North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson filed a motion for default judgment on Wednesday against Holly Christina Photography and its owners, arguing the company defied a May court order to deliver paid-for wedding photos and videos. The state is seeking consumer restitution, delivery of outstanding materials, civil penalties that court filings put at more than $1.1 million, and permanent injunctive relief — on top of nearly $600,000 in restitution tied to reported client losses.

The scale of the case is unusual for a wedding photography business. According to the North Carolina Department of Justice, Holly Christina Photography has drawn 228 consumer complaints since January, with couples reporting combined losses approaching $600,000. Jackson first sued the company and its owners in February, alleging they misled customers by failing to provide promised photography and videography services.

In May, a judge issued a preliminary injunction that froze the company's assets and ordered delivery of all paid photos and videos within 30 days to customers who had not received them. Wednesday's motion says the defendants did not deliver all required materials and failed to provide a verified list of customers who had received their files — the compliance failures that triggered the default judgment request.

Among the affected clients is Mikayla Thompson, a Wilmington-area bride who signed a contract with the studio in January 2025 for a May 2026 wedding and paid upfront in exchange for a discount. "She was super personable, and I felt like she was going to meet our needs perfectly," Thompson said. After paying through Venmo, she says she never heard from the company again.

Her recovery attempt highlights a payment-rail problem many wedding photographers and their clients overlook: Thompson tried to claw the money back through Venmo but was refused, she said, because the payment was made roughly a year before the event. "We tried to get our money back through Venmo, but because it was a whole year after, the higher-ups at Venmo just didn't understand that I paid this company for an event that hadn't happened yet," Thompson said.

"There are so many of us, and there is so much money tied into this," she added. "And we do need someone like the Attorney General to help us."

Thompson managed to hire a replacement photographer and get her images. "I just hope we're able to find some justice here and we're able to hopefully get at least a little money back, or the brides, at least, are able to get their photos back," she said.

Queen City News reports it reached out to Holly Christina Photography for comment and received no response. The company has not publicly answered the allegations.

For working photographers, the case is a reminder of what regulators now treat as enforceable obligations: signed contracts, promised deliverables, and payment terms. A frozen asset base, a court-ordered 30-day delivery deadline, and a penalty exposure exceeding $1.7 million in combined restitution and fines show how quickly a delivery backlog can escalate into an existential business liability. The next decision now rests with the judge, who must rule on the default judgment motion and determine whether the company can be compelled to pay and deliver.