change of venue, no notification...wwyd?! (kinda long, sorry)

jarednmegan

So last year I was invited to a wedding (we'll call it AL wedding) at the same venue FI and I have chosen. The original location was printed on the invitations.

Since I had another wedding I'd already planned to attend that day (we'll call it AJ wedding), I responded that I couldn't make it to the AL wedding. My parents also were invited to the AL wedding and Mom RSVPed that she could and my dad couldn't.

So, several weeks before the AL wedding, I see in their engagement announcement in the paper (which i work for) that they're getting married at the bride's home and the reception is at a nearby country club. That didn't jibe with the invitation. We call MOB, oh, change of venue.

I tell Mom, she calls MOG and she says, "Oh, I thought MOB had contacted everyone about the location change." Supposedly she'd called everyone to let them know but my parents somehow missed out on that.

Apparently the original venue had been double booked and that's why the ceremony and reception had to be moved. We were assured this wouldn't happen to us when we booked there...in fact, the person responsible for the double booking had supposedly been fired as a result, and the venue owners paid for a pretty large chunk of the AL wedding to compensate for the error.

So I guess this brings up two WWYDs...

WWYD if you found out your venue had been double booked?

WWYD if your guests needed to be notified/if you were a guest who'd been left out of the loop?

jarednmegan

StageManager14 said:

A. I's change the venue and notify the guests.

B. I'd personally call everyone on the guestlist, which MOB apparently said she did.

C. I'd do nothing. What is there to do? It sounds like it was an accident, and sometimes that shit happens.

Except my parents never got a phone call. It all worked out in the end, but I wonder if sending mailed notices might have been more effective (albeit an added expense). I realized after I posted this that it was kind of a lame WWYD...would have been more interesting to ask instead if anyone else has dealt with double booking, more out of curiosity.

phira

I would have called/emailed everyone about the venue change, and in my emails, I would request that the guest reply to indicate they'd received the message. I wouldn't feel comfortable just sending out a postcard just in case it got lost in the mail.

jenn5628

Not really the point, but didn't your parents RSVP no to the wedding?  Maybe that's why they didn't get the call?

jarednmegan

jenn5628 said:

Not really the point, but didn't your parents RSVP no to the wedding?  Maybe that's why they didn't get the call?

My dad and I RSVPed no, but my mom RSVPed yes.

jarednmegan

FloridaBride27 said:

I'd put in Bride Wars and tell myself "it could have been worse. I could have been forced to have a double wedding at the plaza"

...And make myself a cocktail. I mean, yes, there's worse things that can happen but it'd still be pretty stressful trying to find another venue. Everyone squeezed into the parking lot at the country club and rode a shuttle to the bride's home, and then they had to be shuttled back to the country club for the reception. I'm not sure how many shuttles were running, but I understand the guest list was pretty big so that had to be a time-consuming process.

On the bright side, I judge from the photos that it was a gorgeous wedding.

jenn5628

jarednmegan said:

jenn5628 said:

Not really the point, but didn't your parents RSVP no to the wedding?  Maybe that's why they didn't get the call?

My dad and I RSVPed no, but my mom RSVPed yes.

Reading fail... ignore me!

jarednmegan

jenn5628 said:

jarednmegan said:

jenn5628 said:

Not really the point, but didn't your parents RSVP no to the wedding?  Maybe that's why they didn't get the call?

My dad and I RSVPed no, but my mom RSVPed yes.

Reading fail... ignore me!

No worries. That's what I get for a long-winded OP.

southernbelle0915

That poor couple. Their venue bails and the MOB apparently isn't ensuring everyone knows. I feel bad for them - she probably told them she called everyone... To answer your questions:

1) I would be pissed, ask for compensation and book a new venue ASAP.
2) I would send announcements and call each guest to ensure they got the memo.
3) Depends on how the couple handled it. If they did everything they could and it slipped through the cracks, c'est la vie. I'd still plan on going.

[Deleted User]

Wait, isn't part of your concern that this venue double booked and this is the venue YOU'VE chosen?  That certainly would concern me!

jarednmegan

LMc0322 said:

Wait, isn't part of your concern that this venue double booked and this is the venue YOU'VE chosen?  That certainly would concern me!

That was a concern in the beginning, but as I said, the person responsible for the double booking is no longer employed by the venue. The staff are adamant that they're doing all they can to make sure that doesn't happen again.