Matthew Witmer's string quartet (aka Mercury String Quartet) contracted to play at our wedding for 2 hours (the ceremony and cocktail hour). On the day of the wedding, they only played during the ceremony, and did not play a single song during the cocktail hour. When we realized there was no music playing, my husband found him at the bar having drinks. He told us he only had to play for 1 hour. We couldn't deal with him at that time (we had pictures to take and guests to entertain and the cocktail hour was already half over), so we politely thanked him and he left.
When we got home from our honeymoon we re-checked the contract, which clearly stated 2 hours of play. Then we called him to see if he just made a mistake and wanted to make it right. He didn't, and was convinced that he fulfilled his end of the contract because: (1) he drove all the way from LA; (2) he played a special song for us during the ceremony; (3) his cello player had to leave; (4) he needed a 15 minute break; (5) it was difficult to be a musician...and on and on. He told us we were the most ungrateful people he had ever dealt with.
We paid him in full and gave him a very generous tip because we thought we were getting such a great deal, but really, he got paid extra for only fulfilling half the contract. Brides, please don't let this happen to you! read more