A Euless couple learned the hard way about the pitfalls of hiring wedding vendors.
Greg and Elizabeth Jamison say few people danced at their 2008 wedding reception because the DJ didn't play the music they had requested. He even played the wrong songs during the service.
Greg Jamison paid A Solid Gold Sound more than $600 in advance and spoke with a representative several times before the wedding.
“I was told, 'Hey, I’ve got everything. You don’t need to do anything else,’" he said. "And then he shows up the day of the wedding and doesn’t really have a clue.”
Jamison said the DJ did not provide several pieces of equipment that were promised, including a wireless microphone for the service.
His wife said the DJ even wanted her to walk around the side instead of down the aisle because his wired microphone equipment was in the way.
“And he goes, ‘I need you to get me a longer wire.’ And I said, 'I don’t have a longer wire, that’s something you’re supposed to take care of.' And he goes, ‘Well, you’re a bride that should have been better prepared,'" she said.
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Elizabeth Jamison said the man also made off-color remarks about her sister
“It was awful," she said. "I mean, he was talking about my 18-year-old sister to my mom -- making sexual references about my sister -- to my mom."
The Jamisons tried to get a refund. They discovered he worked as a contractor A Solid Gold Sound, a Cincinnati-area company.
The company could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Its phone was disconnected, and its website was not operating.
The company's owner told Better Business Bureau Inc. that A Solid Gold Sound went out of business last month.
The Better Business Bureau's Cincinnati-area franchise shows about 100 complaints on file about the company and its representatives from couples around the nation.
“The person didn’t show up, they didn’t get that service, or what they did provide was very unsatisfactory and they’re having a problem getting a resolution from the company,” said Jeannette Kopko, of the Dallas Better Business Bureau.
The Better Business Bureau has several suggestions for dealing with wedding vendors:
- Deal with reputable companies that provide references for past performance.
- Check www.bbb.org and consumer protection agencies for past complaints.
- Get a written contract signed and dated by all parties. Be sure to understand cancellation and refund policies.
- Try to keep deposits as small as possible and avoid paying for the entire service up front.
- Pay by credit card in the event you wish to challenge a purchase in the future.
But the Jamisons said they had an unhappy experience even though did some of those things.
Despite the trouble at their wedding, they said they are happy together.
“It didn’t ruin our marriage,” Elizabeth Jamison said.
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