Bella Pictures

I found Bella Photography through The Knot and was amazed and awed at how beautifully done the pictures were. I found Bella in Naperville and met with a nice lady who was a representative of Bella and went through Bella herself. She had a lot of positive things to say about the company and I was super excited especially when she showed me how beautiful and great having a video is. The samples of wedding videos I saw were amazing and got me crying and it wasn't even my wedding! Needless to say I hired Bella as my photography and videography for my wedding. Now two months later after my wedding (June 18, 2011) I am terribly troubled and upset with Bella. It may have a A+ rating in California but it has a D- rating in Illinois. First off, my ""consultant"" stopped working for the company and put me in touch with another women who would be my ""consultant"" and then that lady ended up leaving too but didn't even tell me! By then I was freaking out because I had to call CALIFORNIA to find this out and to be told its been ""crazy"" lately and they are trying to ""organize"" things there but if I had any more questions I had to contact someone in CALIFORNIA. This is just the tip of the ice berg. I was freaking out and upset but I felt that maybe you guys would prove yourselves when the time came. Thank God our photographer Rich Chapman came through for us and took such BEAUTIFUL pictures!! However, the pictures I saw Rich taking at the wedding did not show up in what Bella showed us or gave us in our digital package. That I'm a little upset about because we should have rights to ALL of our pictures not just the ones Bella feels are better when they definitely are not. This was the last straw though. Our videographer we NEVER MET until the day of the wedding and he got there FIFTEEN MINUTES BEFORE THE WEDDING! He did not give me a microphone, he gave my husband a microphone that was being held together BY TAPE!! The microphone (we find out later) did not even pick up my husband's voice and the audio is TERRIBLE on our final video :(. The video itself is poorly done and NO WHERE NEAR the quality we were promised. It was one day we wanted to remember through the services of Bella and when I look back at the video I just think of how poor of service we received when we paid A LOT of money for more than what we got. :( DO NOT use this company, save yourself the headache! more

Please, do NOT use Bella photography we are truly disappointed with Bella Corporation. This past October we selected Bella photography. This was the BIGGEST mistake of our wedding! If its possible that something may go wrong, big or small, and you would like to deal with someone responsible, professional and reasonable DO NOT SELECT BELLA! The following are a few of the things that went wrong: - Photographer ?forgot? to take pictures of me alone with my dress - Photographer missed one of the groomsmen in most of the guy?s pictures. - COMPLETELY MISSED the first location. - Additionally, the pictures are mediocre at best - The only compensation Bella offered was a reshoot (1 ? hours) with a photographer who?s portfolio was significantly below our original photographer. We chose to hire our own photographer and will be paying complete cost out of pocket. I want to be very clear, we were not asking for a ton of money back, around $400. I?m so upset with Bella?s ethics; they continually dodged ownership for the mistakes made and frequently implied they have very low standards for their business integrity. They are NOT customer focused! Please reconsider your options. I feel so passionate about this that I will provide my email below and if you have additional questions or would like to see some email sent by Bella employees and / or the CEO, please don?t hesitate to contact me. Additionally, if you?re in a similar situation I will provide the CEO email address if you email me. However, don?t expect a resolution by presenting your issue(s). ? However, sometimes that is not possible and it is best to agree to disagree.? -Mitch Rhodes CEO of Bella Thank you for reading and I hope this helps, Nina ninamalnati@gmail Cons: read below more

I would completely advise against using Bella photography. I hired them for my wedding in April. I printed a list of 10 formal pictures I wanted to be taken after the wedding, but prior to entering the reception. I discussed these with the photographer prior to the wedding day. I actually put Bride and Groom only on the list even though one would ASSUME a wedding photographer would know to take several of those. NOT ours!!! Out of 1200 images, there was not one single image of just my husband and I. They were completely unresponsive to my dissatisfaction until I let them know I would be posting my experience on line. They have still been unable to resolve the issue. I asked for some money back, but they would rather ""CROP"" images and make a fake picture. It was absolutey the only part of my wedding planning that I regret. I will be angry about this experience for a very long time. Pros: None that you won't find with any photographer Cons: Way over priced for the quality of the images more

I have been a professional photographer for over a decade now in the DC metro area. I decided to work with Bella for a few freelance shoots to cover some gaps in my schedule. What a bunch of disorganized clowns they are. They had me scheduled for two weddings on the same date and time. They never responded to my calls or emails requesting changes to scheduling and often booked me for dates without ever asking if I could cover them. They are complete joke. Pros: None that I can think of Cons: Overpriced and disorganized more

I am soon to go on my first wedding assignment with Bella as as a second shooter as part of the process of becoming Bella Certified so my experience with them has been limited. Pros: bargain price, screened photographers Cons: don't meet photographer until last minute more

Wedding photography is very important. I highly recommend searching the Internet for reviews on Bella Pictures before considering using them for your wedding. You will find a lot of interesting info from clients and photographers who work for them. more

We were married in June 07, and had the most wonderfull experience with Bella Pictures. I would reccomend them to anyone looking to get proffesional beautiful photos and service. Our photographer was perfectly matched to us, not bossy at all, yet helpful. She was never in the way and I think we almost forgot she was there, if it wasn't for all the great photo's we might have actually thought she left a few times! She captured so many moments that I am so greatful to have. I love that they give you a disk with all the negatives, so we ended up wtih over 1,000 photos that we truly treasure! (and we can print them inexpensively if we want to just about anywhere)I highly reccomend this company to any bride & Groom! Pros: Proffesional Friendly attitude, beautiful photos more

My sister used Bella Pictures and the images are phenomenal! They are gorgeous, artistic shots and she received all of her digtial negatives, absolutely every single picture that was taken that day. Her consultant always responded to her emails and phone calls promptly and the customer service of the entire company was awesome. When I get married, I'll be sure to use them myself! Best wedding photographer around for the value in the Greater Boston area. Pros: price, quality of the work, albums, all negatives Cons: can't think of any more

I don't know where to begin to tell you how wonderful this company is. I hired them to photograph my wedding and I could not believe how amazing my photos came out. The prices are great and you get a lot for your money. Out of all the photgraphers I looked into, this company was the only one that had packages that fit every budget and didn't have any hidden costs. I had someone from the company in constant contact with me throughout the planning of my wedding right up until the day of. The photographers were wonderful. They captured every moment from beginning to end. I was so comfortable with them and I actually felt like I had known them for years. They were so much fun to work with. I can honestly say I would recommend Bella Pictures to anyone that is getting married and looking for a company that will stand by their word and provide you with beautiful top quality photos for reasonable prices. Pros: Reasonable Prices, Variety of Photo Packages, Exceptional Customer Service Cons: Can't even think of one. more

they are a national chain and they ""select"" a photographer that is freelance and available for your wedding date. the photo print quality is terrible. my digital negatives, i blew it up to a 10x14 and it is blurry. they told me that the negatives are high resolution and can produce much bigger reprints then that. their service is shoddy and they don't respond to emails, phone calls - that is once you book them and paid all your deposits. Cons: poor service, poor quality of photo prints, non responsive more