# 98FM Wedding Factor Competition



## mo3art (5 Feb 2006)

xxxxxx


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## delgirl (5 Feb 2006)

Best of luck mo3art, am a 98FM fan and will certainly vote for you - you'll have to give us your real name tho'!


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## mo3art (5 Feb 2006)

Cheers DelGirl, would forget my head if it wasn't screwed on, fixed now!


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## ClubMan (5 Feb 2006)

mo3art said:
			
		

> The prize is a wedding valued at €50,000 from various vendors and would be the chance of a lifetime for us.


What's in it for us?


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## car (6 Feb 2006)

If its worth 50k, then I think the first (say 10??) posters back here to say they'll give you a vote should get the chance to buy a hat.    you can have mine either way, good luck.


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## Kiddo (6 Feb 2006)

car said:
			
		

> If its worth 50k, then I think the first (say 10??) posters back here to say they'll give you a vote should get the chance to buy a hat.  you can have mine either way, good luck.


 
You'll have to fight with the WOLlies for an invite


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## mo3art (6 Feb 2006)

My eternal gratitude ClubMan 

Will see if the best man will give you a mention in the speeches


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## extopia (6 Feb 2006)

If you don't win, I suggest an affordable wedding without all the bells and whistles, therefore increasing the chances of your grandparents being able to attend.


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## mo3art (6 Feb 2006)

Cheers Extopia, don't worry we're already working on the quiet wedding without the bells & whistles.  Our actual wedding budget is a mere 10th of the possible prize fund!
Voting opens on Friday everybody but if you want to hear a fellow AAM'r make a fool of themselves on air - I can be heard on Wednesday morning at 8.10am, I believe they're repeating a small section on Wed afternoon between 5 & 6.  Those who live outside of the "pale" can tune in via the streaming option on the 98fm website.
Thanks for all the messages of support!


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## z107 (6 Feb 2006)

I'm curious as to how €50k can be spent on a wedding. Seems a bit excessive to me. Would be good if all five couples were given €10k (or even split between 10 couples). I suppose that wouldn't get as many radio listeners.


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## ClubMan (6 Feb 2006)

I'm curious as to why people would spend even €10K on their wedding but there you go...


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## zag (6 Feb 2006)

mo3art - best of luck from the all the non-curmudgeons on AAM.

z


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## ClubMan (6 Feb 2006)

Who do you think are the curmudgeons here?


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## z107 (7 Feb 2006)

Maybe I'm a curmudgeon. I certainly have stubborn notions about weddings.

I too am getting married in the near future, and we have opted for a small, inexpensive wedding abroad. I don't honestly think that winning this competition would appeal to me personally. Maybe it would if we got to use the money to pay off the mortgage, or even give to a charity for that matter! What kind of extravagance are you going to spend €50k on? - pink llamas?

Consider as well, are 98FM going to leave you alone to enjoy your day, or will it turn into some kind of media circus?

Each to their own I suppose. Good luck with it.


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## Guest127 (7 Feb 2006)

the north east jury will give you their vote anyway. congrats on the wedding either way.


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## soc (7 Feb 2006)

> 18. The winner of the competition will be required to take part in all publicity activity associated with the promotion, be that in the form of photocalls, radio interviews, TV interviews, press interviews etc. for the duration of the competition and for such time thereafter where there is associated publicity surrounding the promotion. The finalist will agree not to engage in any interviews or make any statements that will disparage in any way 98FM or Irish Wedding Journal their servants or agents



One of the many items in the TERMS AND CONDITIONS of the comp...
I wouldn't want to have my wedding day made a spectacle of... 

I can't stand these rubbish comps the likes of 98fm produces... it's a tabloid radio station.

-soc


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## extopia (7 Feb 2006)

Hear hear.


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## kazbah (7 Feb 2006)

If it's what YOU want, never mind what anyone else thinks.
Go for it and good luck.
I don't think I can get the station in Cork but I'll vote when you have more details!


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## shnaek (7 Feb 2006)

Had a look at the website there mo3art to throw up a vote for ya but I couldn't find where to add my vote. I'll throw another eye on the site later in the week. Goodluck


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## Purple (7 Feb 2006)

> What kind of extravagance are you going to spend €50k on? - pink llamas?


 They are worth every cent upsidedown, every cent. That and the dancing monkeys.


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## pricilla (7 Feb 2006)

Hey, I know you from WOL, so I'll be voting twice for you 
Big fan of competitions myself, if you need any help with the song or a poem just let me know. Don't be nervous, you'll only be on for 10 minutes and it will be worth it if you win.
Good luck, I'd say you'll get loads of votes.


