Axton Lodge "The Pines"

Doctor *** is Amazing I have brought my daughter to him for the past years and will not take her to see anybody elseStaff is AMAZING

Review: My husband and I paid $3300 to Axton Lodge for our wedding. The money was to rent the entire facility for 3 days; Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We were to be able to use both barns and grounds, including the apartment in the upstairs of the smaller barn for the girls to get ready the day of and for the bride and groom to stay the night after the wedding. On the Friday night of the rehearsal dinner we discovered the owner's son and his girlfriend upstairs in the apartment doing what appeared to be drugs which caused us to have to pack up all of our stuff and take it back home because we worried that something might happen to it. On the day of the wedding (Saturday) the girls were unable to get ready in the apartment properly because they were cooking the wedding food in the kitchen up there and the son kept coming up the stairs. They also had 3 large dogs that were loose on the property that scratched the ring bearer's face and almost knocked down the girl doing the wedding cakes. They had to be asked multiple times to put the dogs away. Some of the chairs and one of the tables they had for us to use were broken and resulted in people getting stuck with splinters. The stairs are also not safe and 2 people fell down them and one of the bridesmaids got her dress hung on a nail. They also turned off the water Friday night and we had no running water while we were setting up. We also paid them $1500 for catering and the food was not what was agreed upon in the contract and it was not enough. Part of the catering was that they were to completely set up the reception, keep up and clean up which they did none of. We had to set the tables and chairs up ourselves and then they moved them and we had to do it all over again. They also moved our stuff for other parts of the wedding and we couldn't find it and it had to be left out. The wedding was almost 2 hours late because of the chaos and we are unsatisfied with how the contracts were were not followed through with.Desired Settlement: We would like our $3300 back for the venue rental because they did not give us access to the location like we agreed upon and used the apartment space for themselves instead of letting us have it like the contract stated. Plus the venue is unsafe and the dogs were dangerous and unsanitary. We would also like the $1500 back for the catering because the food was not what had been discussed and they ran out of it. We paid for 125 people and there wasn't enough meat for 75.

Business

Response:

I just received your complaint letter this following Saturday. I found it rather absurd. It was so far from the truth, I would have found it funny if it were not so sad. This bride ruin her own wedding. Everyone thought it was beautiful and knew nothing of the other decorations she & her bridal party did not put up. J realize now that you only gave me 7 days to reply, which is not going to give me time to get all of the facts and photographs ready that I wanted to reply to this complaint, the same info that I will be giving my lawyer to file suit. So I will just write a brief summary of the fact and will mail you the complete package in a day or so when I have it prepared. I have spent hours on hours with this customer so I guess a few more hours does not matter to settle this matter, as I have nothing else to do. I wish I had received it sooner as I have been on full bed rest for the healing of my feet (diabetic) every since Sunday after the wedding May 5, 2013. I realize this will be long but it is necessary to know the background and what actually took place. I want it all printed, if you choose to print her complaint. So I guess without mentioning names, which she has already done more than once on Facebook I will answer her complaint. I have been in this business for almost 35 years, 13 at the present address, and never have I or my family ever worked a wedding or received a complaint like this. I will also be enclosing documentation such as contracts, rules, etc to substantiate my comments where you see the **. Please print those also or refer them to my website [redacted].net. Here goes: On meeting this lady and the groom to be, along with her mother and her boyfriend I felt very comfortable with them. They told me of all of their plans at that present time. Walls for pictures, furniture they would bring in, linens, glassware. chair covers, etc. They painted a beautiful picture of an awesome wedding and reception. They booked the Lodge on Sept 12, 2012 for May 4, 2013. Over the coming months they came out and called about 8 to 10 times. Some times all of them, sometimes just the bride and groom. Each time they were friendly almost like family. They booked the $3300 package using both barns and grounds for the week-end. They knew and I discussed with the bride that we would have all of the tables we had and chairs down there ready for their use but as they were using all of their own items, linens, chair cover, etc. that they would have to set them all up, that was not included in the $3300 rental, that it never was. ** The bride also called and got the sizes and number of all tables I have on the premises (see not on contract), so she could figure out what she need to rent. In February 2013 they asked for a catering quote in writing. I gave them one**. They then asked me to cook the chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes just like I would cook them