White House Events

Review: My son rented the White house for his wedding reception. 1. They told him that if there weren't going to be the 100 people attending that he had invited if he contacted them at least 2 weeks prior to the event that they would reduce the number to what he needed. They refused to do that. So we had enough food for 100 people2. The bar tender told us that he was done serving the wine and beer that we had purchased half way through the evening. We had to pay him again to keep him until 9:30 which was the previously agreed upon and paid for time. 3. The bar tender was observed by several of the guests drinking "our" beer while he was behind the bar working.4. He sold 2 bottles of wine to one of our guests. The wine was "ours" bought and paid for. What he did with the money is anyones guess but we did not see it. 5. Some of our 80 guests arrived late and got no food because the kitchen help had eaten it. I would not recomend this business to anyone!Desired Settlement: no settlement as it would do us no good.

Business

Response:

We are so sorry to hear of your misunderstanding of the contracted agreement regarding the guest count. Being you were not at the signing and perhaps have only second hand information, we understand how that might have happened. We ask for a final guest count two weeks out from the event for any last minute additions so we can add to the equipment being delivered if needed. The package they purchased was for up to 100 guests. We are not responsible for guests that do not attend and do not offer refunds on unused equipment. By the time it gets to us and is set up our vendors have already been paid for that service.

Regarding the bar that was also hired at a 4 hour minimum which was from 4:30-8:30 with the alcohol brought in by the client. We are not responsible for their alcohol and how much they choose to provide for their guests. Our bartenders absolutely do not drink while on the job nor would they ever sell or have the opportunity to sell any of the clients alcohol. (The only money that changes hands is in the tip jar) Many times they are offered a beverage from the family but rarely take them up on it. I consistently check in with the bartender throughout the evening to make sure everything is going smoothly. I do not recall this party running out of alcohol, perhaps just wine? Every empty bottle of wine is accounted for at the end of the evening and kept in plain site.

I was approached by the brides step father regarding the food and that several guests had decided to go sight seeing and stopped for beverages before they came from the church to the reception and missed out on dinner. He knew dinner service was over and said not to worry that they should have not stopped somewhere before coming. It is also stated in the contract with the caterer the time frame of service, clearing of plates and packaging of left overs. The kitchen staff is prepared their own food along with the other service vendors on site i.e. DJ, photographers etc. at no cost to the bride and groom. The left overs were given to the brides family.

Being a guest, one is not always privy to the contracts in place regarding the details of the wedding. These are done to provide guidelines and expectations around each event. No one is perfect but we try very hard to provide as much as we can for a fair price. We have hundreds of weddings and find we have to fine tune our policies to address new issues that come up every now and again.

We do appreciate your feedback.