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Bridal studio sues couple for defamation

SINGAPORE — The bridal studio that gained infamy over a wedding photograph fiasco is embroiled in controversy again, over a soured deal with another couple.

A screenshot of Feline Wedding's Facebook page promising 'Taiwan pre-wedding photos and wedding package'.

A screenshot of Feline Wedding's Facebook page promising 'Taiwan pre-wedding photos and wedding package'.

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SINGAPORE — The bridal studio that gained infamy over a wedding photograph fiasco is embroiled in controversy again, over a soured deal with another couple.

Feline Wedding, owned by Ms Wang Choong Li, has sued a couple for defamation, after the couple took to the bridal studio’s Facebook page to voice concerns over what they alleged were unethical business practices.

The couple in turn has lobbed a counterclaim at the bridal studio, asking for a refund of their package deal — which amounted to nearly S$4,000 payable over 12 monthly instalments — and costs, among others.

Feline Wedding made headlines four months ago, after a newly-wed made light of her poorly-taken wedding photographs on Facebook. Her post featuring 21 photos took social media by storm, and was shared over 20,000 times.

The court case involves another couple, Mr Neo Wei Quan and Ms Michelle Tang. They had signed up for a wedding package at a Feline Wedding roadshow at Bugis+ shopping mall in December 2014, according to court documents.

The deal, said the couple, included any gown from the bridal studio, a suit and hair and make-up services for the Registry of Marriages (ROM) ceremony. Free alteration for the gown would be provided, and if none of the pieces was satisfactory, Ms Tang could opt for a customised gown.

The shop assistant attending to them also promised the studio’s “best” make-up artist and photographer for a photoshoot in Taiwan, claimed the couple.

But things started to fall apart during their first visit to the studio at Alexandra Road in March 1 last year.

The couple alleged that only a “limited selection” of gowns was available, and no alteration was allowed. Instead of a suit as promised, Mr Neo was only provided with a blazer.

They were also apparently told that hair and make-up services would only be available after 11am, and hence, were “forced to reschedule” their ROM ceremony.

The icing on the cake was that they had to choose the same date as “at least one other couple” for their photoshoot in Taiwan, or the shop would not send their in-house make-up artist overseas.

On March 15 that year, Mr Neo returned to the studio with his father to demand a full refund of the S$1,300 that had been paid by then. He was told to make an appointment with an authorised representative.

The next day, Mr Neo and Ms Tang, together with their family members, met the store manager. They came to the agreement that the remaining instalments would be halted until the shop “regained the (couple’s) trust”.

But the shop’s owner Ms Wang intervened and called off the agreement. Three days later, the couple sent an email to Feline Wedding, asking to call off the deal.

Around this period, Mr Neo and Ms Tang lodged a complaint with the Consumers Association of Singapore and wrote about their negative experience on the studio’s Facebook page, threatening legal action. They also urged other netizens to contact them with their accounts to strengthen their case. The studio served them with court papers in May last year, asking for damages for libel.

In their defence, the couple said that Feline Wedding had a “general bad reputation” for being unprofessional and failing to deliver on their services or products. They claimed that there have been “numerous negative reviews” posted by former and current customers on the studio’s Facebook page and Internet forums.

Denying these, the studio charged that the couple wanted to call off the deal without incurring any costs after “purchasing outfit(s) online at a cheap price”. The case is currently before the courts, with a pre-trial hearing scheduled at the end of the month.

In a separate case that has since concluded, Ms Wang was in a copyright tussle with Hong Kong celebrity Rosanne Wong over her photographs. The singer-actress sued her for using her pre-wedding photographs at exhibitions and publishing her wedding day photographs in a coffee table book.

While Ms Wong won the suit in a district court, the High Court overturned the judgment for the latter case in May last year, after finding that she did not own the copyright to the wedding day images, since the photographer was engaged by Feline Weddings.

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