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Briefly back and (AW)We've been blogged :)

Beth0882Beth0882 member
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in North Carolina
Hello ladies!  We got back from Italy late Tuesday night and I managed to get a cold so I've been out of commission and trying to get the house straightened back up.  I am also fighting with our travel agent, who I will no longer be recommending at least as far as a European vacation goes -- I point blank asked ast the beginning if she charged fees and she said no, she gets her fees on the back end basically in the form of kick backs from the hotels, etc.  What she failed to tell me was that she books everything through a tour company instead of directly with the hotels, and the tour company charges fees, which she NEVER told us, until I sent her an email the other night asking for an itemized statement ebcause after looking at costs while over there, we seemed to be missing about $500.00 so I wanted to know what that money went to.  She refuses to ive it to us and tells us we are stupid if we  thought she could book stuff through a tour company and they wouldn't charge free, i mean, why would they work for free??  Its also our fault for not asking her how she books the stuff, so she shouldn't be blamed for failing to disclose the fees on the back end.  Sorry this turned into a mini rant -- I'm still all worked up.  The trip was kind of awful as things the agent booked were screwed up at avery point also, so I'm pretty mad about the whole thing.  A very stressful honeymoon. 

Anyway, the anger was somewhat lifted when I saw we had been blogged: 
http://mccardell.blogspot.com/2010/11/magnolia-manor-wedding-beth-and-chris.html 

The photo wall turned out awesome and I can't wait to see the rest of the pics.  There was some family (inlaw of course) drama leading up to the wedding, and then FFIL, classy guy that he is, gave a surprise toast in the middle of the reception (when we were already running behind) that started with a tasteless joke that caused me to stand there with a look of horror on m face, followed by 5 minutes of speech about his relationship with his dad (rubbing it in that Chris didn't chosoe FFIL as best man), followed by about 30 seconds of well wishes to us.  Luckily my two former coworkers were sitting across from where I was standing with their hands over their mouths trying not to crach up the whole time which at least helped me see the humor in it while it was occurring, knowing that everyone else was thinking he was an a%^ like I was. 

OK--more of the positive details later when I am not in such a rotten mood :)  Missed you all!
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Re: Briefly back and (AW)We've been blogged :)

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    CJ4578CJ4578 member
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    edited December 2011
    Hi Beth! I'm so so sorry the honeymoon was stressful! Hopefully you can relax while you're home and I will send good vibes that your travel agent refunds your money and goes out of business. :) Serves her right!

    My dad TOTALLY did the same thing in the middle of the reception with the speech thing- fortunately he kept it brief, but I was like "what? Why are you speaking?" We're not super-close, so it was a bit odd. What is it about weddings + microphones that cause people to have sudden fits of "I must make a speech"? Oh well.

    Your photos are gorgeous! You look so happy and beautiful. :) And the photo wall is seriously amazing!
    -- C
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    jahornjahorn member
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    edited December 2011
    --I am newer here--- I wanted to say that your photo's look beautiful.  Sorry about your honeymoon. We are getting married in Sept and I have been looking into Europe.  I am not taking sides, but most things are not itemized.  The 2 companies I have looked at have just total prices listed.  I know you sound so frustrated, but as I see things for the options we want to do, it appears that the pricing is set and what is listed only changes by dates.  I have no idea about the fee's or if you overpaid but would not even want to think about putting a 2 week tour of Germany together on my own so if I pay a little more, then I guess I am Ok with it.  Did you pay more than what you were billed?  If you did, then I see your point, if you didn't then I don't think a tour company has to disclose every cost of every item as I am sure they strike a deal and wouldn't want to reveal that!  I could be wrong, and didn't want to be critical, just maybe give you a little more clarity. It sounds like you are tired and frustrated and I just wanted to be a little voice of reason after reading your rant.  Pictures look great though!
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    Beth0882Beth0882 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    jahorn -- thanks for wandering over to our local board.  where in arkansas do you live?  Are you lucky enough to take 2 honeymoons?  I saw another of your posts that said you were able to book yours a few months back.  Thats awesome if you are!  Also, how was the wedding show in Pennsylvania?

