Wedding Madness

Weddings are a scam.

Well, at least attempting to pay for them is a scam.

On Thursday, I went for my dress fitting. All went well, they took measurements to create sleeves and a tznius neckline, and I paid the balance on the dress itself independently of the alterations. Let me note here that the dress was Very Expensive.

When I asked for an estimate on the alterations, I was presented with a figure that was nearly half of the price of the Very Expensive dress. Now, this didn't include any material - I already paid for that. It did, however, include the cost of steaming and bustling the dress.

Perhaps I'm crazy and blissfully out-of-touch with the bridal industry, but wouldn't one assume that every dress sold needs to be bustled and steamed? Why are these extra fees? If I've already spent a Large Sum of Money, shouldn't these services be included?

On Friday, I called to put in the final order for my cake. Wedding cake is not something found at your typical frum wedding (at least not in this community), so I knew getting someone to make one that was actually tasty and pretty was going to be a hard job.

My caterer uses a kosher bakery in town whose cakes have the reputation of being dry and tasteless. I wasn't interested. So, we attempted to hire a woman in the community who is renowned for her cake-baking expertise. She initially agreed, but then thought better of the idea. Back to square one.

Someone suggested I call another caterer who had his own pastry chef to see if they would do a cake for me. I explained all the circumstances (including that we were using another caterer), but the man in the office said yes anyway.

Fast-forward to Friday. I was chatting away with the man in the office about what kind of cake, when it had to be delivered, etc. I was about to give him my credit card number when he asked if I would mind holding for a minute. Moments later, a second voice came on the line identifying himself as the owner of the catering company. Very tersely, he explained that he most certainly wouldn't do my cake and how dare I even ask him if I wasn't using his catering company. I

I was stunned.

I said, "You're bringing me to tears. There are special circumstances. Please let me explain."

He replied, "I don't care. Even if I hadn't found out about this until the day before the wedding, I would've cancelled the cake."

"I'm surprised to hear a frum person saying such a thing," I said, my voice shaking.

"Your surprise doesn't concern me," he said.

I was so enraged at this point that I told him I wouldn't give him my business anyway and I hung up on him. I'm not proud of this - I never hang up on people (well, not on purpose anyway). It's Monday morning, and I still find myself wanting to write him a scathing letter. At this point, I don't give a flick about the cake - it's my honor that has been offended.

Back to square one.