The Case of the Wedding Couple Out for Revenge

When they didn’t get their album right away, they trashed the photographer—all over the Internet

When they didn’t get their album, they trashed the photographer—all over the Internet.

A MONTH after her October 2014 wedding, Neely Moldovan e-mailed her photographer and asked for a CD with her wedding photos. According to Neely, the disc was part of the $6,000 package she’d purchased from Andrea Polito, a popular wedding photographer in the Dallas area. However, Polito said that Neely and her husband, Andrew Moldovan, hadn’t filled out the album order form, which she required before delivering the photo disc. After Polito’s studio manager explained the situation, the bride responded, “Sounds great!”

But three weeks later, Neely e-mailed again to ask for the photos. The manager explained the timeline again and reminded Neely that she was waiting for the couple to order and pay for the album cover, which cost an additional $125 to $225. A few weeks later, on December 29, Andrew e-mailed, asking for the photos and claiming that the cost of the cover had been included in the package. Sensing the couple’s frustration, the studio offered to give them the CD when the album design was approved (and

not, as stipulated in their contract, when it was completed). The Moldovans demanded the photos pronto.

Hoping to smooth things over, Polito herself e-mailed Neely on January 14, 2015, asking for their cover choice. Polito says she intended to waive the additional cost, but the couple still didn’t make a selection. In fact, on that very day, a reporter from NBC 5 was interviewing them. They had sent the station an e-mail with the subject line “Help us get our wedding photos we paid for.” The segment aired two days later. It showed the Moldovans saying that Polito had “cheated” and “scammed” them and that she “blatantly stole money while holding [their] pictures ransom and then adding on extra fees.” Several websites ran the story, and the Moldovans shared a link on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Neely’s beauty and lifestyle blog.

The blowback got so bad that Polito took down her Facebook page.

About two months later, on

March 18, Polito filed a defamation suit against the Moldovans, claiming that they had “instituted a public smear campaign” intended to “harm” her business. The couple argued that they were simply exercising their right to free speech and that the suit was an attempt to “silence and punish” them.

Did the bride and groom defame their wedding photographer by airing their complaints to the press and on social media? You be the judge.