that day. That is not procedure but I did it for them, they were my friends by now. They came out ate the food, just a few bites of each when I had fixed a full plate, and said they loved it and were ready to book the catering. The bride had told me about that time and several other times how great she was with the computer and shopping to get things almost for nothing. She had said the table linens were really cheap and that she and her mother were making 200 chair covers. She told me of this glassware she was using called mercury glass. It all sounded beautiful and would be very expensive. Thinking that she was a very honest person, I asked her what she was going to do with it all after the wedding. She stated keep a little for keepsakes and resell the rest, that way she would be getting re wedding for almost nothing. At this point I asked her if she wanted to trade everything that she was not keeping for keepsakes on her catering. ** She said that would be great so I wrote the catering quote which came out to $3000 for 125 people.(Generally that would be 5 workers to work the wedding). She knew at that time she was still responsible for the actual coming out and setting all of her things up. She called it HER VISION. I told her than and on another day, I was glad it was her vision, because everything I suggest she did not like. There is no way to take one person vision, unless they can write it out or draw it out, and have another person do it. She knew that than and she still knows it. She came out about a month before the wedding and set-up one table so I could see how it would look. We took pictures, it was beautiful. I made set up suggestions which did not please her about where and how we would set up the food tables. According to her I would have no room for any real food tables as she would be using the full space for her decorations, tables, cookie tables, bar, etc. I told her than that she could come out any time that week to set up her actual tables and than I would see what space we had for the food, but I did need some space as it was a full course dinner with a carving station as the groom had suggested. She agreed. I am sending a copy of the contracts and the rules which I explain to them before signing their contracts. The bride is saying I put the $3300 after the catering part so there for setting up and cleaning up, etc. was part of the rental price. It could have been taken that way by some people, I have now may it even more clear on my website. If we had only met once or even twice, maybe she could have used that as an excuse, but 7 or 8 times including calls. I discussed the set up, that I would give her extra time for her to do so on at least 2 visits and 2 calls. Yes her mother did come on those visits but with friends and wandered off during our talks, now she says she heard it all and I promised what the bride said I did. I talked with the bride on the Monday before the wedding and advised her it would take me till Tuesday evening to get through all of the pollen out and she said that would be fine she would be out Wednesday morning before she went to work to get started. Remember till this point all was going just perfect. I had no reason to expect what was to come next. Wednesday morning she called and said she had hurt her back. That she was told at a local walk-in that she had a bulging disk. They gave her pain pills, and she had to take physical therapy everyday including her wedding day. I explained to her that I had 3 and along with other back problems could not help her much but I would try. I asked when she was coming out, she said not tonight I have to work. Said she would be out Thursday. I waited all day, I had my son move all of the table she had asked to have from one location to another, chairs also leaving the required chairs at the first location for the after-rehearsal meal and for the wedding. Finally about 4pm her mother showed up with a couple of men and had a fit that the tables were not all set up. Legs standing up I guess, I told her there was no sense in doing that until the bride told us where they were going. The bride called all tore up on the phone, her wedding dress was not altered, more phone calls, etc. I called the rental place about other tables they had rented, could they please wait and not close and let them pick them up right than, so when the bride got here we would all help her get them where she wanted them. I had no idea the bride was not coming at all on Thursday, The table linens were brought in, 'in metal scrubbing tubs in bags I had been told before hand that the bride had 3 people coming out to iron them on Thursday. I asked about the chair cover her mother was making, she only had 60 done. I even told her when she came back Friday morning (assuming morning) that if she brought them with her I would stay up all night Friday and sew them for her. I left my machines in the basement of the smaller lodge to do so. All of this still assuming I was being told the truth and there would be no problem, I had my work and half of hers covered. When I asked the mother on Friday just as she and the bride gotten here 2 hours late, did she bring the covers for me to sew. She answered NO, •••..we will talk about it later. The bride lit in NO Covers, WHY not. It was on than. In no way was that my job. But I was willing and ready to sew them for her. The mother explained that her friend had worked all day and only had 14 ties made so why bother. I thought I would help the bride out so I stayed up all night rinsing out the linens drying them and then running