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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Wedding venue cancelling my menu choices with three weeks to go - devastated

248 replies

Ilikegherkins · 12/08/2022 16:59

I have just received an email from my wedding venue saying there has been a mid communication with my menu choices for my upcoming wedding. I have chosen a three course meal - with the help of the events planner at the venue, printed menus for 44 guests to choose and RSVP, spent hours with a spreadsheet to be able to get my pre order in - which was confirmed by the head chef in February (all choices with costings)

We have a three course set menu for 44 guests - we have also pro ordered lots of wine / beer and will be getting evening food for approx 60 people

I am in complete disbelief. The new set menu they have sent me bears no resemblance to my menu and is £20 per head more expensive

They have offered me a bottle of champagne to say sorry

Does anyone have any constructive advice - I'm a bit heartbroken

OP posts:
1NeedPampering · 15/08/2022 14:02

Read your update - hope it all goes well!

RelentlessForwardProgress · 15/08/2022 18:12

Hurrah!
Have a lovely wedding day Smile

whynotwhatknot · 15/08/2022 19:09

great result op-sounds like they panicked and prtended it was an error

have a lovely wedding

IbuGerry · 15/08/2022 23:27

Great result. Hope you get it writing.

IbuGerry · 15/08/2022 23:28

*In writing

Oblomov22 · 16/08/2022 05:01

So pleased. Great update.

Jenny70 · 16/08/2022 05:29

Fantastic, now to send that final email that says how happy you are that they agreed over the phone to provide the menu you'd already agreed on and paid for, just as the final paper trail for this blip.

1HappyTraveller · 16/08/2022 14:36

Ilikegherkins · 15/08/2022 11:11

Great news everyone- I've just got off the phone and apparently my pre order had been mixed up with someone else's or my long email about entering a contract and food allergies etc worked they are now honouring everything on our pre order at the same price also crossed my mind that they found out MN was talking about them and they felt a little self conscious- - ,Thankyou to the pub if this is the case Thankyou to everyone who took the time to respond. You have all been fab xx

The power of ‘mumsnet’ and the risk of

  1. a small claims court, and
  2. being plastered all over the Sun…!

Enjoy your wedding! I hope you still get that bottle of champagne as a bear minimum for the stress they have caused you! 🍾

Goldi321 · 16/08/2022 15:40

Do what @Jenny70 suggests with the email and end it that you are looking forward to the bottle of champagne on your table that they previously said they would give you given the stress that they have caused you for what is entirely their mistake.

Rosehugger · 16/08/2022 15:49

Ah, great stuff OP. I was just going to say that emails or verbal confirmation can still be a contract but you've got it all sorted, well done.

GiantKitten · 16/08/2022 16:03

Very pleased to find this post at the end! I’m so glad they have come to their senses (or however you’d describe the result!)

A big wedding venue locally which was quite rundown changed hands a few years back and was spruced up massively, with charges increasing as you’d expect.
A friend of my daughter’s had booked her wedding there under the old management, but new management honoured it completely, which will have cost them several thousands, but provided priceless goodwill.

niugboo · 16/08/2022 17:20

Minecraftatemychild · 12/08/2022 17:24

If they offered to sell you food at x price and you said yes please and ordered it and the chef confirmed they accepted your order, than that is a contract, it doesn’t have to be in writing. Like when you go to supermarket and the price label offers to sell you food at x price and you take it to the till and pay, you have a contract with the supermarket and the food becomes yours, you don’t need a written contract…

Truth is though with 3 weeks to go you’re going to have to negotiate with them. I’d ask for a meeting / phone call to discuss. Say this is not a miscommunication, you offered to sell me x food at y price, I ordered it, a verbal contract was created and the emails are evidence of it, now you’re refusing to provide it because you have supply problems but that puts you in breach of contract. Say that they have to make sensible suggestions and a bottle of wine is not going to cut it. Say you want a similar dish to the original menu and the price will not be changing, nothing entitles them to pass on price rises to you.

