Weddingbee boards

So, I'm down to 24 days left and my venue just keeps pissing me off. I need to vent about it so I can get over it and tackle all the other crap I need to do.

It started a month or two ago when I contacted them to see if they rented the chairs for the ceremony yet or not. When we first paid our deposit, they told us that a $300 fee would allow us to have our ceremony on their deck. They specifically told me that they would rent the chairs. Well, when I called, they said that if we had wanted them to rent the chairs, we had to pay $500. This is NOT what they told me in the beginning.

What I think happened was that they raised their rates from the time we paid our deposit until the time I spoke to them, and they were unwilling to honor their original rates with us. We had not signed a contract because they keep putting it off - "Oh, when you choose a meal," and then it was, "Oh, when you get your RSVPs back." (Yes, I get it now; I should have insisted upon a contract immediately - y'all, don't make this mistake!)

So that cost me a full $200 more than I expected to pay in chairs. Now, I just sent them a long email yesterday asking them a ton of questions because you know I'm That Bride, but it's a damn good thing I am. Turns out there are a lot more stipulations than I expected, including...

The venue is a winery so there is a minimum amount of wine we MUST buy (2 cases, which is fine, we'll probably need more) and a maximum of beer we're allowed to bring in (EVEN THOUGH I AM PAYING FOR LIABILITY INSURANCE TO BRING THE BEER). We can only have A HALF OF A KEG. We have 80 guests... a HALF A KEG?!? Holy shitskies. We've been to small house parties that killed that much beer in less time.We were going to add an extra hour to our reception (for an extra $100), but now I don't know if we should because, hell, we'll be out of beer!

We also have to bring the cups and everything for the beer. Which is fine, but when were they going to tell us that? If I was a totally laid back bride, see what would have happened? Our guests would have had to drink right out of the tap.

Speaking of "bringing our own," we also have to provide plates and forks for the cake. Um, when were you going to tell us THAT?!? When I got there? So our guests would have had to come up and scoop the cake from its structure with their hands like cavepeople?!? WTeffingF?!?

I was hoping to take pictures there before the ceremony started, but now they are also telling me that, since the winery is open for the first part of our party, we have to limit the time we're there before the ceremony starts to one hour. Hell, guests will start arriving that early! That winery is NOT a busy place - they are making way more money in our alcohol purchases and catering (they are doing the catering) than they are from their wine tastings and sales in the main room. You'd think they would try to be a little bit more accommodating.

From the thing with the chairs, if I hadn't already had my invitations printed, I would have said, "Screw you guys, I'm going home." Now, with so few days left to go and other stresses to deal with, I feel like I should be hooked up to an intravenous Xanax drip.

Hope I don't sound like too much of a 'zilla... if you made it through this whole thing, thank you.

@jamiemichelle - thanks! They have seemed kind of rude, and that's the thing that's pissed me off the most. They even had the nerve to tell me during the whole Chair Debacle that they try to discourage clients from having the ceremonies there because it's too much work for them (the owners). If they would have told me that BEFORE I decided to do it, or even BEFORE I printed my invites, I would have found someone who was happier to take my money!

@rlsulli - thanks for the info on the DollarTree plates! That's so good to know; those clear plastic ones would be prettier than the styrofoam ones I had in my head. :)