Our venue just let us down

caz2003uk

About an hour ago I took a call from our venue to say that they have bad news, they can no longer hold our wedding!!!

We are due to marry ont he 14th June, so 6 months away!!

We booked with them back in April and I asked them over and over about the date as was so far away and was assured it was fine and not to worry etc They apparently had put in for planning permission to increase the size of the function room and a few other bits and pieces. The permission has been refused and now they wont be running as a hotel nor a function venue. They will no longer have the capacity apparently.

I lost it on the phone when he rang! I just dont know what we are going to do! We are on a very tight budget and this venue was ideal for what we had for the price, the location, everything!! He said he would refund the deposit! I told them how the invites were already printed and how this is not good enough so he offered to reimburse the cost of the invites.

I phoned my mum in a right state, she's since been in contact with them and told them they need to compensate for the emotional damage and the fact that there is now just 6 months to find a venue within our budget blah blah! She has told them that she will get the press involved etc, he was umming and ahhing about the compensation, he said any other venue wouldn't do that if they were closing down. She then reminded him that they were not going into liquidation/bankruptcy and that this was their choice and if they knew they were going to be renovating they should have informed us prior to taking bookings. Not inform us 6 months before the date to say they can no longer hold the wedding at all!

I know of 2 other people also holding functions (1 a wedding, 1 an anniversary party) who are also in the same boat now, although they have a few more months than us!

I've just spoke to another local place that cater for weddings that looks lovely, and they just informed me they are on the market! They can't guarantee a June wedding as they dont know if they will still be there or not. They said if the date was March/April they would still be there as it takes longer than that if they found a buyer, but June they wouldn't want me to go through what I have already.

Grrrrrrrrr....Just dont know what to do now!

partialycloudy

First...Take a deep breath and calm yourself!

Something very similar to this happened to my husband and I six months before our wedding!

At short notice you are likely to get a good deal on a venue that may previoulsy have been out of your budget. So make a list of all venues near by (regardsless of budget) and give each one a ring to find if they have your date available. If they do ask how much they will charge and if you can get a late notice discount.

Once armed with the above info go back to your orginal venue and say they only venue in the area that is available at such short notice is ****** and the price difference is £***** we expect the difference to be paid in compensation, plus your deposit & stationary fees. if they dont comply threaten them with small claims court and going to the local press.

Above all stay calm, you will get something sorted! We ended up getting a fab deal on the venue we orginally wanted but thought we couldnt afford.

Good Luck x

MoneySaver82

Sorry don't have much useful advice but didn't want to read and run!

Agree with what partialycloudy has said though, stay calm (easier said than done I know!) and make a list of anywhere that might be another option - did you have a shortlist of other places you liked too that you perhaps revisit? Or have you seen any other people's ideas that you've really liked and wished you'd incorporated? (I know since our wedding I've seen loads of things I wish we'd done!)

And maybe also make a list of people you need to let know/things that need to be altered - eg registrar coming to diff venue or flowers/cake being delivered elsewhere, changing invites, etc. Perhaps then once you do get a venue sorted you can delegate sorting these bits to someone (sounds like your mum is a good one who's willing to help out. )

And as partialycloudy said think of the positives that might come out of it in getting somewhere you really like at a knock down price since it's last minute - they seem to always get bargains on don't tell the bride! Maybe get a friend to follow you with a video camera! :rotfl: Or if you are thinking of getting local press involved it'd be good publicity for another venue stepping in a helping you out last minute perhaps so could drop these hints!

Hope you get something sorted.

Kittendreich

Just a calming reminder - 6 months is lots of time and many people spend much less than that organising their whole weddings (I had 5 months which was loads of time) - I'm sure you will be able to find something that suits and the owner seems to be up for some compensation (i.e. he is already giving you your deposit back and is open to discussing stationery costs etc) so you might even end up with somewhere better for the same money.

Another (extreme!) example was a work colleague whose wedding venue burned down 2 days before their wedding...was a hectic couple of days but they managed to get something together and had an amazing day!