out in the damp grass to put each load out on the tables so the winkles would be out when they came in the morning. I called a wedding decorator to come out Friday morning and help me arrange all of the tables, 3 head tables that she had told me where she wanted them, and the others so everyone could be seated and actually see everything going on out on the dance floor. I paid her $100 to help me do this. We picked up everything that did not need to be up there and brought it down and took care of it. I called the bride Friday afternoon and let her know that the table linens did not fit my tables' I thought it strange when she said not to worry, I also told her I had to leave and go get groceries for her wedding. I asked her what time everyone would be here for practice. she said practice was at 5 dinner would be at 6. I told her I probably would not be back till 6 and that when they arrived to call or tell my son they were here so he could put the dogs up. I have a beautiful full blooded Collie, AKC German Shepherd and a mute small lab, who talks with her paws. I got her about 5:45 and people were out there, and the dogs were still out. A couple of men where playing with the collie and Shepherd and a lady was holding her little boy who was crying, we talked and she told me my dog had scratched him, I asked her it if was the black lab as I had passed the dog on my way out there and she was going toward the house with her head down. and the mother said yes. I than sat down and talked with both the mother and the little boy (as no one should be afraid of dogs) and explained that I was so sorry she was not trying to hurt him. just to get him to play with her. I also told her how sorry I was .. No ONE let my son know they were on the premises. I have 6.5 acres and the dogs have to stay in the house for hours when people are here. I put them right up and they did not get out again ti11 2am. I find it odd that the bride wrote the dogs were dangerous and unsanitary, when she and her family had been out here on many occasions when they were out, played with them, and thought they were pretty and laughed at them playing. I told them and 'tell everyone that they are here now but will be up for your wedding day. Here I ,will skip to the Saturday, the Wedding day, I specifically asked one more time, what time will someone be here. I was told 12:30 by the mother of the bride. I thought that odd as the wedding was not set up yet. Then the yeast rolls they were just old off the shelf dinner rolls. I could see I was not going to have time to make them so I ask another caterer would he make them for me. I ordered 23 dozen and have a receipt for $34.50 and can show I drove an extra 30 miles out of my way to pick them up. They were baked fresh Friday morning. While we are on the food, the appetizers to be served between the wedding and reception were price for 50 people in the quote. I not only did everything there but also added extra cashews to the mixed nuts, and added a vegetable tray with dip that was not ordered. I thought that would be nice. NC. Because the wedding was 2 hours late we ended up getting more fruit, vegetables, and cheeses from my house as there were now about 80 people eating and drinking beer before the wedding began. There is more but I think you get the point. Actually we set up and unwrinkled all of her linens. They changed everything, moving tables and linens. When they had them set as they wanted them, we went down early Saturday morning and set the plates, silverware, and napkins at each place setting. The wedding had some food served, and other vegetables the guest served them; on talking with my workers as well as many of the guests which I know, there was more than enough food, each person went through with huge portions on their plates and many came back for seconds. There was food of every kind left including the standing roast which the mother took home with her. The Prime Rib was only for the groom and about 10 other people who the bride said even checked beef on the RSVP. So that was all gone. We always have more food than quoted as to not run out. When a couple has fewer guests we allow them to have much larger portions as was the case here. Due to the wedding being late and the whole schedule being changed I called in 2 extra workers, as I knew people would be starving and ready to eat. This gave me 7 workers to pay instead of 5. They cleared the outside hors' dourves and bussed and cleared the tables as people finished, served the cake, cleaned up and allowed the party to wind up. All plates and serving dishes were stored and taken to the smaller barn basement for washing. As for moving their things, we did not. There was nothing to move, it was all stored behind their picture wall still packed in boxes which we did not touch. The bridesmaid came in started for about 5 minutes around 12pm and said let's go. The owner's son and girl friend being in the loft was true, but there was no drug use. I had waited for hours for the bridal party to leave. About 1 am I sent them to the barn to put my things in that ref. They had told me that the downstairs ref. was full of milk cartons so they had to take everything upstairs. While up there my son noticed that the Jacuzzi looked dirty and remember it had not been sanitized with Clorox, as they proceeded to clean it thoroughly the bride came up huffing and puffing grabbed her dress and left. She than told her mother that they were doing drugs up there and she feared for her dress. She removed only her dress not everything. The mother of the bride made me