Love the venue, don''t love the on site coordinator...

[goldenstar]

FI and I toured a gorgeous potential venue this weekend in Napa, CA. We LOVED it. It was totally our style.

We didn''t really like the on site coordinator. She struck us as a little snobby and not too friendly. At the end of our visit, she said something like "There are many beautiful places in the valley. Look around for a while and let me know." I was thinking, "Huh? Shouldn''t you be trying to sell us on this place?" Maybe I was misreading her or something, but it didn''t seem like she wanted our business. But then again, we told her that we were planning to marry in 2009 so maybe she was just trying to be helpful by making sure we saw what''s out there.

In any case, we didn''t have a good first impression of her. We spent the rest of the day analyzing the encounter. Would it be okay to overlook that if we really love the place? Has this happened to anyone? Because of our schedules, we were thinking about getting our own wedding planner to help us out. If we did, maybe s/he could work with the person on site so we wouldn''t have to deal with her.

 

[robbie3982]

I really liked our on-site coordinator when we first met her. Then when we actually started planning, I couldn''t stand her. She ended up being great at the end though, which is I guess when it really matters.

I think it''s kind of a crap shoot. It''s hard to get an accurate impression of someone in just an hour''s time. Plus, if you''re planning on having your own coordinator, she could do most of the interacting with the on-site woman.

 

[Class n Sass]

I''m still in the middle of planning for my May 2008 wedding. I don''t love my site coordinator. I think she is a bit cold. She is the type of person that gives 1 word answers which is extremely annoying. It''s almost like I have to keep picking and picking just to get a complete answer out of her.

When I first booked the location I came up with a few important questions which I called her about. Well a couple of weeks went by and she wasn''t returning my phone calls. So I ended up calling her supervisor who the owner of the site. My mom''s bestfriend went to HS with the owner and he has actually gave me a good deal on everything. He also told me if I had any problems or concerns that I shouldn''t hesitate to call him. Well she got upset that I called her supervisor even though I explained to her that I had been calling her and she wasn''t answering me back. She said something to the effect that "she got me a really good deal." My answer was "yes, I did get a good deal but it''s not free and is still costing more than some cars"

. Also she did not go out of her way to get me the deal. The fact that I had a contact that referred me to the owner was how I got a good deal. After that I have not had any problems with her. She is still a bit cold but that could just be her personality. I just hope that in the end I have the same outcome as Robbie3982.

 

[Pandora II]

Mine is somewhat difficult, but I really wanted the venue.

My mother met her before I did and warned me what she was like, so I made a special effort to be extra nice, say all the right things and yet be firm on what I wanted.

Luckily she seemed to really like me - I think she thinks I will be sending more business their way - and she said that most of the people who looked round had very unrealistic impressions of what they could do, whereas I seemed to get the whole ''do not damage the fabric of the building'' bit.

I think the way to handle it is just to picture some of the bridezillas that they have had walking through the doors - probably makes anyone a bit off at first!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Denver is not exactly known for their old mansions, but there was always one I really liked and when my FI saw it, he fell in love to. The site cordinator is very nice but a total flake. We reserved the date 3 weeks ago and have yet to recieve the contract! What we have decided to do is put my FI on talking to her since he is good with flakes while my mom and I are much better with together but cold people like your situation. I don''t know if it would help, but if you decide on the place, consider finding someone who is good with people like her to do the talking for you.

 

[diamondfan]

I would not let a first impression blow it if you love the place, and I actually like that she is not giving you the hard sell. She knows her venue is great, but also knows an educated client is best, so you are satisfied too. I would give her another chance, if you really love the setting, since she might not even be employed there by the time you get into the planning stage. I assume you would just be putting a deposit down to hold the date at this point. Also, she could turn out to be great, so you never know. As for bringing in someone else, that can be tricky. She is paid to do this there, and might resent it, so you have to feel this out very carefully, and you could end up with people dropping the ball in terms of responsibilities, so be very clear about who is to to what. Make sure you will be getting something worth while for the added expense.

 

[labbielove]

agreed, don''t let that turn you from a venue you love.
we had a similar experience.
ours were a tad annoying throughout the process, but very helpful with vendor referrals and
keeping me on track with planning (monthly calls,more as it got closer)

on the day of, rehearsal and wedding, everything went like clockwork and i realized they''d done so much i didn''t even know about (all my last minute panic calls were answered with "we have that, we do that,etc.)


from what you described it didn''t sound too bad- i''d rather have someone tell me to look around then go for the hard sell. that could mean they''re confident in their offerings and they really do want you to look around and be sure.
i would be more turned off by a hard pushy sell job, but that''s me.