Yep. Operative word –
TRIED. Not one here at Virginia’s
House. I wanted to be a customer and
book a vow renewal on Maui as a surprise to my husband for our 20th
Anniversary. I booked the trip, made a
lot of decisions, spent a lot of money and relied heavily on my travel
agent. (She’s fabulous, by the way.)
My travel agent researched my vow renewal options and spoke
to the officiant directly. She gave him
my number, me his number, etc. He did
try to call me twice, but both times my husband was with me (remember, I wanted
this to be a surprise), so I didn’t answer.
So, I went to the Maui wedding website and tried to communicate with the
officiant using email. The website was
relatively easy to get around, but I was confused about beach permits,
etc. I emailed the officiant asking for
clarification on beach permits and the dates he had available. He responded that everything was spelled out
specifically on his website AND he required that I be at a desktop, on his
website and on the phone with him simultaneously to identify available dates. I responded that I just needed clarification
because his website was a bit confusing to me – he responded AGAIN that his
website was crystal clear and that he wouldn’t provide me with available dates
until I was on a computer on his website and on the phone with him. Did I mention we were heading into a holiday
weekend? And that I was not going to be
near the three required pieces of equipment simultaneously for nearly a week? I
think I emailed the same basic short list (permits and dates) up to four
times. And got the same response. Every. Single. Time.
Needless to say, the idea of a vow renewal no longer has the
romance I had envisioned attached to it.
I scrapped the idea out of sheer frustration. I guess I assumed that people do business the
way Jody Serey (Spirit and Light) and I do.
Clearly not.
At Virginia’s House, we will communicate with you on your
preferred medium. I have Skyped with a
soldier in Iraq and showed him around the venue. I have texted college students across the
country. I have spoken on the phone with
distraught brides at 10pm. I have
emailed never-ending answers to brides with never-ending questions just to make
them comfortable. Jody at Spirit and
Light operates the same way. We will
meet you where you are and how you are to make you comfortable with the
process. And we don’t like stress or
allow panic. This is the best way we
know how to combat both.
So, to the vow renewing officiant on Maui – best of luck to
you. Your
website isn’t as clear as you’d think.
And I won’t be meeting you on my vacation with my husband. Instead, I think I’ll have Jody from Spirit
and Light write me up something special, then I’ll drag hubs out onto the beach
and we’ll say nice things to each other while the sun is setting. In fact, that sounds absolutely perfect to
me.
