Oh, this makes my head hurt...

I am so terrible at keeping up with my blog. I am going to be honest, I hate to write. Love, love, love to read, but I hate to write. My husband is always highly surprised by that when I say it because I am, as he says, highly creative and amibitious so a blog should come easy to me. Not so much. So, my New Year's business resolution is to try and blog at least once a week.....once every other week at least. I have so many fun pictures from the 2010 summer and fall weddings that they really need to be posted and shared.

I did want to touch base on the latest issue that has needed my attention for the last three weeks - probably more. It has been a big pain, a big headache, and a mini nightmare. When I have a bride cry, that is when I need to start throwing down the smack.

Last year, I had two different clients sign a contract at the same venue for different wedding days. I hadn't heard of this place before. When I received one of the contracts, the contract made me groan. This "venue" is an abandoned factory in Minneapolis that has been turned into an art gallery. It has a high rental fee, but my clients have to clean their bathrooms at the end of the night and the bathrooms are not cleaned for them before we arrive. There is also no heat or a/c so they only do weddings seaonsally. The space is very raw. There were things in the contract that I didn't like, but the brides had already signed off so my hands were tied.

In December, I made an appointment to do a walk through. I had such a bad feeling from being in there. Great space - but I could tell right away that the zoning was not right. I also knew that my clients had no idea how much it was going to take to accomplish what needed to be done in a few short hours to pull off what they wanted to be ready on time. Could it happen? Absolutely. But, for a price. My mental caluculator was whirling away.

I didn't leave with a good feeling. I don't know exact formulas for zoning, but I know enough to know that it wasn't even close. My tour guide and owner told me that they can hold 1,000. Not with only three tiolets, my dear.

So, I left and I let it simmer for a few weeks. Do I call the fire marshall and check it out? What if I am right and the place gets shut down? Then I have two clients upset at me for getting the place shut down. There is also the possibility that the venue gets a fine and the venue "takes it out" on my clients by being very unaccomodating and making things miserable. Or, do I not do anything and something happens that day. Then I am up a creek with angry clients for not knowing. Worse yet - someone gets hurt.

So, I took the road that causes trouble for everyone. I called the fire marshall and business licensing and find out that my hunch was correct. We talk about my clients getting a "temporary gathering permit". A temporary gathering permit would be a permit needed when we have an event in a tent in the family backyard. It gives them permission to have a large gathering at the property. At first, it looks like the city may grant it. But then, the city looked into how far away the venue is from actually being licensed and says, no way.

So, now I place two calls to clients to inform them of what has happened. While I am feeling like a dream crusher, both couples are thankful for my expertise. What happens next? For the June clients, there is no question in their minds that they need to pull out. They request their deposit back and receive an apology the next day. The venue was under the assumption that they could still have events there during the renovation. They also received their deposit back the next day. Way cool! We were out looking at two new locations when the groom received the email. We were doing high fives in the parking lot.

For the September client, it gets a little sticker. The venue is planning on being licensed as an event center by mid-summer. Should she stay or should she go? We are still working on that.

Lessons learned - always listen to your gut and know your stuff. Wedding planning goes way beyond pretty flowers and the perfect shade of pink. There are tons and tons of other things that we need to know that the client doesn't even know we know - legal, zoning, weather, truck sizing, table dimensions, electrical, plumbing, etc. We wear many hats.

On a lighter note - I am going to switch over my lead picture to this one. Love it! Thanks Jacki V. www.jackiv.com. This is Marissa & Robb at their December 4th wedding at Graves 601. Fantastic wedding. Cute couple.