Silver Sixpence Wedding Venue - what a disappointment!

What an utter disappointment.

From the moment we arrived until the moment we left we were given totally unrealistic rules and regulations that had to be adhered to, it felt like being back at school.

We provided the sound for the wedding, and these are just some of the few ridiculous rules we had to comply with:

1. No driving on grass (which was dead due to winter) it leaves marks 2. We had to get special permission from the owner to put up lights 3. Once we spoke to the owner, these were some of the rules: No flashing lights - barman is epileptic No mirror ball - no reason given Smoke effect limited to the opening dance only - cant remember the pathetic reason No loud music - barman can not hear the drinks orders - their staff cannot be subjected to loud music every weekend Not allowed to tape down any cables, leaves marks on floor Doors either side of the disco had to be accessible (although there were about 10 other doors available)

The House Rules, which had to be read out by the MC contained, among others:

Guests may not put wood on the fires (acceptable), and if they do the fires will be extinguished and not re-lit (seriously?????)

The bar works only on a tab system, and you have to leave either a credit card or your car keys as security (which I only understood why once I realized how ridiculous their prices were e.g. R42 per single tot of Johnny Walker Black, which equates to nearly R1400, for a bottle which sells retail for less than R300.

The venue is available until 2am, but the bar closes at 11.30, which means the party dies soon afterwards. You bar bill has to be settled by credit card before 12pm. My tab for 6 of us, and we did not go crazy was just under R2 000. Then the barman had the cheek to ask if I wanted to leave a tip.

They announce that if you bring your own alcohol into the venue you would be charged corkage, so we asked what the corkage was...wait for this.....R600 per bottle of spirit (WOW!)

We never saw the management staff, except when they came to bark out more rules, until the reception function started. Then the owner (Lesley) and her wedding co-coordinator (joke), stood like policemen and watched every move, until the bar closed. I felt that all they were there for was to ensure that no-one opened any of their own alcohol.

We asked them at one stage to turn off the center chandelier as there was no atmosphere on the dance floor. After fiddling with the lights for a while, twice making them extremely bright during the process, they left the light at about 50% brightness, so this had no effect.

The whole process totally ruined the reception for us, and I am sure many of the guests. In fact one of the guests at our table commented 'this is a beautiful venue, but there are just too many rules'.

We never stayed at the venue as, yet another rule is, that you have to stay for two nights minimum, so we stayed at a nearby B&B, which was wonderful. On departing the owner of the B&B asked how the wedding was, which we told her. The B&B has only been open for less than a year, but she said that 3 other clients had previously complained about the Silver Sixpence, so this is obviously not an isolated case.

In my opinion, this venue exists ONLY to make money. I do not feel that they care about the experience they are offering, and that the rules and regulation are in place to make their lives easier and to maximize their profits. I would DEFINITELY NOT recommend this venue for any function.