Lawsuit of the Day, Pictures, Weddings

Here Comes the Bride, All Dressed in... Oops, She's Not Dressed

From a bride's pre-wedding hair and makeup session to her walk down the aisle, someone with a camera will be by her side snapping pictures all the way. And Staci does mean all the way. Did you ever think that a picture of you in your skivvies would make its way into your wedding album? This lawyerly bride sure didn't. She was blushing alright, but with embarrassment....

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Your wedding day is supposed to be a special occasion filled with joy and happiness. And for that reason, brides across the country are willing to pay top dollar for the best photographer money can buy, to document the entire experience.

From a bride’s pre-wedding hair and makeup session to her walk down the aisle, someone with a camera will be by her side snapping pictures all the way. And I do mean all the way.

Did you ever think that a picture of you in your skivvies would make its way into your wedding album? This lawyerly bride sure didn’t.

She was blushing alright, but with embarrassment….

Broken-off engagements can result in litigation. And weddings can, too.

Sara Bostwick née Strilcic, a graduate of Hofstra Law who apparently once worked at Wilson Elser, was married on September 20, 2008. The bride hired the fabulous Christian Oth Studios to do the photography work on her special day. (And while on the topic of being fabulous, the studio was featured in the movie Bride Wars, not to mention the fact that they’re also fabulously expensive.)

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Bostwick’s photgrapher, Carolyn Monastra, was there with the bride to take classy pictures throughout the day when she would tell her soon-to-be-husband “I do.” According to the Christian Oth website, Monastra “knows how to have fun” and has a “great sense of humor.” Apparently part of Monastra’s “great sense of humor” involved taking pictures of the bride in various states of undress. Nothing says wedding like a soft-core porn shoot.

It seems like Monastra allegedly took the fun a little too far, because at the end of the day, Bostwick also said “I sue.” The New York Post has more information on Bostwick’s bridal woes:

[Bostwick] “forbade” Monastra from taking pictures of her in a state of undress — but the photographer apparently kept snapping away and racy shots, even after Bostwick complained about them, ended up online, the suit says.

Bostwick brought her suit back in 2009, alleging fraud, breach of contract, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. She claimed that the racy photos posted online for all (with an access code) to see drove her to suffer “severe emotional injuries,” including post-traumatic stress disorder.

Here’s my question: if Bostwick really wanted Monastra to stop taking pictures of her while she was half-naked and in her underwear, wouldn’t she have kicked the photographer out of the room? I mean, really, even after I finish doing this godawful bridal bootcamp, you can be damn sure that I still won’t want someone in the room to take pictures while I’m getting dressed.

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And in 2010, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Judith Gische apparently agreed. She tossed out Bostwick’s case, noting in an opinion excerpted by the New York Daily News:

While the court is sympathetic to [Bostwick’s] situation based on her prior experiences, and even accepting that the publication of the photos may have been upsetting and embarrassing to her, there is nothing that would cause her to fear that she was exposed to physical harm.

Um, really? Bostwick was afraid that someone would hurt her after pictures of her in the buff landed online? Come on, she couldn’t have been that ugly. Her lawyer, Ruth Bernstein, mentioned that someone had posted offending pictures of Bostwick online in the past, so this bridal blemish “brought everything back for her.” This lady needs to stop putting herself in situations where she’s naked on camera. It’s really not that hard… is it?

Okay, maybe it is for some people. But as we all know, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and you’re doubly screwed if that woman is a lawyer and a bridezilla, to boot. Bostwick is appealing her case, and the appeal is being heard this fall:

From a future bride to a former bride, I wish Bostwick the best of luck with her appeal. She probably needs it. And next time, if you want to be a little less mortified over pictures taken while you’re in your bra and underwear, you should invest in some Spanx. Hope that helps.

Judge tosses suit filed by underwear bride [New York Post]
Bride who sued photog over underwear pics taken on her wedding day has lawsuit tossed by judge [New York Daily News]
Pix have wed belle ‘blue’: suit [New York Post]
Long Island bride says ‘I sue’ over racy pics posted online [New York Daily News]

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