Social media followers can only get you so far in life.
Sure, followers are helpful for racking up likes and for the occasional ego boost. But one influencer bridezilla recently learned that a bunch of followers can only get you so far. This bride learned that the hard way when her request for wedding photos in exchange for exposure was brutally denied.
An agent named Melissa recently reached out to British photography company Betrothed & Co on behalf of her “influencer” client. The only problem was that the photographers’ definition of influencer was a little different than the agent’s.
Melissa emailed the team at Betrothed & Co asking for a documentary-style video of the pre-wedding events, an hour-long video of the ceremony, and over 1,000 photos of dress fittings and the wedding itself – all in exchange for some social media posts to the bride’s 55,000 followers. It was a big ask, but that wasn’t all. Melissa also said that her influencer client would post about the photos and offer a 25% discount on Betrothed & Co services to her followers. So not only did she ask Betrothed & Co to provide free services, but she also wanted them to then charge a lower fee to all the bride’s followers.
Since Melissa was asking for so much for her client, the team at Betrothed & Co naturally wanted to make sure that they’d be making a fair trade.
They first questioned the bride’s number of followers. While 55,000 is a lot of people, it isn’t much compared to the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of followers that most top-tier influencers have. Frankie from Betrothed & Co answered Melissa’s email to get to the bottom of the situation.
Frankie’s email was tinged with a touch of snark about the bride’s follower count, and Melissa did not take too kindly to it. From there, things only escalated. Melissa still tried to prove the bride’s worth and even brought up the bride’s mother’s cancer as part of a guilt trip.
Frankie replied once more, putting the whole issue to rest (for now).
The identity of the influencer bride is still a mystery, but people are having some big reactions on Reddit to her insistence on free services in exchange for posts.
“How did they think demanding the right to offer discounted services was going to help them land a freebie?” –waxedmintfloss
“Okay so let me get this straight – she wants free photography and in exchange she will give discounts to other people as part of the advertising? Wtf?” –lasagna_manana
“Okay, you guys, I’m inspired, and I’d like to inform you of an amazing opportunity. My social media influencer client, who is also me, will happily promote your business to my almost eighty followers on my private Instagram account. That’s right – eighty (MOL).
All I’m looking for in return is a free whatever-it-is that you do (for, like, promotional purposes or whatever), and a free pizza delivered to my house (because I’m hungry, but also, I don’t feel like talking to anyone on the phone.)
Please respond quickly, because I’m not trying to overwhelm my eighty followers with #sponcon fatigue, and also I don’t know for sure when the pizza place closes on Sunday. Double pepperoni, extra cheese on the pizza. I look forward to working with you, and God bless.” —Yolanda_B_Kool
“This is INSANE. My husband used to be a wedding videographer and he is in disbelief at this exchange.” — buzzoffbambadjan
“I want to frame these emails and put them in my bathroom to remind me how to live my life. This level of eloquent snark is aspirational.” —kya101
“Does anyone else pity the unfortunate guests at this wedding who will have to sit through an HOUR long video? Geez Louise!” –DLVSH