FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Contact: comms@ncdoj.gov
919-538-2809
RALEIGH – Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson sued Holly Christina Scott Ayscue, Christopher Owen Ayscue, and their wedding photography company, Holly Christina Photography, alleging that the defendants misled and defrauded brides, engaged couples, and their families. Since January, the Department of Justice has received 166 complaints from customers alleging about $750,000 in total financial loss.
“This photographer left engaged couples and newlyweds stranded without a wedding photographer, without refunds, and without memories from one of the most important days of their lives,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “Even before they shut down, they were deceiving customers to maximize their own profit. We’re taking them to court to get justice for these brides and grooms.”
Holly Christina Photography primarily sold photo and video packages to wedding clients. Some customers paid the photographers a 50 percent upfront deposit when they booked the company – at least $1,500 for most clients – and more than half of the complaining customers paid the full cost upfront, on average over $5,000, in exchange for a 10 percent discount.
The company either failed to provide all the services they promised, or they failed to do any work at all for their clients. The defendants shut down abruptly on January 25 but continued to solicit and take deposits from their customers until early January. Of the complaints filed with the Department of Justice:
- At least 92 clients requested refunds on their down payments on future wedding bookings but haven’t received them.
- At least 38 clients received only a sneak peek of their photos but are still waiting on the full gallery they paid for, as well as the videos.
- At least 35 clients received only the raw photographs and videos from their wedding, without any editing they paid for.
In September 2024, Carolina Roach hired Holly Christina Photography to do photos and videos for her September 2025 wedding. She was told that a “last spot” was available at a reduced rate and paid more than $6,000 in two payments to cover the cost of photos and videos. On the wedding day, Holly Christina Photography sent different photographers and videographers than originally designated to cover the event without notifying Mrs. Roach. Mrs. Roach and her husband received a sneak peek of 156 photographs in October but haven’t received anything else from the package they paid for.
The defendants also double-booked or triple-booked weddings on at least 60 dates in different parts of the state (and sometimes the country), including two separate dates that had five weddings scheduled. At some of these weddings, they used backup photographers without getting approval from their clients. They also placed undue pressure on clients to book their services, often deceptively advertising that only one “last spot” was available. At least 76 people who filed complaints with the Department of Justice felt rushed to take the last spot available.
At least 24 couples had weddings less than 90 days away when defendants shut down and were left scrambling to find a photographer without any assistance or refunds from Holly Christina Photography.
In March 2025, Alexis Sullivan hired Holly Christina Photography for photos and video services for her March 2026 wedding. The package she purchased included eight hours of wedding photos and videos, two hours of rehearsal coverage, and a bridal portrait session. The defendants offered Ms. Sullivan “the final spot” at what they claimed was a discount and offered another 10 percent discount if she made the full payment in advance. Ms. Sullivan agreed and paid $7,656.90 to Holly Christina Photography. On the day of her bridal portraits, Holly Ayscue’s brother Jordan showed up to take the portraits instead of Holly. Ms. Sullivan has made multiple attempts to contact the defendants in December and January but has only received an email stating that they ceased operations. They delivered the raw data from her bridal portrait session in December but didn’t provide any edited photos. Now, Ms. Sullivan is scrambling to find a new wedding photographer for her wedding next month – and doing so without any refund of the thousands she paid Holly Christina Photography.
In his complaint, Attorney General Jackson is seeking a preliminary injunction, a permanent injunction, restitution for the victims, and civil penalties.
A copy of the complaint is available here.
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