NEED HELP! Serious venue problem, I'm in tears now...

I'm so sorry!! CHECK THAT CONTRACT! Man that sucks! I'll be praying you! You're wedding will turn out. I'm so sorry that this has to happen so close to the date. It's so soon that you may not be able to find a new venue so you might have to look at it as the glass is half full. Sorry I don't know what else to say since your date is so close. At least you'll be getting married. In the men time I'd definitely look into getting some money back.

Definitely check your contract then contact a lawyer. They need to be doing more than giving your a hotel room.

I'm so sorry to hear about your struggle. Don't know if this helps but I'm getting married at Hacienda del Lago which is less than 10 minutes from Vintage Villas. All of your guests could keep their reservations. Our venue looks out over the lake

too, but it's all outside.

Not sure if that would be too risky for you. And the views from Vintage Villas are much nicer!

Omg that's horrible!! I'm so sorry for you & your FH! I'd definitely be looking over the contract!

I'm so sorry! I'd demand a lot more or look for a new venue and get your money back.

I am so sorry. I'd have a lawyer go through the contract with a fine tooth comb if you think some of the legalese might be over your head. FH is a former attorney and read every contract we signed and had some make minor changes prior to signing, over things I'd never notice/understand.

I would absolutely be demanding something from them but I don't know what. What a nightmare, you have every right to be upset.

I am so sorry that you are going through this!

Take a look at your contract with the venue. Is there any wiggle room for a partial refund? You paid for details/an experience that you will not be receiving. I know this doesn't help the aesthetics of the new space or your heartbroken feelings over the vision you can no longer have. But it's something, and I feel like they owe you something for their lack of communication.

You may want to call and talk to someone there and ask about the bridal suite and grooms suite, etc. Surely they have something to replace these. They have to have some plans somewhere. I'd ask to see the layout etc. And like everyone else has said, if it's not to your liking, call them out on the breach of contract.

I'm so sorry! I hope you can get at least some money back for breach of contract. It sounds like what they're doing is super shady and totally unfair to you. But your day will still be wonderful, and you gotta do what you can to make the best of it. I wish you the best of luck!

Thanks everyone for comments, encouragement and suggestions!

It's been a horrible long night to me and I still can't recover from the shock.

I'm now looking into other possible venues around Austin but don't have any luck yet. If I can find another one I will totally get our refund and move on, but since it's too close to the date, it'll be very hard to find one, specially we are out of town.

I emailed Vintage Villas again. The venue contact person apologized, but claims "she though she mentioned the renovation during our first visit". Which is completely an unacceptable excuse, because she never did during our tour. If we knew they are going to destroy the place like that, we would have never booked with them. Now I can't imagine how to deal with it if we had no choice but still have to do our wedding there. I won't be able to enjoy the day that I supposed to be the happiest person in the world.

We'll talk to our family to go through the contract and see what is the best way to deal with it. I will keep you updated.

BTW this is one of the chandliar they are going to put in to the venue. The othe picture is how the dining area USED TO look like when we were there for visiting. Just an example how rediculouse this renovation is.

I'm so sorry. You've gotten some good advise and I really don't have any brilliant ideas I just wanted to say sorry and I hope this works out for you!

Ugh my heart breaks for you! IF you have any lawyer friends maybe have them review the contract with you because that's insane. I would be in tears as well! Do you have a DOC or any kind of wedding planner that wasn't through the venue? Maybe reach out to some and explain your situation and see what they can do. Since it's so close some may offer a "partial planning" which is usually less expensive.

@Cara we do have a DOC, who is assigned by the venue, who is also the contact person, the one who decided not to tell us about the renovation. If we still have to go with this venue, I'm seriously thinking about asking to change a DOC.

Hi OP!

I'm sorry this is happening to you. Can you read through your contract and post any language regarding refund due to renovation here? PPs could probably tell you if it's worth seeing a lawyer (but we can't give you legal advice, only it's worth seeing someone)

I would go see someone as soon as possible and then go in person to the venue. That way you can get an answer to all your questions and visually see what it's going to look like.

I don't understand why they get rid of the brides room and groom's room. That's a huge asset if you're trying to be a wedding facility. My venue didn't have one when I booked it but now it does because they saw how important it was. I would ask them that question as well.

The new chandeliers don't look awful honestly, but I understand booking with a certain aesthetic and wanting to keep it that way.

I'm so so sorry you're going trough this!!

My brother and his fiancé just booked a venue in Austin. It's new(er) so they had a lot of early 2017 dates still available.

It's called Addison Grove. They even gave them a discount for booking an event this year.

It's a gorgeous rustic barn setting and sounds like it fits your vision, with seperate bridal and groom suites!!

Fingers crossed for you!

What they did was incredibly unprofessional but nothing is going to change that. The best way forward is to get them to mimic what you originally signed up for (at their cost). Set a meeting and say this is what you want from them to fix it (and put it in writing).

1.) Make them put up draping to make the space your sectioned rooms what you wanted

2.) I see that they are also a hotel, so get them to give you 2 free rooms at the hotel as a bridal suite and groom's suite

3.) put uplighting along the sides of the walls to mimic the sconces that you liked.

4.) Have them pay for a flower or greens chandelier to hang from their new ones to get back that rustic look you were going for (see the photo below). Just to note, I don't think the chandelier is that bad and honestly, I couldn't tell you what chandeliers they had at any of the weddings I have been to. However, I get that it isn't what you signed up for.

I honestly think you should at least see what they are willing to do to fix this because changing venues right now will be so hard as I assume your invites are already out.

Check your contract. That's the best advice I can give. Read it and understand what your options are at this point. Good luck!!

Oh wow, that's horrible. I'm so sorry. I would take the contract and your story to a lawyer. I like Zoe's suggestions on how to fix it. I'd push for a partial refund and those fixes for free, depending on what the contract says.