Can our wedding venue do this??? Any lawyers?!

[RedWineRage]

Posting here for traffic....and also some perspective/help/ideas!

Getting married this summer. Reception venue is stately home-type place which is open to the public but also does weddings, has done successfully for years. Top listed wedding venue in various magazines etc and very good reviews. So - not some shady outfit.

Email out of the blue this week - all rather breezy - due to several incidents at recent events, just to let you know we will no longer be serving red wine at all, with immediate effect.

But don't worry, we'll just swap that out for rosé in your drinks package.

What???

My mum only drinks red wine. Several family members prefer red wine. We planned to have beef as a main.

Totally unacceptable, right? They appear to be relying on some woolly clause in the contract around "it's a historic building, changes may need to be made to your wedding plan that are out of our control due to operational reasons" etc.

We're genuinely considering trying at short notice to get another venue, and trying to claim money back through small claims. Has anyone done this? Any ideas on how likely we are to be successful?

My mum can't not have an alcoholic drink at my wedding. Sorry I'm ranting and probably not being very rational.

Perspective and advice welcome!!

That's a good shout.

Rarely does a post give such a clear impression of its author. Sanctimony personified.

Sanctimony Personified would be a cracking name-change

Some also very snobby about it. There are those that suggest no one likes Rose and everyone likes red which isn't true.

Works both ways.

This. Rose is horrid. Tell them that, since they're the ones changing the drinks package at this stage, they need at least to offer some decent champagne.

Surely tea is just as dangerous?!

Yes they agreed to something then changed their minds. That's what I call life.

Is it? When you’ve paid a lot of money for a service? I don’t think so. I’ve booked and paid to see Hamlet and they change it so I’m off to see Harry Potter? I’m still going to the theatre. I’ve paid for highlights but I get a cut and blow dry? They’ve still done my hair. This is a company offering hospitality and events. At a high cost. And if the venue is that fragile that it can’t cope with basic parts of catering, it’s not a suitable venue. This is probably why, for example, you can’t get married in the Great Hall at Hampton Court. Or the Tower of London.

As I said, I think saying “no red wine” is akin to saying “no potatoes”. Yes, nobody dies. If you went round to a mate’s and they dished up roast beef and pasta, you’d happily eat it and be thankful for the hospitality. But if you’d paid a lot of money to have that meal in a restaurant and they “swapped out” your roast potatoes for a side of fusilli, I think you’d be a bit hacked off. Fair enough to impose that condition for future bookings - then people can decide whether that’s important to them or not. But to do it retrospectively is awful.

This. Rose is horrid

Jeez in your opinion. I can't drink red wine.

The wine snobbery in here is hilarious

Very pompous.

@Burgoo : you are not seeing the same problems that the OP is seeing. Or you don't see her problems as your problems.

It is not about everyone being able to neck alcohol.

The OP is paying for an expensive wedding. Many people would find it weird to spend top dollar on beef as a main and not enjoy the complementary pairing of the wine most suited (in very many people's taste) to beef.

Many people paying for a wedding would like their guests to feel as well catered for as possible.

Fine - this wouldn't matter to you.

The OP has no doubt done her own version of your little exercise and IS upset about it because it affects her choices and the comfort and enjoyment of her guests.

For the record...I would think it odd and a bit disappointing, not to make the best of a beef dish by having to drink wine or soft drinks that don't enhance the flavour etc.

I think some of the posters here equate having alcohol with getting drunk - means to an end, kinda thing. And in this sense, it doesn't matter what you drink - red, white, rose or spirits as long as they get you to the right condition - so they genuinely don't get the issue.

Other people view wine pairing as part of the whole meal experience, it adds to the enjoyment and serving good and appropriate wine with the meal signifies respect for the guests.

For my French husband that would genuinely be a deal-breaker, and he is a very moderate drinker himself and a very chilled non-pompous guy.

Haven't RTFT, but my first thought is that a clause that allows a venue to make changes for reasons beyond its control would not allow the venue to stop serving red wine. Surely it's within the venue's control whether it serves red wine or not?

Well indeed, this is how most normal and reasonable people would feel. Unfortunately this brooks no argument with people who think it a badge of honour to declare that they wouldn't notice whether they were served blue WKD or château Margaux with their steak.

The OP doesn't want rose at her wedding. She wants red wine. Yes, some people like rose, while others think most roses taste like alcoholic squash. But it's really not a mainstream and generally acceptable alternative to red wine. It's like saying "Oh we don't serve coca cola or lemonade, but we can do you ginger beer instead as a soft drink". Yes, a few people might like ginger beer but many won't. Red wine, white wine, beer (at least at the bar), water (still and sparkling) and the standard soft drinks are the usual package you would legitimately expect in most hospitality venues unless flagged up to you when booking.

I agree. 'Beyond its control' would be if there was a national red wine shortage, for example.

If they signed an agreement for red wine they should keep to that agreement and not agree to any more if they have a problem on the subject.
Maybe you could be compensated.

beyond its control could be that the insurance company is refusing to offer cover for any more red-wine-on-marble accidents

Ah yes that would do it.
I think its worth asking OP if they can just apply it to new bookings though?

First world problems

Could easily be they are no longer insured for it. It could mean anything.

Well indeed, this is how most normal and reasonable people would feel. Unfortunately this brooks no argument with people who think it a badge of honour to declare that they wouldn't notice whether they were served blue WKD or château Margaux with their steak.

How to look down your nose at people who think differently to you. Nothing to do with badge of honour FFS.

I don't think this has anything to do with snobbery, but I genuinely can't see how can anyone pretend that there is no difference between red wine and rose and for the record, I drink both.

But it is like saying ok, your bridal shoes have got ruined, but you can wear those red trainers with the dress. Some people won't be bothered and it won't be the end of the world, but you can't pretend there is no difference.

I would also be annoyed about the blasé generic email - they should have picked up the phone, apologised, explained and offered solutions (ie change the main, offer extra champagne etc).

OP, can you ask them if it is possible to have red wine with the meal only - where people are sitting down and not wandering around with it? I imagine the issue might have been with someone spilling something outside the dining area.

No need to get so personal. You are the one that's projecting the value onto other types of drink.

You literally said some wouldn't know what types of drink they were served.

I hapeen to think that is wrong and I am entitled to say so without heing told to FO.

I said they claimed as much, because some have.

Feel free to report me if you feel I have personally attacked you.