I spoke (er, wrote) too soon. See in the post before last, where I thought there would be no rush on the venue and it'd be fine? Well.
It is fine, I suppose, because we did book 5/21 at that venue, but of course there were Issues.
Tuesday I called to check that date, which was available but they wouldn't even pencil us in without money, which I found a little irksome because I wasn't asking for an indefinite hold; I was asking for them to hold it a few hours, a day at the most, until I'd confirmed that our caterer was also available that day. They wouldn't do it, not even a one-day hold, but told me Sundays were usually wide open and that it'd be fine. Based on the "wide open" theory, I booked the date with the caterer, who oddly enough feels that I really mean all this and trusts me to show up next Saturday (the 21st, not day after tomorrow) with money and pen in hand. I guess he's psychic or something and spotted right away that Alan and I weren't some delusional people who got their kicks running around holding meetings purportedly to book spurious weddings.
Then Alan takes over, calls the facility coordinator and says, "We've booked the caterer. Do you need to take my credit card number and do a contract by fax or e-mail to guarantee we get this date?" Oh, no, Sundays aren't in demand, no need for that, if one of you will come by sometime this week it'll be fine. (This was Tuesday). He sent an e-mail yesterday asking a couple of questions, which went unanswered.
Today I called first thing to set up an afternoon time for today or Friday, but I'd called before they opened for business. Then all bloody hell broke loose at the office; what with one thing and another, I didn't catch my breath until 12:30. I thought, "Meh, they may be at lunch. I'll call a little after one." But at that very moment, the facility coordinator was on the phone to Alan, telling him that we had to pay the deposit TODAY and sign the contract TODAY because they were changing the contracts tomorrow, and after that we wouldn't be allowed to use our chosen caterer. So Alan calls me saying, "Sweetie, you need to set this up now and get by there today, unless you want to start all over again AAAGH!"
I called her to set up an appointment for this afternoon and in between the 6 or 7 minutes that have elapsed between calling Alan and talking to me, suddenly now someone else is sniffing around our date and I must book NOW TODAY IF NOT SOONER or I lose my venue. Or so I'm told. So I scramble around, finish up the most pressing items at work and haul ass back home to secure my wedded future.
In the course of signing contracts and whatnot, I get a look at their Master Date Book and there are TWO (count 'em, one, two; 2; 1 less than three; half of four) events booked in the entirety of May. One Friday, one Saturday. There is a Saturday taken in April. One.
Now, in the overall scheme of things this doesn't matter at all. The end result is that we got the venue we wanted on the date we wanted and we'd planned to cough up the bucks this week anyway, so nothing in the way things occurred changed anything about my plans. But I'm not so sure I like the...erm, used-car salesman approach here. Why the urgency? Did everyone in the greater Dekalb-Rockdale area suddenly decide that they had to have a party in May? Did they want to get my money before I learned the gritty truth about Alan's sordid past - or before those Federal indictments against me get handed down - so they'd at least have the deposit money when we called the whole thing off? WHAT???
I dunno...I feel that I'm not conveying this well. Yes, I got exactly what I wanted so I have no real gripe, but something about the arm-twisting urgent DO IT NOW isn't sitting well with me. I hope this is my overactive anal-retentive tendency to worry about everything way too much. The venue is secured, I got my 1st choice caterer, so what does it really matter? It doesn't. Except I got from all the DO IT NOW RIGHT NOW OR ELSE a kind of...unpleasant is too strong a word, as is saying I was "irritated" or "irked"...odd feeling. "Odd" is the best I can do - I felt pressured, but that sounds stupid because I (we) were 100% decided that we were going to do exactly this.
Do any of you know what I mean? Reassure me.
It is fine, I suppose, because we did book 5/21 at that venue, but of course there were Issues.
Tuesday I called to check that date, which was available but they wouldn't even pencil us in without money, which I found a little irksome because I wasn't asking for an indefinite hold; I was asking for them to hold it a few hours, a day at the most, until I'd confirmed that our caterer was also available that day. They wouldn't do it, not even a one-day hold, but told me Sundays were usually wide open and that it'd be fine. Based on the "wide open" theory, I booked the date with the caterer, who oddly enough feels that I really mean all this and trusts me to show up next Saturday (the 21st, not day after tomorrow) with money and pen in hand. I guess he's psychic or something and spotted right away that Alan and I weren't some delusional people who got their kicks running around holding meetings purportedly to book spurious weddings.
