Last July, I became engaged. Three weeks after, we had a difficult decision to make between The West Events, Armature Works, and Tampa Bay Watch. We felt The West Events space spok...e to us and our needs. I loved that women-owned it and that they were a part of the LGBTQ+ community. So, we decided to host our wedding ceremony and reception there. We read the contract thoroughly, signed it, and made our deposit. The West Events requires that you use their preferred vendors, which did not bother me because they had a wide variety to choose from their list.
We began our search for a caterer in September. I thought my stress in planning would come from family and friends. I was so wrong. It was January before many of the caterers responded to our emails and phone calls. The few who were the most responsive were the most expensive. The others only responded after I expressed my frustration to Maria, TWE’s venue manager.
We met with and received proposals from seven caterers. On all proposals, I noticed an extra cost labeled venue fee. When I inquired about the venue fee, they all said this was the cost TWE charged them to use their venue. Some went further and told me I should be fortunate that they were honest about the fee because many caterers hide it. I reached out to Maria about this. Like the vendors, I am paying to use the venue. So, why does their cost fall on me? She said it was out of TWE's hands, and I disagreed. The fee exists because TWE charges their vendors. We went back and forth about this. If I was using an unapproved caterer, I could understand the reason for the fee. To require customers to use only your vendors and then hold the customer responsible for those vendor fees is bad faith.
I reviewed our contract several times. Nowhere did it state the possibility of extra fees from vendors. I brought the contract to our lawyer and agreed there was nothing written to imply additional charges. Additional fees only come when you use an unapproved vendor. So, I asked Maria if TWE could waive the fee. They refused. So, I asked if we could reduce the vendor fees to lessen the blow to my pocket. They refused. Our wedding was in June, and this exchange began in January and went on to February. We could not come to an agreement that would satisfy us both. My fiancé and I decided to terminate our contract and host our wedding elsewhere.
We emailed our notice of termination and requested a refund of our deposit. We knew deposits were nonrefundable, but we signed our contract under pretense. TWE denied our request, of course. So, I gave it to our lawyer to battle. Five months later, they said they would refund half of my deposit if I signed an NDA.
Without a doubt, TWE is a beautiful venue. You can’t ask for a better mix of indoor and outdoor space. However, if you care about who you are giving your money to and how business owners treat their customers, then TWE may not be the place for you. We ended up eloping at Wild Roots, with Elope Tampa Bay's assistance, and I wish we had known them first. It would have saved us time, money, and stress.
P.S. I was told TWE supposedly updated their contract at some point during our exchange and it is clearer on the possibility of additional fees.