I honestly never write reviews. I read them, but don't write them. That is why I chose Virtuoso Graphics to do a special project for my wedding. I read some great reviews, but was very disappointed in my choice. This will be my first ever review.
My fiancé and I paid for most of our own wedding, and had decided we were not going to get each other a wedding gift. Two weeks before the wedding, my fiancé caught a 300 lb fish. He will soon be in the state of Louisiana record books for his catch. He was interviewed locally and nationally. Friends have even seen his story posted on international sites. Google Cullen Greer, and you will see him and his fish. I just couldn't help getting him a gift. I thought of something great, a life-size cardboard cutout of him and his fish. He would have it forever, and be able to share his story with our future family. I was going to surprise him with the cutout at our rehearsal dinner, and tell him my love for him was bigger than any fish in the sea. It was all about the effect of the size of the fish. My friends and parents thought it was such a cool idea.
I was very excited to learn that Virtuoso was capable of making life-size cutouts. They said they make things from floor to ceiling even. I was corresponding via email and telephone with April at Virtuoso, who was very pleasant to work with. In our email exchange, I informed her the height of the fish was 6'6, but for logistic purposes, 6' would be acceptable. April also informed me they could make the cutout without any white space. April sent me a proof to approve. Well, April and I both need to be better about reading details. She put on the proof, 60" rather than 6' in height. It was a week and a half before my wedding. I was more concerned with the caterer and guests, like any bride would be! I also approved a proof without any white space; I approved certain cut out lines. A close friend picked up the cutout the Friday of the rehearsal dinner, the night I was going to surprise him. Needless to say, the cutout was only 5' tall, and there was a lot of white space.
I'm not sure if 60" was mistakenly put on the proof, thinking it was 6', but the cutout was definitely not life-size. It is shorter than I am at 5'4. Just hours before our rehearsal dinner, it was too late to have anything else made. I was heartbroken because I knew my fiancé would have loved it. I wasn't excited to give it to him anymore.
We left the Sunday after for our honeymoon. I sent an email to Virtuoso requesting half of the cost be refunded. The total cost was approximately $238. I realize I approved a proof for the incorrect size, but I did approve a proof with no white space. April told me the day the cutout was picked up, that she did not know there would be white space until that day. They said there was no way to do the cutout without white space if there was a stand. Well, no one informed me of this. If so, I would have gone without the stand, and stood the cutout up against a wall. Half my fault, half their fault. I thought my request for a refund of half was fair. They denied this. They said I could bring the cutout back when I returned home from my honeymoon, and April would hand cut out the white space. Well, it's too late now. You ruined the effect of my surprise.
The cutout and a DVD of a slideshow not working, were the only things that went wrong the entire wedding weekend.
Do not use this company. They have no customer service. They don't pay attention to the details. I learned a big lesson about approving a proof. I gave one star because I believe April is a nice person.
I thought I was doing them a favor - to have made a cutout about a story that has gone viral - would have been great for their business. read more