Uncertainty looms despite $1.7M judgment in favor of Holly Christina Photography customers

A $1.7 million judgment against a Raleigh-based wedding photography company is raising new questions about whether customers who say they lost money will ever be repaid.

For months, 5 On Your Side has tracked complaints tied to Holly Christina Photography after couples said they never received the wedding photos they paid for.

The North Carolina Department of Justice has received more than 220 consumer complaints about the company, representing about $600,000 in reported losses.

The ruling determined that many would get restitution, but many of the victims are skeptical they'll get their money back. 

Brittany Marett said she hired Holly Christina Photography to photograph her wedding nearly a year ago. She said she is still waiting on many of the photos she paid for, and the images she has received have not been edited.

“It will be almost a year in December for my wedding, and I haven’t posted my wedding album,” Marett said.

Marett said she was encouraged by the judge’s ruling but remains concerned about whether the company has enough assets to compensate everyone who filed complaints.

“I do worry that there are not going to be enough assets to pay us all back,” she said.

According to the Department of Justice, Marett paid the company nearly $7,000.

WRAL News asked the Department of Justice what reinforcement measures the state can take to ensure money is recouped, and what the state believes happened to the money customers paid to Holly Christina Photography. They did not immediately respond.

WRAL News also has not heard back from the owners of Holly Christina Photography since the judgment. The company’s owners previously told WRAL News that an illness contributed to the company’s demise.