Golden Arrow Photo

but haven’t heard from her since! We were quoted a timeline of 9-12 weeks after the event to get our full photos back and at week 10, I sent an email just checking in to make sure that timeline was still accurate. No response. Sent another email at week 12 when they were supposed to be ready. Nothing. Starting sending emails every few days through week 14. Still no response. Texted the phone number I had been communicating with Ali through a couple times. Nada. Went through the website acting like a new customer to see if I could get in touch with anyone that way. Nada. I am holding out hope there is some extreme circumstance, but I’m loosing confidence with every passing day. It’s now been 15 weeks since I last got ahold of anyone at Golden Arrow. Will happily amend my review pending the resolution of this issue, but for now, I can’t recommend using this company to anyone. *UPDATE* Found out that Ali subcontracted to another photographer without notifying us (which she was supposed to do, per our contract), she then failed to pay that subcontracted photographer (hence, no release of our photos as that photographer was holding them as collateral until she was paid), and then Ali moved to Florida and completely stopped all contact with us (and the rest of her clients). Was able to track down the subcontracted photographer through our lawyers (she is suing Ali for her wages as she did multiple weddings that Ali never paid her for - WE WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES!!). Since she was subcontracted, the photographer in physical possession of our photos could not legally release them to us since Golden Arrow owned the rights to them (since our contract was with that company). Her lawyer worked out some deal with Ali's lawyer that allowed her to release our photos, so while we ended up also paying the subcontracted photographer her wages for the day of our wedding (in order for her to release the pictures), we finally got our pictures! Have to say, none of this was the subcontracted photographers fault and she took and edited absolutely amazing pictures. While we are out an extra $1800 on top of the $3600 we paid Ali (which, our lawyer advised us we would not get back if we sued because there are so many claims against her at the moment, she will likely file for bankruptcy), I am just glad at the end of the day I did not completely lose these one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable photographs. Moral of the story - NEVER use Golden Arrow Photography or any other company started or owned by Ali Leib.

e she didn't have time for us. I had a couple ideas in mind for our engagement photo location and Ali shot every idea down and used some poor excuse but in reality, she was just too lazy to leave her bubble in Menifee. We ended up settling on a location that was conveniently right down the street from her. I scheduled an appointment to get my hair and makeup done for our engagement photos and put a $100 deposit down. The night before our photos, Ali cancelled on us because her "daughter came down with covid"...another poor excuse. So I lost my $100 deposit for hair and makeup and had to reschedule our photos. When rescheduling, Ali settled for a location closer to us (the guilt) and the entire experience was horrible. She was late. She made everything feel awkward. She was in a rush to get home to relieve her babysitter. SO PROFESSIONAL! We ended up getting our pictures back the next day (major red flag) so we know she spent zero time editing. I could've had someone take better pictures off of my iPhone, that's how bad they were. Fast forward to our wedding. On May 19th (16 days before our wedding) I sent over our family shot list and asked for her timeline because a couple other vendors were asking for it. I never heard back from her until...TWO DAYS BEFORE OUR WEDDING AT 3PM. Ali sends me a message through honeybook pretty much stating that she cant shoot our wedding because she was sick. She couldn't even handle the situation like an adult and pick up the phone which tells me she wasn't sick. AGAIN, another poor excuse. She did offer for two people to fill in yet I have never seen their work and have never talked to them. I called our venue owner (because Golden Arrow was on the preferred vendor list) and asked if this has ever happened. The owner called the kettle black and said Ali was a liar, she wasn't sick and that her and her family were moving to Florida during that time and Ali was either out of state or had better things to do. No bride should EVER have to endure this kind of stress two days before their wedding especially with your photographer, the most important part of your big day. I ended up terminating our contract, book another photographer (who is AMAZING @tessamariephotography) and demanded our $ back. Mind you, Ali had already been paid in full. She spent all of our money before hand so she could only afford to give us half of what was paid. She could only pay us in installments on the 15th of every month until it was satisfied by October 15th. She used covid as an excuse as to why she had to pay in installments. The first, second, third payments were late. I had to reach out and ask all 3 times where our $ was. We never received September or Octobers payment. I have messaged Ali THREE times since then to see when we are to expect to receive our $. No response. Ali is clearly in it for herself and doesn't care about her clients. I am sure she will regret all of the lies when she sees us in small claims court!

can both say that Ali and her team are unlike any other. They are kind, calm, professional, unnoticeable when needed, and make you feel so incredibly comfortable. She is great at gently reminding you when you have a double chin, to stand up straight, or to reposition your hand, because let's be real, majority of us aren't models so guidance is NECESSARY! And she has such a finesse to it. I can't imagine having anyone else capturing the best day of our lives and look forward to hiring her in the future for our family photos. Thank you Ali!!

calm and relaxing, and we were able to just enjoy the day with everyone. Our sneak peeks look so incredible (perfect lighting and everything!). Erica really made sure she captured all the shots that I specifically requested, and I could tell that she understood my vision and was so good at directing us in the moment without feeling too awkward. She even helped me with my bustle when I needed to quickly do that before my first dance! I can't recommend this team enough, and you will get the dreamiest photos!