believe they might have been. My son is on probation for driving without a license. I called his probation officer and he was given a surprise drug test on Tuesday, which he passed with flying colors, I tried to tell the mother that the groomsmen had been up there earlier. but no she would not hear of that. I understand there was a lot of pot being smoked at the reception among other things. I did not know this till I started calling guest I know to find out what was really up. As I was asked to not mention names I will not call any right here. Chaos I will say, STARTED AND KEPT GOING BY THE BRIDE ONLY, RANTING, RAVING, AND SWEARING AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS WHILE .JUMPING UP AND DOWN IN THE LOFT FLOOR FOR ALL WORKERS, GUEST, AND MINISTER TO HEAR. SCREAMING I AM NOT GETTING MARRIED AT 4PM WHEN THE WEDDING WAS TO BE AT 4:30. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. This was a very unstable wedding. She is maybe 40 and came to a casual rehearsal in a frilly fluffy strapless gown, wearing very high wedge heals. I told her that was not good for her back (concern), told me not to worry about it, it was not my business. A car came in unannounced drove through my yard the neighbors yard and came to the venue being used and the next thing I hear (I was upstairs) was you Frigging Dogs get out of my way. That was the only time we were asked to put them up. If we deliver a wedding cake to a venue and there are dogs we call to have them put up before getting out of the car. If we had had any idea that she would be there as early as 10am, they would have been already up. The dogs were up from 10am Saturday till 3am Sunday. As for the broken chairs and tables, I have pictures of all. We do not have wooden tables, she rented wooden ones, we also have metal chairs. There were a few from the fire dept that were wooden but they were not broken and were covered with chair covers, by my workers, which was not our job either. I have no broken and have not had any broken chairs or tables. I have all life time tables. As for the stairs she felt were unsafe I also have pictures of all of my staircases. I have none that are unsafe. When I inspected them Sunday after I received this complaint I went out and took pictures of them. I found that someone had physically peeled off' a lot of paint on several stairs only to find they were treated wood underneath the paint. If someone was actually injured, as the bride wrote, than we should have been notified and given their names and numbers so they could have called and checked on them .. I can find no one who knew of anyone falling. We require that the people who rent our venue to obtain liability insurance $1 million for them and the same for us. It states in our rules, NO insurance NO function. This bride kept forgetting, and when asked dodged past me abruptly saying "I am busy now". I could have called the whole wedding right than. They had not purchased it. As for our turning off the water on Friday night: The bridal party, along with her sister, was all told that we are on a well That when too many people use it at the same time it shuts down, but comes back in a couple of minutes. They would just have to wait. We tell this to most people and they understand. The same well feeds both venues as well as my house. NO the water was not shut off on them! It may have shut down for a couple of minutes but came right back up. We had to set the pressure valve so it would do this as when it did not, a large party drinking burn out a the pump, which cost me $1000 to replace. As for drinking and cooking water, we have to buy that in gallons to pass all health codes until we can get on city water. I am faxing the catering quote ** and she is right it was not what they originally agreed upon. Instead of Steam ship round beef for the carving station, they got a ll lb standing roast beef and 3 lb Prime Rib. The first asked that the roast be cooked red like prime rib, than in another call asked that it all be cooked beyond done. So to please the groom who wanted red, I bought the Prime Rib also along with the roast. The price for beef going from $6.50 a pound to $15 a pound. The bride also said after the quote was figured and written that I had left out the corn they had mentioned. They had mentioned it, but it was not added into the pricing; but I bought it and gave it to her also. She said the potatoes where watery instant mashed potatoes. They weren't, as I told her on facebook, they were the same Idaho instant potatoes that they bad eaten on their tasting visit and loved. Then the yeast roils that was also on fb, they were not yeast rolls they were just old off the shelf dinner rolls. I could see I was not going to have time to make them so I ask another caterer would he make them for me. I ordered 23 dozen and have a receipt for $34.50 and can show I drove an extra 30 miles out of my way to pick them up. They were baked fresh Friday morning. While we are on the food, the appetizers to be served between the wedding and reception were price for 50 people in the quote. I not only did everything there but also added extra cashews to the mixed nuts, and added a vegetable tray with dip that was not ordered. I thought that would be nice. NC. Because the wedding was 2 hours late we ended up I have about 25 pictures to answer her complaints, which I will be happy to mail to you. I also have pictures of what I was to receive for my $1500, a complete dressed table. I have pictures of what I was left, 20 pieces of worn linen that does not fit any of my tables as she promised.

