Damaged Cake and Other Wedding Woes

SugarSpun

We got married yesterday and the ceremony was glorious. But the after-party venue were an absolute nightmare. The food was 45 minutes late (many diabetics in the family and they all had to eat their emergency stashes of food) and they damaged my cake. It started out an elegant assymmetric three tier cake with strawberries cascading down one side. The hotel took a big gouge out of it and "repaired" the damage by covering the worst of it with random fruit salad pieces. It looked like Carmen Miranda's hat, and the scuffs and enormous gouge were still visible. Plus, the amount of effort involved in cutting the cake showed the force it must have hit whatever sharp edge it hit with, and they didn't even bother replacing the stained tablecloth where the accident occurred until a guest pointed out how unprofessional it was.

I was really upset - the baker was my aunt, who was a professional baker for forty years, and they tried to claim that she'd made the cake wrong. We transported it 15 miles in a car without damaging it, and there's no way the act of taking it out of the box was rougher than driving it along a cobblestoned path. They also failed to give us the wine and water we'd ordered for the tables till we asked for it among a whole litany of other things to be filed under "staff genuinely didn't care once the money was paid".

Am I allowed to say who they are and warn other people?

The initial meeting with the coordinator was great, and he was so apparently genuine that we went with them despite the slight extra expense. But he was nowhere to be seen at any stage, except when we asked someone to find him for us, and even then he claimed we'd never ordered wine or a speaker to play music through, or told him that we were paying for all the guests' soft drinks.

One of the other staff members bullied a diabetic into taking a piece of cake and then flagrantly hit on him while telling him to eat a bite and make a wish. All the staff members cleared the cake so fast that a lot of people lost their half-eaten cake while their backs were turned and had to go back for more. They did the same with the tables that emptied early: two tables left, and the others were all stripped down to their bare tops with fresh cloths put on for the next function. All of this almost two hours before the room was due to be vacated (we kept the room in case people wanted to stay there between enormous lunch and intimate family dinner, but the staff made it impossible for people to stay in there).

Alleycat

Oh hun, I'm so sorry to hear what happened. I hope you are going to take it up with the venue. It sounds absolutely appalling the way you were treated.

I'm glad to hear that the ceremony was beautiful. I know its probably easy for me to say, but try not to dwell on the problems at the reception too much.

Not too sure on the naming and shaming right now. If you intend to take things further with the venue, it might not be in your best interests.

xJayJayx

oh my god!
Thats sounds awful, not something you want to happen on your "perfect day" really is it?
I would most definately name and shame and complain at that, as if you need the stress of that on your wedding day!?

xJayJayx

Alleycat wrote: »

Not too sure on the naming and shaming right now. If you intend to take things further with the venue, it might not be in your best interests.

I second that actually, wait until you've complained and gone through the motions.

aimee21j

That's terrible- I would definately be writing a letter of complaint.
On a brighter note, congratulations!!!!! I'm so glad the ceremony was lovley.

reehsetin

similar thing happened at my cousins wedding, I advised her to complain under the supply of goods and services act, she paid for a service which they didn't provide,
complain to the co-ordinator also, hiring him should have avoided this stress!
did she have a contract which stated about the drinks etc?

jeski

I think that there are sites like hitched.com probably others where you can write a review on the place where you had your reception. I'm 50 50 on whether you should name and shame them. I understand the bit about not doing if you are taking action against them, but if you write it under a user name and they get stroppy about it surely that is an admission of guilt if they can't reasonably put you to your user name.

Neeny82

Ah hun, I'm so sorry that they ruined your reception! Honestly they should not be allowed to get away with it! Weddings cost a lot of money and venues should treat you like the only people who matter on that day! You should definately get cracking on a complaint and I would also mention that you are considering contacting the local press to give your story! I really hope you find some resolution which goes some way to making this situation better for you and your new husband!

Noctu

Oh no that's awful. We too have many diabetics in the family including DH-to-be and that is one of the things I have been worried about

Horace

Firstly congratulations on getting married and I am glad that the ceremony itself was lovely, sorry though to hear of your misfortune with the venue and the co-ordinator. If I were you, I would write a strong letter of complaint to the Manager (or if it was a hotel chain to the Chief Executive). Was the co-ordinator an independent person or was he employed by the venue? If he was independent then find out if he has membership of any professional wedding planning organisation and complain to them about him.

If you have taken out wedding insurance, see if you can make a claim.

Ianna

Oh sweetie that's such a shame! :hug: You must feel so sad and angry and rightly so. They've really mucked up.

Try and focus: you'll be able to look back and laugh one day.