Dispute with Wedding Venue (post-wedding)

Ziss

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some guidance with an issue we had with our wedding venue last month.

We were due to arrive at the venue between 17:00 and 18:00 the night before, to unpack boxes, set up for the following day etc. The idea was that we would leave the venue that night, knowing how it would look for our big day (with the exception of the flowers, which were arriving the following morning).

Upon arrival to the venue shortly before 18:00, we were shocked to learn that the drapes for the marquee had been taken down and away by the drapes company they used, in error. We were told that the venue people arrived at 17:00 and the drapes were down and taken away, they'd been on the telephone since trying to get them to come back out to put them back up but everyone was out on jobs and the earliest they could come back was 7:30 the following morning.

During the time the venue spent on the telephone, they couldn't clean the dirty barn and marquee floors, something we had to take upon ourselves to do as with dirty floors we could not start preparing.

An earmarked finish of 21:00 had now turned into a midnight finish, and would still require me to come back to the venue at 8:00 the following morning with the chief bridesmaid to make sure things were put back to where they were (ie set-out tables moved from the marquee to allow for ladders to put up drapes etc). By the time the venue was ready, I had 30 minutes at the hotel to get showered, dressed and have photos etc, before the taxi to take us back to the venue arrived.

I can't really fault anything on the day, as they were obviously falling over themselves to make up for the complete shambles from the night before, but the level of stress (particularly from my now wife), loss of time spending with wedding party, is something that should have been avoided.

We voiced this to the venue manager (he was absent for our wedding) and he recently came back to us with the below letter.



As far as we are concerned, offering us £220 (the charge for the drapes) out of a venue we paid £5,000 for, is a slap in the face.

A couple of final points:-

• My father arrived at the venue first, merely to drop some boxes off and leave, approx 17:20, and said (after the event) that the drapes were just being packed into the van. He didn't mention it at the time as he did not know we were having drapes etc. This does not tie in with the venue's story of them arriving at 17:00 to find the drapes had been taken away. This has not yet been communicated to the venue.

• In the letter it mentions that their team were going to clean the floors, but we had already started. When we started, there were only two staff members on site. One being the stand in manager. The "team" he refers to did not turn up until a few hours later. This has not yet been communicated to the venue.

Any advice on what to do next, where we stand, and what would be a reasonable amount (£) to push/settle for. Had I not paid so much for the venue I might have expected such a mistake to happen. £220, as far as we are concerned, is laughable.


If anyone has any questions or need anything clarified, please do ask and I thank you all for your responses in advance!


Ziss

Ziss

It turns out as a new member I can't post images.

If anyone is able to PM me and upload the image on my behalf, I would greatly appreciate it!

Ziss

krustylouise

You haven't included a letter in your post?

purpleshoes_2

How much do you want in compensation?

Ziss

krustylouise wrote: »

You haven't included a letter in your post?

As a newbie it won't let me! If you're happy for me to PM you the link and you upload, I'd be grateful!

Ziss

purpleshoes wrote: »

How much do you want in compensation?

We tried not to give it too much thought and just go enjoy our honeymoon.

All we know is that £220 falls way short of a figure we'd be happy with. Question is, do we have grounds to push for more and do we go back with a figure or simply say £220 is derisory?

fivetide

It's what you'd be happy with.

You can keep going backwards and forwards, if it was me, i'd pick a nice round figure like 10% and ask for that.

As you said, it all turned out ok so your question is what is the value to you?

Ziss

fivetide wrote: »

It's what you'd be happy with.

You can keep going backwards and forwards, if it was me, i'd pick a nice round figure like 10% and ask for that.

As you said, it all turned out ok so your question is what is the value to you?

That's why I find it difficult to put a figure on it. The venue has simply taken the value of the drapes as that is what's caused the issue and thinks that will be that.

It's what this mistake lost us (a night with our parties to again run over things, a morning (for me) with my groomsmen, enjoying the final hours), not to mention the stress. There was a point on the Friday night that my wife didn't want the wedding to go ahead.

krustylouise

http://gyazo.com/9754a35949170bf760800276a63e84a7

Posted on behalf of Ziss.

headache5678

Welcome to the forum


Who do you think is at fault for the drapes issue ? - the drapes company. If so, is the venue being positive in offering to pay the £220 ?


Is the venue an upmarket hotel with a prestigious reputation, a room above a pub or somewhere in between ? This may effect how much it will pay.


Weddings are always stressful. And you said the day went well.


I would ask for £500 but accept anywhere above £350. But to ask for only £350 indicates you feel in a weak negotiating position and that you are arguing over a small difference.


I would not use the words insulted or disgusted as - IMHO - the venue will consider there is a low probability of satisfying your complaint. So they may no bother trying.


If you come across as being reasonable, the venue may agree £500.


This is only my opinion and you will get a huge range of opinions here.


I have experience in settling complaints.

whitewing

I agree with the above poster of asking up to £500. But I do think that their offer of £220 as a quick solution that didn't involve the drape company was actually quite reasonable.