*Rant!* glad we changed our wedding date!!

Sorry for a but of a rant! Originally, we had chosen a local Conference Centre as our reception venue. We enquired about it and got told Saturday June 29th 2013 was available. We had a talk about costs and decided to change to 2014, but still the 29th. We went to their wedding fair and have the coordinator our names and she had a date in August down for us. We said what we had originally said and told her about the change in date. She then change our sheet to the 28th even though we had said twice we wanted the Sunday. Finally it was right and she pencilled us in so we could decide for sure. I emailed her a few times to verify costs and numbers. she was really pushy about putting down the deposit. 

The package was for 50 day and 100 evening. This was £1,995 and she said if we booked in 2012 it would go up minimally. We changed our numbers to 60 day and 120 evening and she gave us a cost of around £2,400. Which was fine. We had the money saved up for our deposit and I emailed her to book a time we could come in to view the venue again and put our deposit down. We got an email back saying we could phone and book a time an our package was 70 day and 170 might guests for £3000. 

I emaile her AGAIN our numbers and she replied that it would now be £2,800 for our numbers because it was in 2014 and the food would go up even once we'd signed the contract and she couldn't tell us by how much. So even in the end we had no clue how much it would go up. 

This really put us off putting down the £500 deposit and this is when we decided to do it this year and much much smaller. Last week I got an email saying about our provisional booking for MARCH 29th 2014. I was so angry but mostly relieved we never booked there and although the venue and grounds were gorgeous, I reckon there would have been a LOT of rants about this woman on here. I replied saying thanks for all your help but due to costs we couldn't book it and I've not heard back. 

Anyone else loved a venue but put off by the coordinator?

Sarah x

That is terrible. We wanted to view a venue which fitted out criteria perfectly. Its a very popular wedding venue so I don't know if it's because they have people queuing up to get married there or what, but it was a joke. They were so unaccomodating with the visit, giving us times like 3.05pm and insisting that they couldn't do ten minute earlier etc, and when they finally did book us in they rang and left a message to cancel just an hour before. The message was left on my mobile voicemail and it's a really good job I picked it up as we had planned to leave a party early so we could attend, plus it wasn't local. And to top it off, the reason they gave was rubbish - something to do with being too busy and short staffed with absolutely no apology or offer of rescheduling!

Yes

We went back to view a venue second time around with the idea of booking and paying a deposit, the first time we went we met the event coordinator and she was lovely and all the things we said we liked to do would not be a problem and even suggested ideas that might work better and we left all happy and dreamy thinking we had found our venue. 

On the second visit we met the event manager and omg completely different story... she was late for our appointment which ok is no biggie but then said "i didn't have time to get your file"...to which we are both thinking well just go to your office and get it then....anyway as OH and i have/do work in the industry we were very organised and had all our plans drawn up so went through everything with her again and she was very dismissive and rude (even to the point of saying we should get married at a different time (whats wrong with 3pm wedding all our other timings were synced perfectly ??), and to make sure our guests only arrive 15 mins before the ceremony otherwise they would be an inconvenience if they arrived before, she couldn't seem to comprehend that some guests would be travelling a fair distance so judging traffic to get there only 15 mins before would be impossible made me envisage people being made to wait in the car, I must point out that this venue is a country house hotel with acres of land, various buildings with restaurants and bars open to the general public so cant see what would be inconvenient about a few guests going to the bar before if they wished and we were only planning a wedding for 25 people so even if all of them turned up an hour before they would still be plenty of space in the bar and outside areas!! OH and I both later discovered that we were both thinking of walking off at this point.

We asked to look at the function rooms again which in her eyes meant i will open the door half way and let them have a peek...i had lost my patient and courtesy's by this point so we just pushed the door and walked in.

When it came to discussing evening food that was the final straw basically said we have to provide something more substantial then our proposals because I do not want all your guests getting drunk...our guests would have just eaten a 7 course meal at 5:00 they wont have any room for anything substantial!!!!!  And insinuating all my nearest and dearest are drunkards....

I took great pleasure when i replied to her email with a new quote (which might i add was a lot higher for a lot less then the original quote) exactly what i thought of her and her service and copied in the Hotels general manager.....when she phoned to apologies i loved how awkward it was and the fact she was lost for words and didn't really know what to say....needless to say i ended the conversation with i would never want to start my wedding journey at any venue on such a bad note so i would not be making a booking...i would love to have been a fly on the wall when she had to explain to her manager she has just lost a £10k +  booking. 

 

We had quite a pushy potential venue too for our reception.  Our dream has always been to get married in a certain place but we did not want our reception there.  So we had our ceremony venue booked very early on and with the date we wanted 10/11/12.  I phoned a hotel to ask for availability.  Rather than telling me they were booked that day, he started slating my ceremony venue and telling me when he thought would be a better time for the wedding (one week later) and that the ballroom of their hotel would be a much better venue.  I told him that the ceremony to me was the important part of the wedding and not the reception venue and thus we would go with another venue as we were getting married on the date we had chosen.  He phoned me back one week later asking had i come to my senses yet!!!

Ho hum, yep problems here too.  we have still yet to resolve our issues.  We paid a £500 deposit last year and they expect another 50% at the end of June.  They will be getting feck all if they do not pull their finger out and will also have to explain the loss of a £10k booking!!  Problem is this close to find another etc etc etc is a lot of grief and people have started booking rooms plus planning travel booking flights etc.  NOT HAPPY Grrrrrr  (Rant Over )

 

Thats dreadful the way some people are treated. Mine also made a few comments about us not wanting the ceremony there. The was I see it at least they are getting a booking plus what is spent on te night etc. I can't believe how unaccommodating people are especially over £10k+ weddings. Ridiculous!

S x