Wedding Nightmare...

sherireid · July 2012

We are getting married august 11th (maybe) and our venue has closed. They never called us, I found out from a friend of a friend! WHAT A NIGHTMARE! Now we are trying to get all of our money back, which is a lot of $$$! This is defiantly the last thing on peoples minds when planning a wedding. Any advise?

katehar01 · July 2012

Oh wow, I'm so sorry that happened to you! Get all your contracts and everything together to work on getting your money back from the venue. Chances are you'll need to postpone (might have trouble finding a venue available on short notice), so I'd quickly send out something to all the guests saying "the wedding of X and X will be postponed to a later date." If you have OOT guests, I'd try to call them ASAP, in case they haven't made travel plans yet.
I'd also call all your other vendors - many of mine will give at least some of your money back if it's outside of 30 days. Good luck!

[Deleted User] · July 2012

This is terrible!
If you still want to have it Aug 11, call around quickly and see if anyone can offer you a last minute deal. Def explain the situation.
Did you have a contract? If you did, maybe hire a lawyer to send them a letter about seeking your money back plus damages, maybe it will scare them into responding.
Good luck!

DeClue82 · July 2012

Oh my gosh!! I'm so sorry this is happening!!! I hope you get your $$ back that is just terrible! I agree with PP that you may have to postpone... but before you do that, if you have the funds, I'd call around to a few venues and see if anything is open... who knows maybe you could get a discount for booking so close to the date!!! Good luck!!!

spazticrexe · July 2012

I'm so sorry this is happening- that really IS a wedding nightmare!

I would suggest that you maybe post to your local board and see if there are any venues that others know of that are relatively new/ just opening/ re-opening that wouldn't have any bookings yet for your date.

Good luck, and I hope you get this sorted out soon!

Lena2317 · July 2012

omg what a nightmare.. as a Aug 11th bride also I am picturing this and cant believe how I feel second hand!!!!! Yes to all the above.. call around to see if someone is open to host.. Did you have wedding insurance??? Read over your contract again and see if an attorney can help you get the money back.. Unfortunately that will not be a quick process!!! OMGoodness I am so sorry!!!!

lb1212 · July 2012

I found out on May 16th (18 days before my wedding), that my church was double booked. I would either have to change the time of my wedding - going before or after another wedding or post-pone the entire wedding. The thought of being 'sloppy seconds' on my wedding day is unappealing, same with the thought of doing that to someone else. We postponed the wedding until Aug. I immediately called my vendors - and they were great! Our photographer was already booked for Aug 3rd and transferred our deposit to a photo session of our choosing. I had to select a new photographer and thought about asking one of the ones we looked at initially. I called our "number 2" photographer, explained the situation and he really bent over backwards to work with us. Re-visit the other venues you looked at and hopefully they will be available.

If you opt to postpone, be sure to clearly state the reason for the postponement in your notices! In an attempt to get the word out quickly, my FI neglected to state the reason why....caused lots of issues! Here's what we sent out -Hope this helps! Good luck!

i2012do · July 2012

this may seem extreme. I guess this is the PR part of me. But call the local newspaper and news.This is porbably a newsworthy story because there are likely, other brides in oyur situation.

If this is featured on the 5:00 news there are likely to be venues that will see you, and work with you to donate a venue or space or give a discount
.
I know this seems like an odd thing to do, but it might help you figure itout.

Post on your local board and have people spread the word. Work on finding a new venue- and if one doesn't come up by next week or the week after (this week is hard with the 4th holiday) .. then i would postpone the wedding until you can find a date.

The best thing to do is to create a group email with ALL your vendors on it. Explain the situation, let them get the word out about what happeneds and ask their "vendor friends" if they know a venue...
Then when you find a new place you can reply all and tell them the new location. And if you have to find a new date--- then you can just email them all and ask for a list of their available dates and find one that the most peopel can attend and reschedule for.

Im serious about calling the news though...
Do you know Help me Hank?? Its on channel 7 in boston
helpmehank@whdh.com
News tips: 1-800-280-TIPS

On another note- you may NEVER see that money again- if they have claimed bankruptcy they don't have to pay you back. So I would seek out an attorney NOW
This is another good thing about taking this public. You may be able to find other brides in oyur same situation and ban together in a law suit...

This happened in Massachusetts before, a place on the South shore-- a while back. No one got their $ back but other venues stepped in to help. It happened with a Dress shop here in Rhode Island.

Ps. I live in RI, I'm not sure where in MA you are- but if you need help with anything please let me know. I do DOC on the side and I ma happy to volunteer my services to help you.
Also, depending on wheer you are maybe you can try venues in NH or RI. and think outside the box! Restaurants, historical sites, etc.

m tulli · July 2012

I like what PP said. My first thought is not good news. Depending on if they filed bankruptcy you may never see that money, but lets pray for the best. I agree with seeking out a lawyer it will get you answers quicker. If you have the funds to reserve a new hall without pushing the date out I would start calling around now. You may get lucky.

I can't imagine going through this so close to your wedding. The news route might be a good idea. you may get a venue who if not for free will give you a steep discount. You never know. Keep us posted on your progress.

jap6955 · July 2012

Ugh I am so sorry I can feel your pain. With 82 days to go on my birthday we went to my vnue for dinner to find out that they were sold. I called my mother hysterical. She was very calm and said call another venue. I got even more hysterical! Mother it is in 82 days are you kidding? So I calmed down and called another venue. I said I have a interesting question to ask do you have Aug 18th at noon available. They said of 2013 sure. I got all flustered again and said no in 82 days! They checked again and said actually we do. We went to check it out the next morning. Everyone has been so nice and helpful. We got a great deal since it was such short notice. I went on vista print immediatley and printed change of "a dress" cards. Also got the immediate family involved in making phone calls to guests. It was very stressfull but we did it. Most vendors were fine with the switch. Just had to get a new florist which was not bad. I know it is very overwheleming but simply sit down and start calling venues. I hate to say it but the more tears you shed the nicer they are and the discount are even bigger. On a financial note we are very lucky we put the deposit on credit card. We called the cc company to fight it for us but there was no need. The venue actually gave it back to us. All in all I feel very fortunate. It will all work out in the end! if you need any help feel free to contact me.

sherireid · July 2012

Thank you everyone for your responses! The venue did't go bankrupt, but the owners where evicted over a lease issue. It was no the news probably like a week or so ago. The landlord of the being is honoring the weddings however because we have put $7,500 and they will only credit us $2,500. So needless to say i would have to come up with another 5 grand that i've already paid and finish paying off the balance. My fiance will be going down to the Wrentham courthouse to see whats going on with the case and to see what we can do about getting our money and how long it could take. I have found two backups that are will to work with us and price match, but i need to find out about the money we've paid the other place. It's a big mess! I was told to plan on not getting the money back and go from there, if that's the case i need to plan a wedding for 150 people (cause all of my invitations are out) for less then $10,000 all said and done. Planning a wedding is suppose to be a fun experience and at this point I'm ready to call the whole thing off and just go to the town hall thanks to Christina's in foxboro!

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