Wedding Paper Divas is bursting with staff grooms and brides-to-be who are currently planning their weddings. We’re happy to share their stories with you as a part of this fun feature!
You know when life is cruising along, things are somewhat perfect and bam! It stops you right in your track and reminds you that you are not as in control as you think? Well this happened to me in a major way last week.
I had gotten a voicemail from my venue that said, “Please call us back as soon as possible, it’s regarding your wedding date.” I knew it was not good. And it wasn’t. The venue, Ralston Hall, is an old mansion built in the 1800’s and when you live in California (earthquake zone) old buildings like this are inspected annually. These inspections lead to the closure of Ralston Hall due to seismic issues with the building. Once my coordinator said informed me of that, I bawled. So many things were running through my head and I felt like I was having a panic attack. There are only four months until my wedding… what am I going to do? If this happens to you, DON’T PANIC!
It stinks, I know, but it’s a lot more common than you think. I found out that a lot of my friends went through the same thing—some with just three months until the big day. Thankfully the staff there was wonderful and called around to see what venues were still available on our date. Even the ones I called that weren’t on that list knew what was going on and offered their assistance.
So what should you do if you find yourself in this situation?
- Don’t panic!
- It’s okay to cry and freak out, but once you have calmed down you need to move on and find an alternative venue.
- Check with your venue to see if they can assist in finding you other venues that are still open on your date.
- Notify your vendors of the situation. They might know of great places to look for a new venue—especially your caterer.
- Notify your guests ASAP, especially if the invites have already gone out (you can choose to do this after you have booked a new venue if you want).
- When you are looking for another venue, make sure to let them know your situation and also let them know you have booked all of your vendors (if you have). They hopefully will waive any fees associated with bringing in a vendor that is not on their list (hotels will be the hardest to do this with since they usually have their own catering).
- Start setting up appointments to look at places right away.
- Once you have found something, notify your vendors so they can adjust their schedule if needed.
You will find something, I promise! The wedding will go on and you must remember that the most important thing is you are marrying your best friend.
Thankfully, we ended up finding a venue much closer to home which is great! It’s called Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, California and I cannot wait to host our wedding there!
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Meet Ashley
Ashley and Adam met a little over three years ago when they were both out with friends at a bar. They spent the night talking about sports and dealing with other friends’ drama. A few days later they went on their first date and have been inseparable since. Three years later, Adam popped the question to a very surprised Ashley!
Ashley and Adam are getting married April 28, 2012 at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, California.
Jessica and Dan met nearly 7 years ago on Myspace. (Remember Myspace?) It took weeks of contemplation until they decided to finally meet… and I guess you could say the rest was history. After discovering their mutual shoe addiction, surviving countless Thanksgiving family meals together and three apartment/house moves later—they are officially ready to tie the knot.
Meet Tammy
