A picture is worth a thousand words, but a video is worth a million. Especially wedding video.
They capture the emotion and memories of that special day.
Now imagine paying to have your wedding recorded, but not getting the video.
Investigative Reporter Darian Trotter has tonight’s Problem Solver report.
“My hearts, racing, my heart’s being you know,” said Candelario Gomez. “I was like, I am losing my job today.”
It’s like it was just yesterday….
“We met at Bank of America,” said Mary Alice Gomez. “He was the employee, I was the customer.”
Mary Alice and Candelario Gomez have fond memories of when they first met.
The then banker, had slipped his customer a post it note asking her out on a date.
Mary Alice recounted, “I’m like, is this how you hit on woman at work? I’m like can I speak to your supervisor?
Candelario said, “And then she just started cracking up, and she started laughing. It was amazing.”
That meeting would lead to their happily ever after.
“So he, he proposed at Bank of America, outside Bank of America where we began,” said Mary Alice.
Fast-forward to their wedding day. It was the day that cemented their love for one another.
They planned the wedding, and hired a professional videographer to record their nuptials.
Their story would be told through the lens of Matthew Kittrell and Ever After Studios.
“We specifically asked our guests, please don’t record during the wedding,” said Mary Alice.
They went with the gold package for $3,900. It’s the third most expensive out of five options.
According to their contract with Ever After Studio, a highlight video would be delivered within 5 to 5.5 months. The full edit was to be delivered within 8 to 12 months.
“We have not seen anything you know of like, he promised a highlight video, and we never even got that.”
They say it became clear Matthew Kittrell was well behind schedule, and things were not looking good.
Investigative Reporter Darian Trotter asked, “When you would check in three months, six months, any update on our video, he would say what?
Mary Alice replied, “He wouldn’t respond. I would message him. He would not respond. I would email him, he did not respond.”
The tug of war with Matthew Kittrell and Ever After Studio would drag out for more than a year.
The happy couple still did not have their wedding video 18-months after tying the knot.
“We didn’t have anything to show for,” Mary Alice said. “If anything, we just have our engagement pictures, you know.”
These engagement photos were taken by someone else.
As for their video, the couple made clear delays had nothing to do with finances.
The account was paid in full long before the wedding, December of 2023.
“Whenever we needed to make a payment, our money was correct,” said Candelario. “Our money was there and on time.”
We checked Google reviews and found the Gomez’ are not alone.
One couple writes, “Please do not hire this company.”
One bride writes, “If I could give zero stars, I would.”
And another bride writes, “Our wedding was in April, we still haven’t seen one photo from that day, and now we’re being ghosted.”
A quick check with the Better Business Bureau reveals Ever After Studio has an F-rating for failing to respond to customer complaints, and is not accredited with the BBB.
This frustrated couple says Matthew Kittrell would only answer their call if they blocked their number.
“Then he says I’ll call you back and he doesn’t,” said Mary Alice.
Over time, they say Matthew Kittrell revealed he was going through hard times. Because of it, they say they tried not to be confrontational when repeatedly asking about their video that was long overdue.
“There was so many times I could have but I said, we get nowhere with that, you know,” Mary Alice said. “I don’t know what he’s going through in life. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
They say Matthew Kittrell would later explain during a phone call, he was going through a divorce, filing for bankruptcy and going out of business.
An online search confirms Ever After Studio is permanently closed.
To make the Gomez’ whole, they say Matthew Kittrell asked them to dispute their payment with the bank and that he would not deny the claim.
“But somehow the merchant denied the service,” Mary Alice said. “He keeps telling me, I’m not the merchant. The merchant is square or square tiles. I’m like, the merchant is clearly you.”
We tried several times to reach Matthew Kittrell through phone calls and emails, but he never got back to us.
The couple never got their money back, but Matthew did offer up the raw footage of their wedding.
But they say he asked them to provide the external hard drive.
Well, now they now have the raw footage. It just needs to be edited.
If there’s a talented editor and videographer out there, we’d love to hear from you.