A wedding videographer has denied a man’s refund request after his fiancée died in a car accident—and somehow, that’s not even the worst of their interactions since the crash.
Alexis-Athena Wyatt was lethally struck in her Honda Fit by a semi-trailer in February. When her fiancé, Justin Montney, contacted their wedding videographer, Copper Stallion Media, in search of a refund, the company refused, noting that wedding deposits are non-negotiable. Since then, the company has threatened to sue Montney, alleging that he is running a smear campaign. On what would have been Montney and Wyatt’s wedding day, the company even gloated on Facebook.
Montney and Wyatt paid Copper Stallion $1,800 in advance of their wedding day, Montney told Denver7 news. He reached out to the outlet’s sister station, KRDO-TV, after Copper Stallion threatened to sue him over a review he’d left the company on TheKnot.com.
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As the story went public and negative reviews poured in, Denver7 reports, Copper Stallion redirected both its company website and Yelp pages to a new domain, JustinMontney.com, which outlines their alleged interactions and claims Montney is orchestrating a “smear campaign.”
At the time of writing, Copper Stallion’s website appears normal, but JustinMontney.com remains live, as does an identical website registered at JustinMontneyWedding.com.
According to the site, on Feb. 17 “Justin reached out by email to tell us that the wedding was off due to the death of his fiancée. We replied and expressed our sympathy and explained to him that all of our wedding contracts are non-refundable. He kept emailing us trying to get a refund and we kept reiterating that the contract is non-refundable. We eventually stopped responding since the issue was moot.”
“On May 18, 2020, Justin Montney emailed stating that since he did not hear from us or receive a refund, he was notifying us ‘that a presence will be taking place on social media,’” the site continues. “This statement shows malice and intent to harm the reputation of Copper Stallion Media.”
Describing Montney’s story with “failing news station” KRDO, the site adds, “he admits that the contract was non-refundable but says we should give the money back due to the circumstance. Life is a bitch, Justin.”
The site says non-refundable wedding contracts are the industry standard, adding, “It is not right that people can go online and trash a company. The contract was non-refundable. We will NEVER refund Justin Montney even with the online threats and harassment.
“If we knew he was going to shake us down,” the site adds, “we would have charged a higher deposit.”
Copper Stallion Media has not responded to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Wyatt’s family created a GoFundMe to fund her funeral service; after the site exceeded its goal, the family said further funds will be used to create memorials in her memory.
On May 23, which would have been Montney and Wyatt’s wedding, Copper Stallion took a moment to revel on Facebook, in a post captured by Denver7: “Today would have been the day where we would have filmed Justin and Alexis' wedding. After what Justin pulled with the media stunt to try and shake us down for a refund we hope you sob and cry all day for what would have been your wedding day.”
