Wedding photographer ghosted us

If you can't get anywhere with the vendor, you could contact your bank and ask for a chargeback - assuming you paid by card?

Very odd. How long in advance of the wedding did you pay the full amount.

Do they have a website.

Just to get the timeline right.

4 weeks before the wedding you had no replies to your effort to contact him until a couple of days before the wedding when he replied to you saying he had family issues - now resolved. Then the night before the wedding he emailed you to go through the wedding.

Did you tell him you are cancelling him due to lack of contact the week before when you sourced a replacement and did you for ask for a refund.

Did you reply to him when he contacted you a few days before the wedding.

Did you reply to him the night before the wedding when he contacted you.

What I am fearing for you is that yes you were right to find a replacement but he actually did not do anything wrong. There is a resident contract law expert on here so hopefully they may be along to give more help and advice.

Also there is a facebook group that deals with wedding supplier issues that may be helpful to see if they are mentioned on there.

I would contact your wedding insurance provider if you have one.

This is awful, I hope you managed to get this issue sorted.