Wedding Venue 911! The Temple of Prayer Event Center. Please Help!

jennywawa88 · May 2012

Just wanted some advice on what to do about a shady person who is running the venue, The Temple of Prayer Event Center that my fiance and I chose to get married at. I'll try and put this in a nut shell, though it is complicated. Basically, we have a feeling like we are gonna get screwed over in some way. We originally were not going to use this venue because they do not have a center aisle, and I'm just traditional like that. I really had my heart set on a center aisle to walk down. But the man who owns, or at the very least, runs this place had told me that they were going to have the inside of the room reconstruction so that there was a center aisle in a few months. He said they had already had that in the works because they have had so many couple go elsewhere because they did not have a center aisle. This was in October of 2011. He said that construction would be done by the end of February at the latest of this year. I was a bit skeptical of this, but we dicided to sign a contract with him because he was also offering us a 10% discount for screwing up something else we had asked him to do and that was good incentive because my fiance and I are very poor and can not afford to get married anywhere else. The problem is, today is May 4th, and when we called to ask if we could come and see what the room looked like with the new center aisle, he said that it was done yet and he had a whole list of excuses as to why it hasn't been done. Now he is saying that it will be done by the end of this month, but I'm not so sure I believe him. He seems kind of shady all of the sudden to me and I'm not sure what to do. It is too late for us to find another place to get married at because every place we've called has our date all booked up. Also, because we signed a contract, I think we should still get married here because we paid so much money for it. He had added in to our contract that there would be a center aisle constructed in this room before our wedding rehersal date which is August 10th so if he doesn't get it done, I think I've got grounds for a lawsuit. I just want some advice because I have my heart set on walking down a center aisle at my wedding in a real old fashioned traditional way, but I almost feel like such a fool. I'm thinking now that maybe he was acting this shady all along and I just didn't want to notice it because I loved this venue so much and it was the only one we could afford. Now I fear we may get screwed and it is too late to do anything about it. PLUS, the invitations have all already been sent out with the address for this venue so we definately have to get married here. I'm just so scared we got screwed. What can I do? Any advice would be helpful because I'm SUPER worried about this.

If anyone has any info on this, let me know. It is located in Downtown Dallas.

professorscience · May 2012

I guess I understand bad gut feelings, but until the day of your wedding arrives and you cannot get married there because of construction, you certainly don't have grounds for a lawsuit. Also, if the only problem on your wedding day is that there is no center aisle, a suit would be a waste of your time and money.

I would suggest staying on him, asking for pictures of the construction and an updated timeline since the work was not finished by the time he said it would be. Lots of places get behind on construction, though. He has a contractual obligation to get that aisle in there, or you could ask for a refund of the money you've paid, so I'd imagine he's going to get it done.

I'm not sure a) why you sent invitations out so early or b) why you could not quickly spread the word that the location has changed if need be. If the venue was destroyed by a fire, you would have to relocate and let your guests know -- this is really not that different.

Just reassess with your FI what you are and aren't willing to put up with. If the guy can't give you a concrete date that construction should be done by (or if the estimate is past your wedding date), then you can ask for your deposit back and start the search for a new venue (check local parks for low-cost alternatives).

AshJohnson30 · May 2012

Ditto to PP. Look into and think about everything she said and just take a deep breath. Have a backup plan but there is no need to stress yet.

MarieSD · May 2012

I'm torn here. I usually do believe in gut instincts telling you when something doesn't feel right. But, since this is only now coming up (and you admit that you were given a 10% discount at signing because he screwed up on something else, but that didn't bother you at the time) I wonder if it could just be wedding stress getting to you and making you panic.

Three months seems like it would be enough time for construction, and he is saying it's going to be done at the end of this month -- not like he's saying July 30th, which wouldn't give much wiggle room. But maybe you could see if he'd be willing to put in your contract that the center isle is done by the end of this month, like he's saying -- then that would give you more time to find a new venue, if it's not completed per your contract. And hopefully he'd give your full deposit back, since he didn't meet his end of the contract. I don't know if he'd agree to that, but maybe he'd move the date up somewhat. As nice as it is that he put it in your contract, if it's August 10th and it's still not done ... you're kind of stuck still having the wedding there. As for sueing, I don't think that's in either of your best interest, but you could threaten and he'd probably give you some of your money back. But it would likely sour your feelings about your wedding day, so it would be better to resolve all this ahead of time.

Another option - take a step back and think about it. If this is what you can afford, and you like the venue, could you maybe concede that one aspect of it (on the chance it really doesn't get done in time?) There is still an isle of some kind, correct? Is it in the front of the church? Will the guests still be able to stand and see you in your dress walking toward the altar? If that is what is important to you and that will still happen -- does it really matter if it's in the center of the room?

Different things are important to everybody. But you have still have three months to figure out if this is something you absolutely can't budge on, if you can come to peace with it, and of course time for this to be a non-issue when the center aisle is constructed as promised.

Wedding Venue 911! The Temple of Prayer Event Center. Please Help!

Re: Wedding Venue 911! The Temple of Prayer Event Center. Please Help!

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