I am a sucker for contests

I entered another "contest" for free Day of Coordination (DOC) services. This one isn't a popularity contest thankfully. I really really hope we win, because the latest mess from our venue is very upsetting. It is far too complicated to blog completely about it, but to summarize....

(1) Our original coordinator left. In getting a new coordinator we found that....
(2) Our 25% off catering discount was never put through. In getting a new contract to reflect the promised discount, we found that...
(3) They weren't sure what our wedding date is (I'M NOT KIDDING)
(4) The Plan B in case of bad weather was not reserved for us.
(5) The ceremony site was listed as the incorrect location.
(6) The reception site was listed as the incorrect location.

Now you might be thinking... did we even bother to read our original signed contract? Of course we did and the original one was perfect and had all the right details in it. I have NO idea, where all the confusion came in when drafting the new contract.

Sooooo.... I have little faith in our new coordinator (apparently she can't read a contract), so a DOC would be great to insure everything goes as planned the day of (and if it doesn't, she'll fix it and never let me know). Check here on January 25th to see if we win her services.

Oh and I am flying directly to Miami upon leaving Europe. We got a mess on our hands that requires more than emails and unanswered phonecalls! In the meantime, Ralph is trying to get me revved up to get me to go all bridezilla on them. He thinks that is the only way to get them to do anything right. I think he might be right.

How to turn me into a ...

BRIDEZILLA!

(From organizeddoodles.blogspot.com)

No not really. But I did get really mad and in front of my soon to be Mother in Law recently due to some miscommunication at the cake bakery. It was kinda embarrassing. But I think I did pretty well considering I unleashed my wrath not at the poor lady that just came back from vacation, but outside on the streets of Coral Gables.

What happened? Well, with our venue, we have the option of getting our cake at Cake Designs by Edda, which is an institution in Miami. They even have 4 locations in South Florida. In March, I went to taste some cake in their Doral store. They were really busy and didn't treat me so great. So, I figured I would try the Coral Gables store while I was visited Miami in June. I called them up to make sure that they would have all the flavors and fillings I wanted to try. The lady strongly assured me that I needed no appointment and that they would have all those flavors and fillings. This is cool because it is actually posted on their website as a FAQ's:

3. When can I come in for a tasting? Anytime, but it is always best to call in advance to make sure we have specific flavor available for tasting.

	4. Do I need an appointment? Appointments are not necessary, though recommended for special occasions. Appointments can be made Monday through Friday at any of our store locations.

So me, my mom, Ralph, his mom and her partner all stroll in the store on a Monday to eat some cake. Cue to the poor lady who just came off of vacation, she tells me that they have no cake and that the cakes for tasting won't come in until the afternoon. WHAT? They have no cake? All the moms drove an hour for nothing? She finally offers us their signature flavor cake (Vanilla Rum), which I decline since I already know Ralph hates rum cakes. I ask Ralph to please "take care of this" so I won't bite this persons head off. He gets us a firm appointment for the following day, while I yell an obscenity outside.

The following day... all come again, except Ralph's mom's partner who has to work:-( The lady at the counter kindly tells us,' Oh no, we only do tastings on Wednesday.' WHAAAA? That isn't posted anywhere? What the hell? I just look at Ralph, who then asks for the poor vacation lady. Poor vacation lady comes out behind the counter and knows that I am pissed (I have a hard time hiding those sort of facial expressions). She then very kindly takes care of us and even gives us second helpings to bring home to those who actually work. The cake is good, damn good. It is a good thing too. I was at the point of 3 strikes and you are out. Although, I have to admit that I am quite concerned that they will screw it up. End the end, we are supposed to get a very simple 3-layer round buttercreme cake with strawberry jam filling (how hard is that to mess up?). Now I just I have to bribe someone into decorating it like this for me:

(theknot)

So will it work with all green orchids? Should we have sprung the extra $ for sugar orchids instead?