Re: Please be honest...(I am on the verge of cancelling my wedding)

you have to do what you want to do in your heart.
i can tell you that i've been married a little over 2 years... and while the wedding was great, and was a beautiful day for us.. it was just that- ONE DAY. i can honestly say the best part has come after the wedding, with just living day -to-day with DH... cooking dinner together and venting about work, hanging out watching TV together, taking our dog for a walk around the neighborhood.
i spent less than 20 K on our wedding, and i'm glad i didnt' spend more. it was just what we wanted- a fun, nice day with our family and friends, but nothing over the top. and we are still just as married as if we had spent more on the party....
i think weddings have gotten crazy and out of hand- we put SO much into one day that goes by so quickly, and might not live up to our "dreams". and i think so many halls and vendors take advantage of it being a "once in a lifetime" thing.
big fancy weddings are a great way to celebrate, but i think you will have just as nice memories if you do something more simple like a restaurant dinner, or less people at a destination wedding. but you and FH need to do what you feel is right. good luck!!!

Re: Please be honest...(I am on the verge of cancelling my wedding)

First I am so sorry to hear that you did not enjoy our e-party. I am a little surprised because I have only heard good things about CB but it sounds to me like something might be going on over there and they need to be addressed IMMEDIATELY so definately call them. I know it won't change the way things went for you but it might help someone else in the future.

As for your wedding think long and hard before canceling. I know a lot of girls wrote this but you may regret not having your dream day especially since it is not at CB.

My co-worker got married DeServerskey (sp?) last weekend -- I believe she is due back in the office tomorrow so I will get all her feed back and FM it to you. We are meeting and event planners so you can be sure that she is super critical by nature (her wedding or not!).

Please just don't make any rash decisions!

Re: Please be honest...(I am on the verge of cancelling my wedding)

I am sorry that things were so bad at CB. I would definitely contact the manager and then follow up the conversation with a letter so you have created a paper trail with your concerns. You could also contact the Better Business Bureau if CB is unwilling to (at least) partially refund you. Maybe they gave you poorer service because it was "only" an e-party and not a wedding (not that they should, but maybe that is what happened)?

As far as your wedding is concerned, I think your RH only has 1 wedding at a time, right? They will cater to you a lot more than CB will because all of the staff there that day are catering to you and your FH only...not other brides or b-day parties, etc..like CB does.

I think at some point most brides think of eloping, cutting back on the size, all of the things u mentioned. When you look at all of the $ u r spending, somethimes it seems like it would just be easier to elope. I think that you'll feel differently on your wedding day when you see all of those months of planning come together to create such a special day for u and your FH.

Good luck!

Re: Please be honest...(I am on the verge of cancelling my wedding)

Remember that this was not your RH, so don't think that your RH will do the same thing. Also, since it was just an e-party they probably did not put as much effort into it as they would for a wedding.

Anyway, if you're worried about what your RH might or might not do for your wedding, my advice is call the hall and see if you can go to a cocktail hour for a wedding there and observe. I did that at a hall that I was thinking of booking, and I know a friend of mine did that at her RH. Just throw on a black cocktail dress, and go. I know it sounds crazy, but my friend was feeling the same as you, and she contacted the RH and they let her go to a cocktail hour for another wedding there. Needless to say, she felt MUCH better.

Re: Please be honest...(I am on the verge of cancelling my wedding)

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Posted by JennysMOH

Go back to Chateau Briand and demand money back for all the problems they caused you. Take your contract, show them what they promised and tell them what you did not get. If you had someone taking video bring it with you for proof. You can always take them to small claims court.

Do not let this RH, which is not the one for your wedding, damper your future wedding. If you are worried about your wedding Rh see if you can drop by during a schedules wedding to see how the management and wait staff handle a wedding.

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Re: **UPDATE**Please be honest...(I am on the verge of cancelling my wedding)

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Posted by the future mrs m

Hi ladies,
I really need your help.
Last night was my e-party at Chateau Briand.
Overall, it was awful for fh and I . I have a list of things that happened making me truly rethink my wedding planned for april of ’08 at the deserversky mansion. The venue we chose is a fairytale venue and I must say this has NOTHING to do with them.

The party was supposed to be about 65-70 people and while I had that number 12 people who rsvp’d didn’t show but a few people brought others w/o asking me so it ended up working out in the end. The fact that people can just not show, not call baffles me!

E-party / Chateau Briand complaints:
1. I walked into cocktail hour and the singer was only playing the piano. I inquired as to why and was told by the bridal attendant and maître’d that there was no stand for the mic so she could just play the piano. Argh… I asked if they had a stand and 20 minutes later they came out w/ one for her. Why couldn’t they just get it before?
2. During cocktail hour we were supposed to have 12 passed hor’ derves –we had 3 on one tray and they were cold, mind you fh and I ate off the tray first! They only passed them once not throughout cocktail hour.
3. The maitre’d kept bothering me the ENTIRE night asking all sorts of questions, pulling me away from guests (everyone noticied how much this was upsetting me)
4. We walked in the room for dinner before the guests to take a look and noticed that the hall decided to display my giftbags (that I had specifically asked they to keep in the back til I requested them privately!) for my bridal party and attendants INSTEAD of giving me a salad bar and antipasta station!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding?? I said something to the maitre’d and he was just acting like I was asking for something absurd, not something stated in my contract. After 15 minutes they fixed it.
5. We had a buffet on two sides of the floor and they only put out 2 servers to man the buffet stations! There was a ridiculous line at dinner time and I had to stop mingling and go and ask for them to put more staff out after people complained!
6. Dessert: We had something called the serendipity ( a choc. Chip cookie filled w/ ice cream and dipped in chocolate) guess what? It was cut in half, we were told upfront that everyone receives a full cookie.

There’s more but I’m so tired. ?
Fh and I didn’t have fun at all last night. The night was ruined by the hall and it really bothers me that halls can take your money, your dreams and not be held accountable because they make you pay in full upfront! So what recourse do I have?
Last night made us rethink the whole wedding we have planned. Now all we want is to have our church ceremony and have a dinner at a place like the seventh street café for all of our guests. We are also just thinking about going away at Christmas time and eloping on an island. The reception is all about your guests and you plan, break your arse, and in the end the night goes by so quickly and there is no guarantee that you will even enjoy yourself.
Please be honest. If you had it to do all over again, what would you change? Would you do it smaller scale, invite less people, elope, save, and spend on something else like a house? Was it really worth it for a 5 hour reception? I can’t stop crying, this is awful. I told my mom and she thinks we should just have the big wedding… FH and I think otherwise.
Advice please…
Xoxoxo,
k



UPDATE::

we have decided after talking all day and night NOT to cancel at deserversky. We have done alot of planning and you are right our wedding is at another venue that we both LOVE. I would never want to look back and feel i missed out on something. I throw great parties all the time and fh and I are always the best party starters so hopefully our wedding day will be amazing.
I am also contacting chateua briand tomorrow.
(I will let you know their response).


thanks girls. you all rock as always.
xoxoxox,
krystal

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Re: **UPDATE**Please be honest...(I am on the verge of cancelling my wedding)

glad to hear ur still having ur dream wedding & that ur feeling better