Yes remove stain and start over

The painter said that there is not much he can do because its stained. He said the only thing he could do was paint it over. I believe the wood that was stained was cedar and 3 or 4 cypress beams. I'm freaking out because I don't want to have to tear it down and spend a bunch of money rebuilding entire porch.

There's stain removers that can be applied and remove the stain . Where are you in the states ?

Louisiana

Jasco varnish and stain remover or dads spray on stain and varnish remover. Have they been sealed ?

I don't think the wood has been sealed. They just stained it.

jasco varnish stain remover or to lighten them take lacquer thinner to remove some of the stain could you post a picture of the wood? and did you have a control sample done before you started the project?