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## mo3art (7 Feb 2006)

Can I just assure all AAMers that we will not to harm any dancing monkeys in the attempt to win this competition   Nor will we employ any on our wedding day.
I respect your opinions in relation to the radio station concerned & our choices for our wedding.  While it is not everyone's idea of an ideal wedding day or plan we would really like to win this competition and would appreciate any help in the form of votes we can get.
Thanks for your messages of support & comments.


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## sherib (8 Feb 2006)

Delighted to vote for you Mo3art but can't find where to do it on the site or is it up yet? Prepared to do it till my finger cramps! Please post more info on voting.


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## mo3art (8 Feb 2006)

Voting opens on Friday Sherib, I'll post back soon with the exact details.

Cheers!


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## Kiddo (10 Feb 2006)

Hi all

For anyone intending to vote for Mo3Art...just to let you know the voting is open now.


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## Cahir (10 Feb 2006)

When i voted it said "we're sorry you already voted in this poll" - does that mean they didn't accept my vote?


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## my2leftfeet (10 Feb 2006)

Yep - you only seem to be able to vote once.  I've added to the tally.


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## Cahir (10 Feb 2006)

my2leftfeet said:
			
		

> Yep - you only seem to be able to vote once.  I've added to the tally.




But that was my first time voting!


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## casiopea (10 Feb 2006)

just voted for you, good luck.


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## Marion (10 Feb 2006)

Another Askaboutmoney vote in the bag.

Good Luck!

Marion


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## Ann-Marie (10 Feb 2006)

another vote from me and jsut forwarded a note to all my email contacts best of luck


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## kazbah (10 Feb 2006)

Can someone post a link please?


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## Ann-Marie (10 Feb 2006)

[broken link removed]


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## Cati76 (10 Feb 2006)

Another vote, best of luck.


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## delgirl (10 Feb 2006)

PINK said:
			
		

> another vote from me and jsut forwarded a note to all my email contacts best of luck


Ditto!  Good luck!


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## kazbah (10 Feb 2006)

Thanks another vote coming your way!


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## kazbah (10 Feb 2006)

*Wow the €15k doesn't go far does it*

*Reception: **Wedding Reception for 100 people at the Stillorgan Park Hotel (value 15,000 euro) *

*Included: *

Four course wedding menu,
Full Dressing off the Wedding Suite with white Chair covers and top table dressing
Champagne on arrival for Bride and Groom
Red Carpet Arrival and greeting by Manager
Tea and Coffee reception on arrival for guests
Candleabras on all tables
Flowers to match bridal colours, subject to availability
Accommodation for the bride and groom in our bridal suite, subject to availability
Champagne Breakfast for wedding couple
2 Rooms complimentary for the parents off the happy couple
Wedding Gift from The Stillorgan Park Hotel
*Restrictions: *

Wedding must be midweek,
I really didn't think a midweek wedding with tea/coffee instead of wine/punch on arrival for 100 people not including band/dj etc would come to 15K  Have they bumped up the value of the prize or is this realistic.  As you might tell none of my close friends or family have gotten to the wedding stage yet.  So I fear I'm going to be shocked if this is an average cost for a reception.


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## extopia (10 Feb 2006)

Looks like Ashling & Gav are soliciting even MORE votes:


Selection	 	Votes
Ashling & Gav	 31%	476
Mairead & Keith	 18%	278
Caitriona & John	 25%	395
Teresa & Derek	 9%	      142
Kim & Macdara	 17%	266

1,557 votes total


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## car (10 Feb 2006)

hmm, if you need a band and dj I can put you in contact with same ( I swear I wont tell them you have a budget of 35k for same) 

vote given!!!


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## car (10 Feb 2006)

colleague went to vote after me and got that "you voted already" message, 
methinks theyre restricting it by IP so only one person from a company can vote.  hmmm


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## Sue Ellen (10 Feb 2006)

Text from Luas and on-line now.

Now as to what's in it for me on the big day:

Starter:  Prawn Cocktail

Main Course:  Beef Curry/Fried Rice or Fillet Steak and the rest.
                  (I don't care  that its not the norm)

Dessert:  Pavlova with raspberries and cream.