Consumer

Response:

The response did not address many of the issues that are in my original complaint. The response itself is very fragmented and hard to understand. There is a lot of information in her response that is not relevant to the terms of the contracts or my complaint. Her response was not an attempt to resolve the issues; it was just a counter complaint with unrealistic demands. She also talks about my medical health, age and weight in her response that not only is inaccurate; it is completely inappropriate and not relevant to the issues. To further support her misinformation, she claims on page 6 paragraph 3 that she questioned my sister; for the record, I have no sisters. As far as the issue of setting up the evidence she submitted on page 9 paragraph 1 of her response does not appear on her website anywhere as she claims in her letter. I am attaching a screenshot of her website from today, 6/9/2013, which shows the part she has an asterisk next to in her response, is not on the website. On her website (which you can see in the attached screenshot) it states that " We will set-up your reception for you, keep up and clean up afterwards if you go with us for your catering." She continues to claim that she was not supposed to set anything up but it clearly states on her website that she was and we were never told differently. We never assumed that she was responsible for decorating, only that she would be setting up the tables and chairs, as well as, removing items that were used in previous weddings that we did not wish to use. It also states on her website (refer to screenshot) Setting up of the venue is always included in our catering pricing Setting up of the venue is always included in our catering pricing She also says in the response on page 5 paragraph 2 that she requires the people who rent our venue to obtain liability insurance. She states that we did not have it and she could have called off the wedding. She also says, “It states in our rules, NO insurance NO function. In the contract, listed on her response on page 15 item 6, “If the Lessee has not gotten event insurance, and there are any injuries on or off the premises due to alcohol the Lessee takes full responsibility, holding the Lessor harmless for any and all claims.” The rules that she is referring to only appeared on her website AFTER my event took place. In response to her claims saying that I kept forgetting to get insurance and that I did not purchase it are incorrect as I had purchased event insurance on April 16, 2013 from [redacted]r.com. I am attaching a copy of the insurance certificate. The reason she thinks I did not have insurance is because she never asked me as she claims. She states in her response on page 5 paragraph 4 that “she is right it was not what they originally agreed upon.” She also states that they were “Idaho instant mashed potatoes”, and that they were not yeast rolls they were “just old off the shelf dinner rolls.” She also makes the same statements about the potatoes and the rolls on page 3 paragraph 3. On page 4 paragraph 1 she states “The Prime Rib was only for the groom and about 10 other people who the bride said even checked beef of the RSVP.”, but on page 6 number 2 under My Plans she says I am a fraud and a con artist because “Who gets a Prime Rib dinner for 125 people for $1500…”. She made an admission to my mother that she had spent the $1500 that we paid her for catering on her bills and had to borrow $400 from her ex-husband to buy the food. She also admits on page 3 paragraph 2 that her dogs were out and that one of them scratched a little boy’s face. There are also multiple witness that can attest to the fact that 2 people did, in fact, fall down the stairs and that there were wooden chairs as well as one wooden table that were broken and unsafe. Written statements can be made available upon request. She states on page 4 paragraph 3 that “The owner’s son and girl friend being in the loft was true…”. They had no business being up there because we signed a rental lease agreement that I would have the property on May 3rd, 4th and 5th. She claims on page 5 paragraph 3 that the water was not turned off and that she had explained to us that the water shuts down for a couple of minutes if too many people use it at the same time. Had the possibility of a water shut off ever been mentioned to us we would have reconsidered using the venue because of compromised sanitation. She even admits in the same paragraph that she set the pressure valve to do that so it would not burn up her pump. The water stayed off for several hours Friday night while we were setting up. I do not agree with any of the demands that she made in her response and do not think that it is in any way a resolution to the problem. Regards, [redacted]