Sad Bride, Advice NEEDED - Venue Disaster.

*Barbie*

OP - i'm inclined to agree with the PP that it's time to put on big girl panties and take action. yes, you can be frustrated at the situation - but the full responsibility is not on the venue management to inform you of local events. you share responsibility in understanding the potential impacts to the date and location you chose. 

You really could have fun with the street fair vibe and like PP suggested, have a bit more casual party with games, elevated fair foods, etc. If there will be live music and such, you may be able to scrap your plans on a DJ and entertainment and use the built-in fair entertainment. This actually sounds like it would be a lot of fun for your guests. You may want to consider alternate transportation plans or work with the venue or city to ensure that your guests have parking or transportation available. 

you mentioned that this was an outdoor event at an outdoor venue - what is your plan B in case of poor weather? I'm assuming you planned for that. Same with comfort for guests - some people don't do well with heat - do you have shady/cooler areas where people can sit? (extra fans, covered tables, etc.)

there are some places that seem to constantly have a fair or festival going on - Galveston Island in the fall is very much like that. We planned trip down with my parents and MIL/FIL while all were visiting us to celebrate our daughter's 1st birthday. Figured we could check out some of the little shops, go for a walk on the beach, hit up one of the nicer restaurants for dinner - and didn't bother to check the calendar. We get there to find out that there's some sort of biker convention/street party happening on the main drag. Loud music, lots of leather, lots of stereotypical bikers - and us with a baby and our conservative parents. it ended up being a blast people watching, checking out all of the different events, and taking advantage of all of the street food vendors. Another time we drove down (not having learned our lesson the first time) and ended up in the middle of a gumbo festival. Once again, had a blast.

If you don't want to lose the deposits, then you need to learn to roll with the punches and figure out a way to use this situation to your advantage. 

climbingsingle

OP, it's a holiday weekend. Labor Day usually means picnics, street fairs, parties, fireworks. Did you really not do any research at all when picking this date? Probably just a simple google search with the town name would have shown you any planned events. 

My advice is to make the best of the situation, as other posters have suggested. Incorporate the street fair into your event. Go out into the fair and take pictures. If you're concerned about the ceremony, have it inside. Otherwise, I'm not sure what the huge issues are here. If you'll have speakers, microphones, etc, I'm sure you'll still be able to play music that you can hear. Does the civic center have a plan for parking? 

CMGragain

OP, just to put things in perspective for you, here are a few stories from the past few years of brides on The Knot who had real disasters with their weddings:

Hurricane in NOLA on the wedding day.
Venue burns down two days before the wedding.
Fiance is in terrible accident and is hospitalized for months with leg amputation.
MIL commits suicide the week before the wedding.  She was missing for a few days before her body was found.
Close family member dies the week of the wedding.

OK, now your disaster is.....?

*Barbie*

what was the story on Oprah about the ring bearer being decapitated in a car accident on the day of the wedding and his head landed on MIL's lap in the limo... i think it was something along those lines. 

mrsconn23

*Barbie* said:

what was the story on Oprah about the ring bearer being decapitated in a car accident on the day of the wedding and his head landed on MIL's lap in the limo... i think it was something along those lines. 

Gah, I miss Hmo and Wifezzilla on here.  (I chat with Wzz on FB all the time.)  

*Barbie*

mrsconn23 said:

*Barbie* said:

what was the story on Oprah about the ring bearer being decapitated in a car accident on the day of the wedding and his head landed on MIL's lap in the limo... i think it was something along those lines. 

Gah, I miss Hmo and Wifezzilla on here.  (I chat with Wzz on FB all the time.)  

Zzilla and I share shoe posts. :-)

climbingsingle

*Barbie* said:

what was the story on Oprah about the ring bearer being decapitated in a car accident on the day of the wedding and his head landed on MIL's lap in the limo... i think it was something along those lines. 

This happened in my area, and that story is seared into my brain. It was after the wedding. The limo was hit by a drunk driver.