Good for you! Don't feel bad in the least: I think you were fair and even 50% of the contract is too much if his job did not measure to his portfolio.
My fingers are crossed you can find a good replacement in time!

I'm glad you were able to get back some deposit, though too bad it wasn't ALL of it

I really wanted a photo booth. There are some awesome backdrops, and it would be fun to have all the props etc. But, it would be too much for me to coordinate esp with so much else going on... One software I saw was called SparkBooth, and the person just hits the space bar on the laptop and it counts down and takes the pictures like an old fashion photo booth. Its really neat.