loved traveling and seeing new places, so when I saw that Micah was looking for a videographer in a large Facebook group that we were both in, I jumped at the opportunity! I remember being just one of dozens of videographers who commented on his post and being so excited that I had stood out enough that Micah and Faith decided to move forward with me.

As I traveled all the way across the country to Boise, Idaho, for the first time, I was expecting this to be a bit different from the weddings that I had shot previously. However, I had no idea just how unique this wedding would actually turn out to be.

When I was picked up from the airport on Thursday morning, I was told that Micah and Faith’s wedding planner had suddenly bailed on them with no warning or explanation! On Monday, they had met with the planner and discussed plans for her to gather the decorations, coordinate all of the vendors, and set everything up for the wedding that would take place in Faith’s backyard on Saturday. However, Tuesday came, and they never heard from her. Then Wednesday came, and still nothing. At this point, everyone was getting worried and began searching and trying to get in contact with the planner but could not get any kind of response.

When everyone realized that the planner had no intention of coming back, they began searching for help from other local vendors and brides in Facebook groups. We quickly learned that Micah and Faith were not the only couple who had had this experience with this planner. It turned out that this planner had knowingly booked several events on the same days and had been running sales to incentivize people to pay in full upfront. As many as 12 different couples had been booked with this planner within the same two weeks, and all of them were being ghosted.

Thankfully, Aly Robertson, a local Idaho wedding planner, saw what was going on through Facebook and jumped in to help. Aly started making calls to other Idaho wedding vendors and was able to get hold of a storage unit full of wedding decorations. So, from the moment I got off the plane, it was go time. We rushed to pick up a moving truck in Meridian, Idaho, and then headed to the storage unit to start loading up as much as we could. We then spent the next two days, late into the night, setting up all of the decor that was supposed to have been done the day before.

Eventually, so many couples around Idaho started speaking up about the same issues with the planner that a local news station heard about it. On Friday, they came out to do an interview with Micah and Faith, which was broadcast on live TV that night.

Needless to say, it was quite a stressful and difficult few days for the Mendozas. Despite all of the craziness and high pressure of suddenly having to pull off an entire wedding in just a couple of days, Micah, Faith, and their whole family remained calm, kind, and positive, not letting the situation ruin their big day. It was great to see so many people jump in to help bring everything together, and even have a few moments of genuine prayer and worship at the end of the rehearsal dinner, amidst all of the chaos of the day. It was a long and challenging week, but at the end of the day, it turned out to be a beautiful wedding full of laughter and joy, and I am incredibly grateful to have been a part of it.