If you think your dispute might escalate, start collecting evidence now, not when you file. Here is what small-claims and civil courts in Texas accept, and what they don''t.
Tier 1 — strongest evidence
- Signed contracts: PDF, scanned, or photographed. Even the unsigned draft plus emails acknowledging the terms.
- Payment receipts: bank statements, Stripe/Square confirmations, card statements.
- Emails: full headers, not screenshots where possible. Export as PDF.
- Text message transcripts: exported or screenshotted with dates visible.
- Recordings of conversations where at least one party (you) consented.
Tier 2 — good evidence with proper foundation
- Photos of delivered (or not-delivered) work: with timestamps, ideally EXIF data preserved.
- Witness statements: written and signed, dated, with the witness''s contact info. Venue coordinators, day-of planners, and wedding party members are the strongest witnesses.
- Social media posts: the vendor''s own advertising often supports breach claims. "We''ve delivered in 4 weeks for 5 years" — archive and date-stamp it.
- BBB complaints from other customers showing a pattern.
Tier 3 — weaker but useful
- Oral recollection without backup: "she said on the phone she''d refund the deposit." Admissible, but easy to deny.
- Third-party testimony without contemporaneous notes.
- Screenshots from the vendor''s public reviews showing similar complaints.
What Texas courts require for each type
Authentication: the evidence has to be shown to be what you claim it is. For texts: submit the full thread, not cropped. For emails: export with headers. For photos: EXIF intact.
Chain of custody: especially for recordings. Keep the original file. Don''t edit. Don''t compress.
Relevance: the evidence has to connect to a claim. Random unrelated frustrations hurt your case.
Practical evidence collection checklist
- [ ] PDF of every contract and every revision.
- [ ] Full email thread export (Gmail: "Download message" → .eml).
- [ ] Text thread screenshots (scrollable, sender and date visible).
- [ ] Bank/card statement for every payment.
- [ ] Photos of all deliverables (or lack thereof).
- [ ] Timeline document in your own hand: who said what, when.
- [ ] Copy of the vendor''s public marketing (website, Instagram, WeddingWire page).
The single biggest mistake
Waiting until you''ve decided to sue before collecting. Vendors routinely scrub websites, archive Instagram, or delete threads. Archive everything as you go, not when the dispute is three months old.
Sources: Texas Rules of Evidence, Texas State Law Library — Consumer Protection.