Letter to the Editor

Well-if any of you have heard what's been going on in my life in regard to the wedding which was nearly three months ago-you'll know I've been pretty heated lately. It's a long story, too long for this blog, but today was the last straw in this ridiculous matter. I recieved a letter from the owner of the venue basically saying she wasn't willing to correspond with me and that I had better pay the bill or else. I'm really just devestated about this all and can't stand to be taken advantage of-that's why I wrote this letter. I submitted it to the Batesville Herald Tribune and am hoping they will publish it, out of fairness, to recieve some sort of justice-not just for myself, but for future brides. I'll post a link if they put it up of their site.

"I would like to inform the community of Batesville and those surrounding about the unfair practices in regard to the Stonebridge Inn and Spa. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be writing such a letter, as I am usually one that is very laid back and would rather take a hit personally than participate in a conflict. However, I am writing this letter to prevent such things from happening to future couples. Brides, listen up, this one’s for you.
After spending many evenings scouring the internet for the perfect venue to hold my wedding and reception at, I stumbled across a website for the Stonebridge Inn and Spa. Immediately I was on the phone working out the details and in a matter of days I was set to have my big soiree there. Everything seemed to be going just perfectly; a beautiful setting, a unique facility, and most of all, people who really seemed to take an interest in my special day. I continued to have this great feeling until about a month ago, when those glowing feelings have completely been taken to what seems, a far off place.
Being the overly organized bride that I was, I had everything planned and all of the details in order. Upon leaving the day after my wedding, I asked several of the staff if I could pay my bill or leave a check for one of the Schuerman’s, but I was told they would be in touch. I even asked if I could leave my new address for them, and I was again assured not to worry. Feeling hesitant about this (usually in the wedding world you pay your vendors the day of the event) I pushed those feelings aside, since after all I was on my way to honeymoon in Siesta Key. Still, being my concerned self, I checked my email almost daily while on our week-long vacation, wondering if the bill would be sent or if an inquiry would be made about my new address. Nothing, no word until almost two months after the wedding bells rang.
When I opened the invoice and saw the grand total, I couldn’t believe my eyes and immediately began to feel my heart sink in my chest. Surely I thought, I can discuss this with Kathy Schuerman, the owner of Stonebridge Inn and Spa, and she will help clarify the charges or come to an agreement with me, as before she had always seemed so helpful. Apparently my optimistic thoughts were wrong. When reading through my bill noticing charges and finding things like, “cake cutting, serving, and clean up” I thought I was surely misreading since after all my father and cousin had done this. No cake was ever served or cut by Stonebridge staff, my family members placed it on a nearby table for guests to take at their own leisure. Another example of such charges was, “Removal of furniture from the Inn and Return furniture to the Inn” and “Clean up”, to name a few. Wouldn’t you expect to receive such services included in a $700.00 facility rental fee? Isn’t it customary to prepare your facility for an event by doing something as simple as removing furniture, when in addition to the facility rental fee I had paid to rent out all of the rooms in the Inn for the weekend? When I confronted Mrs. Schuerman later about this, I was told that the fee “did not include any labor, and that I was aware of this”. Myself, being the frugal and D.I.Y. bride that I was, would never have found this okay and simply would have chosen another venue at the sound of that.
Before choosing Stonebridge, I was going to be having the reception at an upscale country club where the facility rental fee was $700.00 as well. This fee included: wait staff, tables, chairs, linens, place settings, and wedding coordinator. None of these things were provided by Stonebridge without a fee outside of the $700.00. Basically, what I understand is that I paid $700.00 to say I had my wedding there.
After the first email I received in response to my concern with the fairness of charges, I again quickly responded, trying to further help her understand what I felt was fair and not fair. I was well aware that some money was owed by my self, but not this large amount I had been presented with. Today, I received another letter in the mail simply stating, “The purpose of this letter is to advise you that I will not be corresponding any longer concerning explanations of the bill. My previous correspondence and your invoices clearly explain the charges. Please pay your balance by August 31, 2007.”
So, while Stonebridge was given almost two months to come up with things to charge me for, I am given less than a month to even pay back these outlandish charges? Maybe Mrs. Schuerman is confused about these charges because she wasn’t even anywhere to be seen the entire weekend of the event, leaving me to re-explain many important details to another staff member the day before my wedding. My husband and I are a newly married couple and honestly don’t have nearly a thousand dollars to just hand over in this short amount of time given. My main reasoning for this letter and to explain why I’m truly so upset is because this was the last thing I wanted to deal with after such a whirlwind of events and now trying to settle in to married life. I wanted to receive my bill in a timely fashion and pay for it, never did I dream I would be involved in a situation like this one. I don’t feel any efforts on Stonebridge’s end were made to try to rectify the situation or to understand my concerns made in regard to the final bill. When you’re a small business just starting out, wouldn’t you put customer service first? Wouldn’t you try to compromise with someone instead of slapping them with a hefty bill and then refusing to further correspond? I am a fair and just person and will accept nothing less from others, especially in this business, being a wedding planner my self. Other family members haven’t even received their invoices either for rooms they rented while staying at the Inn that weekend, nearing upon a date of three months later. All I can say is that such failure to send customers a prompt bill is unprofessional.
Again, I am not writing this letter out of spite or in efforts to be mean or harsh, I am just wanting to express my concern for others out there who may someday be in my shoes. I would not want anyone else to have to go in to planning such an event, which is really a huge investment money-wise and feel as though they were blindsided by elaborated and falsified charges. I couldn’t be more broken hearted to think that I will not be able to venture back to the Stonebridge Inn on my many wedding anniversaries to come because of such an unfortunate effort on their part or that I can’t recommend such a beautiful facility to my clients. I hope this letter will urge couples planning their wedding at the Inn to take caution, as you may not want to end up like me-nearly a thousand dollars short and with bittersweet thoughts of your wedding day."