Wedding Forum - Unsure - to cancel or not!...

my reception venue was booked in july for next july. lovely room great reviews etc so we went for it... last saturday me and h2b went to a local pub which has only this year been modernised and taken over by the same company so they now have 4 branches... the night was terrible we were in and out within an hour food was rushed infact rushed to the ppint our main was waiting for us while.eating starters i have no idea why. so it wasnt hot and my steak was lets say vety undercooked(raw halfway thru) the staff were on edge- my napkin was realigned to straight half way thru my meal, dont even get to smell your food before someone else is over asking how it is.. i hate that!

anyway i brought it to attention(with the request of my h2bs friends wife who is a manager but was not at work that night) basicaly wanting reasurance that it wont be terrible service for my weddng at their other venue, i was not offered a sincere appology but i was told "there are people waiting for your date so you can have a full refund up untill the end of november" few convos later "i am very uncomfortable with continuing your booking a full refund is still available" they now want to meet in person (alot of them i have no idea why) to discuss it.

now would you take the money and go elsewhere? what would you do? im a bit confused and annoyed as to why no other solution or even reasurance was offered only a refund. wr have booked half day evening only other people want the full day so clearly more money in it for them.

thx for reading if u got this far lol x

exactly what i said was your owned and managed by ssme people so naturally im going to worry that if one isnt of a good standard then what will the rest be like. i loved the room and the girl who i booked it through is unbelievably helpfull as she works wedding shows too so shes got all the contacts and advice. but to be offered a refund when i never mentioned it at all and to be told other people want the date aswell felt a little like they were pushing me. i feel once the word full refund (on a non refundable deposit) is mentioned you maybe doomed for the future with them people lol

i have bo idea what this "meeting" will entail but tomorrow we are viewing another venue just as a backup im secretly now hoping it stamps on our current lol

seems a bit odd, the stubborn part of me would be thinking they have other interest from parties that are clearly offering more money which would make me think, stuff you Im keeping the venue and the date, but then I know Id be doign that for the wrong reasons. It does depend on what you think of the venue though and what the service is like there, just because it is one way at one branch, doesnt mean that the other will be the same and you wanting reassurance of that is perfectly normal so it seems odd they would then come back and say THEY aren't comfortable with continuing the booking. See what they say when you see them, im certainly interested to find out what their deal is, as that didnt sound very professional!

yes im stubborn to.. as is h2b and my dad. mam has the "its booked everything is sorted" head on we hsve the f**k them head on haha. been messed around enough by other people!

i have no idea when they want to meet i offered a few dates and times of when i can due to the kids and ive yet to hear a reply!

i did mention we just want reasurance as it being ran by the same people that our wedding would be different and i didnt get this.to me its not hard to understand that is one place is ran bad automaticaly you avoid the others in the same brand.

our next option is the chilton country pub and hotel but theres very few pics! they are having a wedding showcase next week which i cant make but im popping in tomorrow night to see the room as it is rather than at its best with their decos etc. their food selection seems reasonable aswell just depends whst the room charge is brochure states one price she quoted another so she id checking that for me!


i would ideally like to stay where we are it just depends on the attitude and wether its fake charm or genuine (ive heard this bloke is a charmer thats how he gets round people) im not a fool for that at all lol :-)

thx flossie i know exactly what your saying.. whats bugged me is how a small complaint about one place and asking for a tiny bit reasurance has turned into a merting because they are now "uncomfortable" to continue without it. and the fact they told me other ppl want the date so refund is available.

a refund is never firdt solution to me they clesrly have an offer of making more money if we cancle. which is a shame cos if we do i wont be rolling over and taking it lightly. potebtially they are ruining my wedding day! if we cant afford this other place or they get a booking before this silly meeting and then martinos turn round and say well sorry theres your money, we have absolutley no wedding venue!

i complained at the request of the manager who was not on shift that night as she thought it would actually do some good for the business to realise the staff arent doing as they are meant to without the manager on site so needed extra training she has been pushing for for a few weeks.. And also to ensure my wedding ran alot smoother than our night out did... it ended up with her being slagged off and blamed then handing her notice in and also a refund offer and my wedding being blown up when it was all sorted

u know when you wish you didnt start something!!

Surely then can't cancel your booking just because they want to?! How could they be 'uncomfortable' when it's you that has the complaint? The whole point of a deposit is to secure your date, they can't just say 'here you go, have it back'! They should have told the other couple that want it for the whole day that it is unavailable! I would just tell them to stuff it (and write a bad review lol)

I think alarm bells would be ringing if they couldn't give you any sort of reassurance. As Flossie said, service is everything and they should be going the extra mile for a wedding. Do you know anyone that's had a wedding or party at your current venue that can tell you what they're like? Doesn't hurt to check out the other venue.

Hope it all gets sorted :o)

That all seems very odd that a couple of comments can lead to them saying they are uncomfortable now honouring your booking. Maybe they are getting similar reviews at your venue? Are there any reviews on trip advi5or at all? Xxx

Just don't rush into cancelling, it could have easily been a misunderstanding. Have a proper sit down meeting with them and go from there.

still no replies on meeting after several emails and messages etc so came to the conclusion they are draghing their feet to keep us there beyond our control as everywhere else is booked!.. we even considered moving our date forward a week but we have found a venue! phew!

its not as posh lookin infact its just a room but the deal we got is amazing. the girl is going to do us a snack arrical buffet for £3 a head and then wack the good buffet on later. hot and cold anythinf we want we can make our own menu which is fantastic!
room can be decorated how we want so my coloured tables tbh will fit in this room.much better than the first!

mam said as soon as she walked in yes i like it (which is big lol shes hard to please) we get 2 rooms for the price of 1, it has the main room and then a lounge bar area where guests will go and wait till we get there. food will be in there bar is there so main room is just for the celebration and dj :-)

i contactes first venue and requested my refund in cash(i paid cash) in full this week. i got a reply instantly being overly helpfull and agreeing to refund to be collected tuesday 12pm onwards... as soon as we got that far they once again turned it to me and they sent another long message blaming others saying how it could have been resolved bt i took it out of contex( clearly i havnt when i got no reply when i said i wanted to meet so we cpuld keep the room and reasure everyone involved but instant reply to get momey back) im hoping i have dropped them in it i doubt they had someone waiting untill november for my datw. 31st july is fully booked everywhere big!

sorry for long post lol im just so glad its sorted and we have somewhere which we get more food for our money! (not iceland either she cooks it all there at the venue lol)

Id send them all the correspondence right back that you have had between yourselves and ask them just how you have taken it out of context, there is no way you would have been offered a refund for no good reason - so there is definitely something not right there if you ask me.

glad you have sorted it with another venue either way, im sure it has worked out for the best!

just make sure to leave the other one a snotty review. sounds like shocking customer service to me, funny how they dragged their feet then instantly reply when you say you will take the money!

I would too be worried and utterly surprised by their reaction to your concerns. their attitude is very unprofessional and I personally would take the full refund, I would not want them in charge of my special day! However I would go to the meeting to see what they have to say for themselves and depending on that make my decision.
And if it was not in my favor I would write a review of the service you have received and the undue stress it has caused.

Hope all goes well and you never know this maybe a blessing in disguise

Glad it's been sorted and you have found yourself a new venue :) x

Pleased you got a new venue :)