"A Solid Gold Sound" name should have tipped me off. And the website as well as the good deals. But they provided the DJ for my sister's wedding on 8/2 in Cleveland, Ohio and everything went great.
Our wedding was 9/26. We had a beach location in North Carolina, and the last vendor we needed was DJ and Videography. Many of the local companies were far too expensive for us. We would've been happy with an iPod playlist and a homevideo of the day's events. Since my sister's wedding was so nice, we looked into using the same, national company "A solid gold sound". It looked like just what we wanted - not a lot of bells and whistles - and we wouldn't have to ask a friend/guest at the event to give up his or her time to enjoy the day to perform a task or job. It seemed perfect. And at a savings of over $600 compared to hiring local vendors. All we wanted was someone to play music when people requested it and to have a video we could watch and remember our exchange of vows and all the fun and dancing of the celebration to follow.
To make a long story shorter - I wish I would have looked into the company more before I used them. As my story mimicks many of the others out there. The DJ they booked was notified, via Craigslist, at 8pm on Thursday before my event. He called my cell phone on Friday before the wedding and we went over things. I never thought about the videographer not showing up.
But after we said "I do" I looked around and realized that no one was videotaping. I will never see my husband's reaction when he first saw me peek around the corner of the aisle. I will never see the ring bears funny little entrance. I won't get to replay our vows to each other and the little laughs and tears we shared during that moment.
A contract was broken. A contract that states, "Nothing - No accident, sickness, weather, or other acts of God or negligence, Nothing relieves a Solid Gold Sound of its obligation to fulfill this contract by performing at your event. Nothing." After many conversations with Ryan, J. D, and Ron Daniels I've been told that sometimes things happen. They attempted to notify me, via calling my home phone in Raleigh, NC, at 11am the day of the event. They knew my home address and they had the event locations - but yet the home phone was called that day. Another call was apparently placed to an old cell phone of mine. Seeing as I booked their services in January I could understand why they would have an old number on file. But when it was changed, I notified all of my wedding vendors of the change, including a Solid Gold Sound. I even confirmed the new cell phone number three weeks before the wedding when I paid my balance. I confirmed event dates, times, addresses, and phone numbers. Why my new cell wasn't dialed is still a mystery, as the DJ called me on it the day before - obviously given it by A Solid Gold Sound. Why wasn't a call placed to the church? Or to the reception hall? Seems to be a complete mystery...
Once I arrived to the reception site, I explained the situation to my day-of and site coordinator. Phone calls were placed. Ryan said the bride would get a full refund in the mail on Monday. And I was out a videographer.
My coordinator called in a videographer - who we had interviewed, but could not afford. He was available. My father paid for him to come out and videotape the reception. So I have a "bells and whistles" copy of the reception - but no ceremony - all for the full price of an event. If a Solid Gold Sound would have notified me, I at least could have paid full price for full event coverage.instead I have half... At full price.
A Solid Gold Sound found a DJ and paid for him (well, paid half). Well below what I paid them. But they wouldn't pay for the videographer - he was too expensive. So instead, they decided to break a contract. But "No act of God" will keep them from fulfilling their contracts...
I should hear from Ron Daniels tomorrow. If I don't receive a full refund, I will be seeking legal action. I've replied to postings for a class action suit, as well. I can't believe a company has gotten away with this so many times. I don't want anyone else to experience what I, and many others, have experienced. The loss of precious moments is priceless - my advice is to find a company that feels the same way.
Any suggestions that would aid in my legal seekings would be graciously accepted.
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