Some bitching, then some positivity
OK, I’ve had it hasta los ovarios with the museum.
Almost a year ago, when Denny and I first decided to have the wedding there, I asked for a contract. They said, “Don’t worry, you’re on our schedule. It’ll be fine.” Oookay. I’m pretty sure I asked about it on other occasions, too, and we never got one. But people kept assuring us that it would be fine, don’t worry about it. A couple of times it wasn’t fine, such as when they up and changed their minds about which space we could use. The space we initially wanted suddenly became unusable, so we switched things around in order to accomodate them. We planned from the beginning to have the reception outside under a rented tent.
So just yesterday, we hear back from them saying, “The events committee met, and we decided that you must take everything down that night following the reception.” That includes the rented tables, chairs, and the tent. Note that these things are all rented from a third party; this is not the museum’s stuff we want to leave out.
The rental company is closed at midnight on Saturdays (obviously), as well as on Sundays, so they planned to come in and take down the tent Monday morning. They do events on campus all the time, including at the museum, and nobody ever mentioned to us that that would be a problem. So we are expected to haul away the tables, chairs, and tent (and by “we” I mean “some college kids we hire,” or possibly “our very helpful relatives, should they be so kind,” because like hell am I going to spend my wedding night breaking down a tent). I guess we’d have to move them to our yard or something, because I don’t know where on earth we’re expected to put them.
If for whatever reason (such as, say, precedent and logic) we leave the tent up till Monday morning, we are expected to pay for a museum guard to babysit the tent. Yes, that’s an extra 36 hours of guard time, and guards don’t come cheap. I can’t for the life of me figure out why the museum needs to guard an empty tent that’s not even theirs and is surely covered by the damage waiver from the rental place.
So yeah. That’s a giant pain. Now comes the positive part.
I am so thankful to have Denny for a partner. When I first learned about this, I thought I was going to barf and cry at the same time (I think I did cry a little, though fortunately I didn’t barf, because I was at work and I surely would have ruined my keyboard). Denny did a great job stepping in and handling the communication with the museum people.
I’ve always been a very independent person; I handle things on my own and don’t ask for help. In fact, one of my biggest problems at work is that I don’t delegate enough; I try to do everything myself. So I was bracing myself to deal with this highly obnoxious issue, when all of a sudden, as if by magic, Denny handled it for me. Rather, he’s in the process of handling it, but I trust him.
It’s really great having a partner like that, someone who eases the difficulties of life. You rule, DC. Thanks for ruling so much. If you were a Latin crooner, you’d be Rulio Igesias. You don’t play billiards, you shoot rool.
I don’t like that you are having such troubles but I do like how you describe the ruling of DC. My coworkers and ladyfriend all got a kick out of it. Thanks Aprille. If you were a character in the upcoming Miramax movie, Sprung: The Magic Roundabout you would be Roolgal (this joke will make sense in 2006, I swear).
Wow. I can’t believe that. I mean, I work at a university rife with red-tape issues so I thought I’d heard them all but…wow. That’s really dumb. Really, really dumb. I’m so sorry.
Denny sounds awesome. 🙂
i would gaurd it for you. or help people take it down that night and move it if need be. i dont know how big this tent is, but i’m sure i could voulenteer all the people i know to help.
some relative of mine had the same problem so, after you were done sitting in the chair you were assigned to, you also had to put it back onto the truck before they would turn on the music and start the party.
Oh, Honey, I’m so sorry you have to go through all this stress, especially when you’re supposed to be enjoying this momentous time in your life. But you know what? There are going to be many, many family and friends there who would be happy to pitch in and help with the tear down. And if need be, we can haul all the stuff in our trailer and park it in your driveway. So don’t fret; we’ll work things out. And you know your dad…he’s always good for a backup plan.
Aprille, Nothing will be allowed to spoil your wedding day. We’re all there for you and Denny. We’ll do whatever needs to be done to take care of any problems that arise.It will all be worth it in the end.
Three huzzahs for DC! Three kicks in the pants for the Museum! Though, I feel I must note that you should not overlook the power of a hysterical bride-to-be in the negotiation process. The museum is much happier dealing with calm but firm DC. I’m just saying.