To all future Brides out there...be warned... Karen Simmons and Associates or Karen and Company out of Atlanta is a fraud. We paid her over $3000 to photograph our wedding (which she did a wonderful job of), but she has not sent our pictures and cannot be found anywhere. She did post our photos online on her website, which was great in the beginning, but now seems like torture as we know what we are missing. She hasn't responded to my emails and her phone has been disconnected for incoming calls. If anyone else has a similar story with her, please respond! Careful out there with your photographer! One good thing is that American Express is working with us to at least get a portion of our money back! But my memories of that day will forever be just that, memories!

Your first step is to report her to the better business bureau <~ask if she's been reported before...bring copies of the information (her name receipts any info you may have in to your local district attorney)-- then push for a small claims lawsuit or go bigger if you prefer. Ohhh this makes me so angry! Give us her website so you can have "friends" to do the helping! Does her website have a guestbook?? IF YOU DO NOT DOCUMENT ANY OF THE EVIDENCE WHEN THEY DO FIND HER IT COULD BE VERY HARD TO PROVE! File a police report ... descriptions signed receipts ... and most of all a paid in full document...deposites...and where the money cleared ... anything pertaining to the the "hired contract"... I don't know everything to do or state laws in your area but this could help with a start!

__________________
~~Brandi~~

To: Bridezilla and ALL FUTURE BRIDES: My mouth dropped to the floor when I read your email (Bridezilla)! Karen Simmons and Associates of Atlanta were the photographers for my beautiful New Orleans Wedding. My husband and I paid this fraudulent company in excess of $3000.00, for a wedding in Nov. 2003, and I HAVE YET TO RECEIVE MY PHOTOS! The contract that I signed is null and void. I have not received the CD Rom, the password protected password for 90 days, the negatives, or original digital files. I have received excuse after excuse from Karen; i.e. no phone, returned mail, unanswered email, etc, and I still do not have my beautiful photos. Well, I've stopped crying, and now I'm MAD! I have begun legal actions against this company, but I need an accurate mailing address! Please help me!

Further, when I contacted her friend and business partner, Alleggra, in Washington, D.C., via email, Karen responded angrily, as if I didn't have a right to contact others about her poor business practices.

Bridezilla, we must join forces to retrieve our funds and our photographs, and to keep this from happening to other brides and grooms.

LostnLA

Was bored and decided to type her name into Google (as I do every 6 months or so) and found this as the number one hit.

Used to be in business with her, then used the courts to end the relationship. Magistrate's court in Georgia seems like a decent option, but if you don't know where the person banks, or their account contains no money, enforcing your claim may be impossible (she never even showed for our court date).

Don't know how much I can help (this was years ago) but if you want to e-mail I'll clue you in as much as I can.

I don't think the behavior you're seeing is malicious or even deliberate, if that helps at all. But you're far from the first to run into these sorts of problems (do a search on Google groups, and find the point when she stopped frequenting alt.weddings).

She is asking for people to contact her via e-mail for 2005 bookings! but no longer can accept 2004! her mail response said info@ksimmons.com And the reverse said Karen Simmons from Bolton<~ don't know where that's at but maybe someone does....Just wanted to help out here...I'm still digging!
We just had a wedding planner get sentenced to 8 years with hard labor for "take and run" stunts like this!

__________________
~~Brandi~~

She doesn't respond to email requests for 2005 bookings either. I'm sure she's reading these boards as well.

Some other stuff about Karen

http://www.thinds.com/advocate/simmons/rebuttal.htm

I recommend contacting the BBB. I don't know about your area, but in my area (Detroit, Michigan area), we have TV stations that do investigation reports to solve problems like yours. They always get good results too. I recommend checking TV stations in your area to see if they would be interested in doing this type of human interest story. You may be surprised. Nothing gets someone scared like a TV camera in their face confronting them with their poor business practices.

Good luck!

Elizabeth

I just can't believe that this goes on. I went to the Atlanta BBB site and it said she has had 16 complaints in the last three years.

http://www.atlanta.bbb.org/search.html

Why isn't this person in Jail?

I hate that you both have had to go through this I found her address listed in the whois listed as.

Karen Simmons
PO Box 500817
Atlanta, Georgia 31150
United States

I think since she is a buisiness the US Postal Service will give you her street address. At least that used to be true.

Julianna