@Minecraftatemychild this isn’t correct. The contract isn’t final as no exchange has taken place yet. If money had been paid that would be different but at this stage it’s considered negotiation stage.

niugboo · 16/08/2022 17:20

As no monies have been exchanged there’s nothing you can do.

IrisVersicolor · 16/08/2022 18:15

Read the thread?

prh47bridge · 16/08/2022 18:15

niugboo · 16/08/2022 17:20

@Minecraftatemychild this isn’t correct. The contract isn’t final as no exchange has taken place yet. If money had been paid that would be different but at this stage it’s considered negotiation stage.

Show quote history

Putting aside the fact that you haven't read the updates, this fundamentally misunderstands contract law. An offer has been made and accepted, and a consideration has been agreed. There is therefore a contract and negotiations are over. In any event, it is likely that OP paid a deposit, so money has almost certainly changed hands already. But it is not necessary for money to change hands for a contract to be formed. A promise that money (or some other consideration) will change hands in future is enough. If your version of the law applied, if you get someone to paint your house you don't have to pay their invoice because there is no contract. This is, of course, rubbish.

kateandme · 16/08/2022 22:17

Great news op.phew one less thing to have to worry about for your day.
remember this moment if anything else comes up.things can be sorted.😉

ChaToilLeam · 16/08/2022 23:30

A happy update! That’s great news, OP! 🍾

Sswhinesthebest · 17/08/2022 00:23

Yay!

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 17/08/2022 00:27

Ilikegherkins · 12/08/2022 17:12

I don't have a contract. It was all arranged face to face and email. I have the e mail trail with confirmation from the head chef that the choices and pricing are all ok

That’s a contract !

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 17/08/2022 00:29

Ilikegherkins · 15/08/2022 11:11

Great news everyone- I've just got off the phone and apparently my pre order had been mixed up with someone else's or my long email about entering a contract and food allergies etc worked they are now honouring everything on our pre order at the same price also crossed my mind that they found out MN was talking about them and they felt a little self conscious- - ,Thankyou to the pub if this is the case Thankyou to everyone who took the time to respond. You have all been fab xx

Really pleased for you

User8273738273737 · 17/08/2022 00:34

the email trail should suffice in lieu of a formal contract with the specific menu items (would that even exist?) in these circumstances, also if the trail includes cost.Was your menu so intricate and specific that they can’t provide something vaguely similar and at a significant higher cost? I doubt it.

I find with CF companies what you need to do is kick up a justified storm when they come with such behaviours.
they have entered into a contract with you to provide specific services/goods at a specific cost. If they don’t, they leave you with no choice but to seek redress via small claims court, this is fraudulent behaviour, you have no alternative but to alert others that they are not a serious business. Go to their CEO, lodge a formal complaint, if there is a body that licences the operator/company, report them - you catch my gist.
works every time.
do not take BS from CFs

User8273738273737 · 17/08/2022 00:35

See it’s been sorted, pleased for you!

tkwal · 17/08/2022 01:03

As long as any email you have has been confirmed by someone employed by the venue then that should constitute a contract. So if you have to seek legal remedy you will be on solid ground.
The difficulty is that your wedding is in 3 weeks so you need to come to some arrangement with them now. £880 in additional costs is (to me anyway) a huge amount to have to try to find at such short notice so I would suggest making an appointment to meet the manager in order to try to come to some sort of compromise. Take someone you know to be cool headed with you and don't be afraid to ask the manager to step out any time you wish to discuss their suggestions in private.
Food prices and costs of production have risen sharply so I can understand the desire for some increase. Check their every day menu, or Sunday lunch offerings and see if what they are charging for them even comes close to what they are asking of you. Then use that information to argue your case. Is there any element of their package you could cut down without affecting your enjoyment of your day ?
I hope you manage to come to an agreement so you can celebrate in the way you originally planned

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