Good Luck!

caz2003uk

Thanks to those of you that replied!

Regards the let down venue, my mum spoke to them again and they said to her if she goes to the press they'll do her for slander!! Mum reminded that that fact and truth is not slander! It was at this point he hung up on her! So god knows whats happening now

On a hopeful note.... me and mum went to check out another bar style venue and Im waiting now for confirmation on Friday that they can or cannot do it! It means bringing our wedding forward to April but when they are pretty much matching the price for us we can't complain!

It all goes on one thing..... The lease has been up for sale since March 2012. They have had NO interest at all since then. They seem to think that January and February are the months when buyers start looking and buying. Because of the lease situation even if they had a buyer in January, it is a very long process and they reckon April they will still be there. The manager did not want to confirm today before he checked for definate with all parties involved as to time scales so he is going to check this all out and let me know on Friday. He said he doesn't want to confirm it today and then let us down like we've already had so I appreciate his honesty and am hoping on Friday we get some good news!

This place is sooo much nicer and the events lady is sooo lovely and so much more welcoming!

We have left the window open for them regarding the date, We have said the 26th April to give us as late in the month as possible for money etc, but if needs must and he can guarantee the beginning of the month we have said we will go with the beginning as long as it is a Friday. I've also checked with the registry office that dates are still currently free in April and they are and also have the times from them for each date! I explained the situation to the lady on the phone and she couldn't have been more helpful! She said as we had given notice moving it forward wont be a problem!

We also checked out another place as a second option incase this one unfortunately can't accomodate us, the second place is slightly more expensive and wont accomodate our numbers so we would have to be brutal on the guest list but needs must i suppose!

So please all keep your fingers crossed for Friday

ellay864

Glad you've got something hopeful. I assume you don't have wedding insurance but it might be worth looking into taking out a policy just to give peace of mind. You would need to check what you've already paid for and what they'd cover but with insurance if the venue was to go bust and you had to cancel you would also get reimbursed for other costs such as photographers, cars etc

gadgeteer_2

I'd say that there's a good chance they won't have sold it by April. The place has been on sale since March 2012 and they've not managed to sell it. So I'd say they'd have to be incredibly lucky to do so in Jan/Feb and then have what is effectively a very smooth transfer of ownership.

Times are hard right now and there's not many people willing to risk it all on buying an existing business which if they were making plenty of money, they probably wouldn't be selling in the first place.

caz2003uk

gadgeteer wrote: »

I'd say that there's a good chance they won't have sold it by April. The place has been on sale since March 2012 and they've not managed to sell it. So I'd say they'd have to be incredibly lucky to do so in Jan/Feb and then have what is effectively a very smooth transfer of ownership.

Times are hard right now and there's not many people willing to risk it all on buying an existing business which if they were making plenty of money, they probably wouldn't be selling in the first place.

The lease is £68k and includes everything that is there! But the decision is out of my hands it's down to them to make it as they don't want to let us down!

Roz_V

Hey Caz, was there anymore news on Friday? I do hope it was positive for you

p.s. Is Splat going to be a ringbearer? :T

caz2003uk

Roz_V wrote: »

Hey Caz, was there anymore news on Friday? I do hope it was positive for you

p.s. Is Splat going to be a ringbearer? :T

There was some news on Friday..late friday, which in turn led to us going back on Saturday and leaving a deposit

We have now had to bring our day forward to the 26th April but we have a nicer venue from it! We are yet to receive the cheque from the other venue though!

Haha, no Splat wont be but what an idea!! lol Not sure whats going to happen with Splat that day and night... I think we are going to have to find a cattery, so I can be assured she is ok and looked after from the day before the wedding until the day after! I couldn't possibly leave her at home on her own all that time and anyone I could trust will be with us celebrating so looks like the only option is a cattery!

ladymarmalade

Just read this and didn't want to read and run! I'm glad you've got something sorted and well done for staying calm!!!