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Double Booked Venue

purplediamondspurplediamonds member
First Anniversary
in Snarky Brides
I had right of first refusal, was out of town and they knew I was coming in Monday with the check (we just talked Thursday late afternoon)
I get an e-mail today that another bride came in today and she put a deposit down and they gave her the space.

WHAT? Am I ridiculous to be so upset? Shouldn't they have at least given me 24 hours of something? I had the contract from them, an e-mail saying  (direct quote!) "We are so excited that you have booked with [venue name]!! We are all set for you to celebrate the best day of your life on September 21st, 2013. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I'll see you Monday!"

Do I have any rights here? My fiance and I literally searched for the perfect venue for 4 months and with our large families and 6 friends getting married in the coming months we have no other dates available to us until March of 2014!!

The worst part was that the e-mail came from some other girl at the venue, someone we hadn't even been working with and all it said was "Just wanted to give you a heads up that a couple came in today and put down a deposit for 9/21/13. Sorry for the inconvience" (And yes she spelled inconvenience wrong.)

Seriously?
Ugh.
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Re: Double Booked Venue

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    anna.oskaranna.oskar member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    How do you have "right of first refusal"?  Typically in my town, everything is fair game until money has been put down.

    I would call the person you have spoken with previously and inquire as to whether a mistake has been made.
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    acaponi87acaponi87 member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment First Anniversary
    You can be upset, sure.  But unless they had money in hand and a signed contract I don't think you have any "rights".

    Sorry about it though. That sucks.
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    ElleB87ElleB87 member
    First Comment
    Until you put a deposit down you are never guaranteed anything. That's life. Sounds like you have some tough choices to make if you want to get married in 2013
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    achiduckachiduck member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    While it really sucks that this happened to you, unless you had a written contract that stated you had first right of refusal (and also clearly stated that you had X hours/days to come in and put down your deposit) you're out of luck. 

    You can certainly be upset about it (I would have been, fwiw) but you need to start searching for a new venue. 
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    annamario1013annamario1013 member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    i think they could have least called you before the other person put a deposit down ...but i do think u need to speak to someone at the venue to see what your rights are.
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    ootmother2ootmother2 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Name Dropper
    There is no contract until consideration is made.  (you have give them money)
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    maggieandreymaggieandrey member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    I'd definitely be pissed if I were in your shoes. I disagree with some of the other people saying it's not yours until you put the deposit down. I think if the venue knows you're paying on Monday, which you have in writing, that is a solid enough booking. They shouldn't have let somebody else take the space until Tuesday.

    Unfortunately, I don't think you have any recourse for the reasons the other people have stated - there's no consideration. It's not like you can get your money back.

    You can however take the opportunity to complain to the BBB / give them a bad review, etc so they are less inclined to screw another bride.

    Good luck to you. You have enough time that maybe you can find another venue?
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    jenajjthrjenajjthr member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    At our venue we had a "tentative" date when we told them what day we wanted.  If somebody else came in and wanted the same date (ie ready to make a deposit), they had to call us and ask us if we were ready to commit on that day and bring in a deposit w/in 24 hrs.  If we said no, or if they couldn't get a hold of us we lost that date. 

    In your case I would be there Monday morning talking to your direct person about this mixup.  Best case scenario, you get your date and they apologize to the other couple that the room was already booked.  Worst case scenario, you lose out on that date and need to pick another.  Either way, I'd be in there as soon as they opened Monday morning.
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    csweaneycsweaney member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    I would be there, email in hand on Monday first thing when they opened. I think its strange that they had a day set with you to come in and put down your deposit, yet gave another couple the date. I don't think that is good business practice--while it may be within their right to give the date to someone that has the money, its unethical when they had made arrangements with you on a day to pay. 
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    With our venue, they put a "soft hold" on our date. Until we turned in our deposit and signed contract our date was up for grabs but they would give us a heads up if another couple was interested. I really hope you find another wonderful venue!
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    brookethebride1brookethebride1 member
    First Comment
    I think they should have called you first.  Unfortunately, money talksFrown

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    LadyLina555LadyLina555
    First Comment
    its better to find out now then 2 weeks before your wedding or better yet, the day of.
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    JdCm14JdCm14 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    Sorry this response comes so late, but I stumbled on your post as I was clicking around.  The exact same thing happened to us.  The venue made a note in their system saying we had first rights to that date and that if anyone else was interested we had to be notified first.  One of the other salesmen took a deposit and signed a contract without checking the date was available, and when the person we were working with (the head of sales) contacted the other couple, they said that they had a signed contract with a deposit down and they would take legal action if the venue tried to take back the date.  Luckily they had the next day available so we booked immediately for then, and the venue gave us a reduced rate and threw in a lot of extras to keep our business.  Unfortunately it all depends on the people that put money down and whether or not they're willing to give you back the date.  
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    Rebl90Rebl90 member
    First Comment 5 Love Its First Anniversary Name Dropper
    @JdCm14 - This thread is over a year old, most posters don't take kindly to the "resurrection" of dead threads.  
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