    To respond, thanks for trying to make me feel better.  However, I did not book with a "tour company" and had no desire to.  I booked with a travel agent who I thought would be making arrangements herself and would have no problem explaining where our money went, after she explicitly told us that her company made no money from us, and that she got her money on the back end from hotels.  When she made it sound like she booked everything through a third party tour company, and that they charged fees that were passed on to us, I got upset.  It took three or four emails for her to tell us that company doesn't charge fees like this and explain the money which she could have done in the first place.  But in her previous emails I got extremely rude responses and was told I was an inexperienced traveler, I was stupid, I didn't know what I was talking about, I was unfairly blaming her for sending us on a train that dropped us 40 minutes from a hotel without providing any further information on how to get to the htel (which meant a $75 cab ride), and that we coudln't even make the train back to Florence that she put us on because the town the hotel was in had one bus that didn't elave early enough to get us there, which cost us more money and stress --yeah I get upset.  But I was not necessarily asking for the cost of every deal she/her third party company struck; just an explanation of how our money did not seem to add up to the cost of services we were provided, and a guarantee that we weren't actually charged service fees for her/the tour company to put the package together.  She also told me I was probably lying about one of the drivers not showing up to pick us up from the airport, and that when I said the driver threw 50E at me to compensate us for the cab we had to take, when I knew we paid more, that he probably gave us more, and she should demand proof from us before giving us a refund....so yeah, I was tired and frustrated, and will no longer be givin her a good review even thought she gets good reviews on most of these boards,.  I have read elsewhere that this agent likes to sign on as different usernames and troll these boards to promote herself though, so maybe that is why...or maybe she will pop up here to defend herself.

    Thanks for the good comments about our pictures though.
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    pirategal03pirategal03 member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina_briefly-back-awweve-blogged?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:115Discussion:db9129d9-4005-4f0d-9335-c7a64d121b34Post:fd30d5d2-6172-4a0a-9d18-3089593e5517">Re: Briefly back and (AW)We've been blogged :)</a>:
    [QUOTE]jahorn -- thanks for wandering over to our local board.  where in arkansas do you live?  Are you lucky enough to take 2 honeymoons?  I saw another of your posts that said you were able to book yours a few months back.  Thats awesome if you are!  Also, how was the wedding show in Pennsylvania?
    Posted by Beth0882[/QUOTE]

    Have I told you that I love you?


    Your photos are amazing!  I love Magnolia Mannor :)  I know I've told you that part before. 

    And umm...how was your cake?

    I'm so sorry your honeymoon was stressful :(  I hope you can get things figured out with the TA.  And I hope you have lots of fabulous memories and beautiful photos. 
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    jbrych2006jbrych2006
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    edited December 2011
    They are gorgeous. I pass Magnolia Manor everyday on my way to work!!!
    est. 9.17.2011
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    furBRAT Tess:)
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    amandaandkyleamandaandkyle
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Beautiful pictures!!!

    Sorry about the honeymoon stress -- that's never any fun!
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    GirlieGirl27320GirlieGirl27320 member
    First Anniversary First Comment Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Wow Beth!!!!  Stunning pics!  Welcome back!

    Leigh Anne & Billy
    *October 2nd, 2010*
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    alliegator8alliegator8 member
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    edited December 2011
    Beth,  I love you photos!! They came out so nice. And the wall idea was awesome and so creative. If I had gotten married after you, I totally would have stolen that Idea!

    I'm so sorry to hear about your honeymoon. That really stinks. I am always nervous about having a travel agent book things for me.  I've always felt more comfortable doing it myself, but that's just me and I'm weird!  Most people don't have the time or get the enjoyment out of doing all the research like I do.  If you want, I'll help you plan your next trip  :)  I'm so bored at work with all my down time now that the wedding and honeymoon are over.  I'm just looking for things to do (don't tell HD, I already started planning our trip to Australia that isn't for another 2 years).

    Anyway, I hope you were able to enjoy some of it!
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