Apologies to guests

The resort should have compensated you all with money if they made such a serious mistake.


Was your bar a capped consumption bar, so once you hit $750 it closed?
Is the resort near your guests? Would they get use out of the gift cards? I think it would be better to reimburse them for their drinks

I'd demand the resort give you the $750 back, they can keep the gift cards. They pretty much took your money because lets be real here these businesses know that more than likely those gift cards will never be used, so in so many words they got a free $750 from you. I don't think I would necessarily reimburse everyone for the drinks they paid for cause it's already said and done. But I'd definitely demand your $750 back.

Yikes! I would be mad too! I agree with prior posters - I would refuse the gift cards and demand the $750 to be refunded to you guys. Then, with that money, I would probably send each person a $25 gift card to Total Wine or some other store with a thank you for coming, an acknowledgement/apology of the bar situation, and a cute note like "We hope you will enjoy some nice beverages on us! Cheers from the [insert couples last name or last names here]!"

First, I agree with Katie - demand your $750 back. I am sure they will try to push back that your guests consumed that $750 of alcohol. Put your foot down. You were supposed to get beer and wine at no cost to your guests, and you didn't. They made a huge mistake that has caused you a great deal of embarrassment. They need to compensate you directly for that, and giving you gift cards is not compensation.

As for your guests, if it's possible, an informal call to apologize would be sufficient. From your post, it sounds like you might know who specifically was affected, so a call would be a nice gesture and would be enough to make most people happy. If I were a guest, I wouldn't sweat over a $5 beer, especially if the bride called and explained what happened. You can always gauge their level of upset this way and offer to compensate if you feel they are particularly unhappy.

View Quoted Comment YES! 100% this! I hope they give you your money back, and On top of that they should give the gift certificates as well. I would be so ripping mad. And she is right, half the time your guests will not use the gift certificates, especially if they’re out of state. The business knows this and this is their way of sort of trying to weasel their way out of it. I would demand more if I were you. And I would blast them all over social media and write bad reviews. It amazes me, throughout the months and months of planning and meetings and talking to these people to try to make sure that your day goes perfectly, they still manage to mess it up. No matter how much money you give these people. Yes I would definitely demand more.

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Yes an on top of all of that, the business also knows that if they give you a $25 or $50 gift certificate, the average couple is more than likely going to spend more on top of that so really they are drumming up more business for themselves!!

Totally agree with others - you paid for a service and they did not deliver. They owe you a refund and gifts cards are not appropriate (frankly it just forces your guests to spend more money there in the future!). I would not accept their offer of gift cards - they owe you a full or partial refund - is there anything in your contract that could help support this?

To be a small voice of reason here, was the $750 the max you told the hotel you were willing to pay, or did you tell them that you would pay for all beer/wine/sig drinks that were consumed in that three hours?

Because if you said you were capping at $750, that probably didn't go as far as you would think with bar service fees, bartender fees, etc.

Working at a hotel we had a couple that only wanted to spend $500 total on alcohol including our bar fees/service charges. In reality that got them about $300 worth of alcohol, and it went really quick.

If they charged you $750 and no one got complimentary drinks absolutely come back at them for it. But it really all comes down to how it was worded when you set the service up. Double check e-mails you may have with them along with your contract. Honestly I get the feeling the hotel didn't actually do anything wrong, but they may have misunderstood what you wanted.

View Quoted Comment So true! Man, I’m mad for this bride LOL if I were her I’d blast them all over social media. I’m sorry but the venue is not allowed to make mistakes like that

Did you do a $750 cap, and once it was met, it would transition to a cash bar?

If the $750 was truly for a 3 hour open bar, and they made guests pay the entire 3 hours, I would demand your $750 back. That is unreal!

As far as apologizing to your guests, I think putting the gift certificate in your thank you card would be fine.

Yikes! I would be mortified if this happened to me, and I would be so embarrassed if guests had to open up their wallets at my wedding. I'm very sorry that the resort screwed up and that this happened to you. I would definitely demand your money back for all wine/beer consumed during those 3 hours, because I can't imagine that many guests would even return to the resort to use the gift cards. I agree with PP's suggestion of sending them $25 gift cards to a local wine shop or something in the thank you notes, along with an apology. That being said, I'm also a bit confused because what would have happened after the $750 ran out? Would guests have had to pay for their own drinks at this point anyway?

I would be livid as well, I am so sorry this happened to you, I would be demanding they give you back the 750

Get your money refunded. Definitely skip the gift cards after the horrible business you received. Hopefully you didn't tip them yet. But make sure to review the venue on all platforms with your experience to warn future couples.

I would apologize by word of mouth.

View Quoted Comment Definitely agree with all of this!