Then Alan takes over, calls the facility coordinator and says, "We've booked the caterer. Do you need to take my credit card number and do a contract by fax or e-mail to guarantee we get this date?" Oh, no, Sundays aren't in demand, no need for that, if one of you will come by sometime this week it'll be fine. (This was Tuesday). He sent an e-mail yesterday asking a couple of questions, which went unanswered.
Today I called first thing to set up an afternoon time for today or Friday, but I'd called before they opened for business. Then all bloody hell broke loose at the office; what with one thing and another, I didn't catch my breath until 12:30. I thought, "Meh, they may be at lunch. I'll call a little after one." But at that very moment, the facility coordinator was on the phone to Alan, telling him that we had to pay the deposit TODAY and sign the contract TODAY because they were changing the contracts tomorrow, and after that we wouldn't be allowed to use our chosen caterer. So Alan calls me saying, "Sweetie, you need to set this up now and get by there today, unless you want to start all over again AAAGH!"
I called her to set up an appointment for this afternoon and in between the 6 or 7 minutes that have elapsed between calling Alan and talking to me, suddenly now someone else is sniffing around our date and I must book NOW TODAY IF NOT SOONER or I lose my venue. Or so I'm told. So I scramble around, finish up the most pressing items at work and haul ass back home to secure my wedded future.
In the course of signing contracts and whatnot, I get a look at their Master Date Book and there are TWO (count 'em, one, two; 2; 1 less than three; half of four) events booked in the entirety of May. One Friday, one Saturday. There is a Saturday taken in April. One.
Now, in the overall scheme of things this doesn't matter at all. The end result is that we got the venue we wanted on the date we wanted and we'd planned to cough up the bucks this week anyway, so nothing in the way things occurred changed anything about my plans. But I'm not so sure I like the...erm, used-car salesman approach here. Why the urgency? Did everyone in the greater Dekalb-Rockdale area suddenly decide that they had to have a party in May? Did they want to get my money before I learned the gritty truth about Alan's sordid past - or before those Federal indictments against me get handed down - so they'd at least have the deposit money when we called the whole thing off? WHAT???
I dunno...I feel that I'm not conveying this well. Yes, I got exactly what I wanted so I have no real gripe, but something about the arm-twisting urgent DO IT NOW isn't sitting well with me. I hope this is my overactive anal-retentive tendency to worry about everything way too much. The venue is secured, I got my 1st choice caterer, so what does it really matter? It doesn't. Except I got from all the DO IT NOW RIGHT NOW OR ELSE a kind of...unpleasant is too strong a word, as is saying I was "irritated" or "irked"...odd feeling. "Odd" is the best I can do - I felt pressured, but that sounds stupid because I (we) were 100% decided that we were going to do exactly this.
Do any of you know what I mean? Reassure me.
4 Comments:
Since I'm not big on weddings, I would've just told 'em to fuck off. A decent business would've just let you come in when you had already planned.
I would've freaked 'em out (and I suppose Alan too - hey, revenge wars sometimes end up with friendly fire too :) ) and told them that I'd decided to elope in Las Vegas. So, their thousands of dollars...I'd be putting them in the Mega Bucks machine and having a good time. But hey, that's just me.
Even now, I'd be tempted to call them and go through the motions of booking several dates...then cancel.
By
Anonymous, at 8:34 PM
Flippy, I'd have loved to tell them, "You know what? Never mind." But that only makes it harder on me (well, us) because then we'd have to start over at square one to find a suitable venue which pushes our wedding date that much further away. We're both ready to get it over and done with.
K'vitsh - I know! Krysal rules! If only we had Tim Horton's in Georgia...if only.
By
Helly, at 7:53 AM
*HOW DARE THEY* Jerking my sweetbabygirl and Alan around like that! BOO HISS! For shame, for shame.
Just for that, I AM wearing the hat!
mom
By
Anonymous, at 9:53 AM
ok. i just deleted a long response that would have scared ME out of getting married! i do recommend eloping and having a giant party on that day. it seems more relaxed that way. my 2 cents.
but! all the insanity will swirl and swirl and then comes the moment, whether at the church, in your living room, or vegas...where you promise that this is right. this is forever. and it was all worth it.
mazel tov my friend!
By
nita, at 3:29 PM
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