See you there and no I won't wear a hat


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## mo3art (10 Feb 2006)

Thank you so much to everybody who voted today. My company were doing work on their server, so day of days I needed internet access!!!
Anyhow, the polling is limiting one vote per IP address, which means that if you use a Proxy Server (correct me if I get the terminology wrong) then only one person in your company can vote.  It's all to play for with the top 2 couples being announced on Monday morning's show.
On Tuesday morning the top 2 couples will be taken live into studio and the winner announced live on air.
There are 2 ways you can vote:
By texting "wedding caitriona" to the number 53981  This carries a cost of 20c per text, and you can vote as often as you like
By clicking onto [broken link removed] and selecting "John and Caitriona" and voting for us.  Note, you can only vote once using this method.
Any help you give us is certainly appreciated, it's an incredible prize up for offer.  I'm not too sure the exact parameters of the prize as it appears that those on the website isn't the complete package. Thank you so much for your very kind messages of support.  It just goes to show that there's a fantastic community on AAM.
Caitriona & John
PS Sorry Sue Ellen I meant to say - Glad to hear you won't wear a hat, we're not very hat people   A beef curry main with a side of noodles sounds like the thing to me


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## Marion (10 Feb 2006)

What a great comeback!

Selection	 	
Votes
Ashling & Gav	 28%	537
Mairead & Keith	 18%	344
*Caitriona & John	 28%	543*
Teresa & Derek	 9%	167
Kim & Macdara	 17%	317

1,908 votes total


When does the voting end?

Marion


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## franmac (10 Feb 2006)

Another one for you


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## Kiddo (10 Feb 2006)

*Re: Wow the €15k doesn't go far does it*



			
				kazbah said:
			
		

> I really didn't think a midweek wedding with tea/coffee instead of wine/punch on arrival for 100 people not including band/dj etc would come to 15K Have they bumped up the value of the prize or is this realistic. As you might tell none of my close friends or family have gotten to the wedding stage yet. So I fear I'm going to be shocked if this is an average cost for a reception.


 
[broken link removed]

It seem to me that the value of this is being bumped up..big time. The dearest menu is €50. Most hotels add on a 12.5% service charge. The chair covers cost max €10 euro each. So by my estimations that comes to roughly €6.5K. The tea/coffee,flowers/candleabra on tables, accomodation etc is usually part of the hotel package and is "complimentary". It doesn't mention anything about wine with the meal but at 1/2 a bottle per person at say €25, thats another €1,500...a grand total of €8K. Plus its midweek and most hotels will offer a discount for a midweek wedding.

€8K is still a lot of money though


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## mo3art (10 Feb 2006)

I know Marion, it's brilliant.  We're not resting on our laurels though and it's all to play for.
Voting will be paused on Monday morning as far as we're aware.  We've heard 2 rumours about the final 2 couples (1) that they will be put to a further public vote until Tuesday and (2) that a jury will be elected to vote the winners.
Thanks so much to everybody who is continuing to vote and give us their support.


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## brodiebabe (10 Feb 2006)

Just voted for you now.  Best of luck!


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## Cahir (11 Feb 2006)

Ok, just voted from home.

You're over 400 votes in the lead now!  Well done!


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## mo3art (11 Feb 2006)

Cheers Cahir et al.

All votes are much appreciated, the support is brilliant!


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## mo3art (11 Feb 2006)

Sorry folks the vote has been suspended, please stop texting & I will keep you updated.
Thanks so much for all your support.
Caitriona & John


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## Sue Ellen (11 Feb 2006)

Strange, I've just voted on this computer (separate IP address) and it accepted the vote. Have used relative's mobiles all afternoon and got receipt/thanks of text messages from 98?


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## mo3art (11 Feb 2006)

Hi Sue Ellen
You will automatically get a response once you send any text to that number.  We've checked the link to the 98fm website and it appears to be still working.
All I know is we received a phone call to tell us that voting was being suspended for now & we decided to let as many people know as soon as we could as we didn't want to put people to un-necessary expense.
I will give you an update as soon as I can.


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## zag (11 Feb 2006)

mo3art - possibly a silly question, but have you verified that it has been officially suspended and this wasn't someone pulling a fast one on you ?

z


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## mo3art (11 Feb 2006)

Thanks Zag, obviously the thought had crossed our minds.  However the link to the competition page has been terminated & there is now no access to the poll.  We were contacted directly by the radio station so we are confident that it is suspended.
I can't give anymore details but I assure you I will post back as soon as I have any further information however it may be tomorrow evening at the earliest and it's more likely to be Monday morning at this stage.
Thanks again to all on AAM for their support and encouragement & once again, no dancing monkeys were harmed in this campaign!


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## extopia (13 Feb 2006)

Can't say I blame them


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## kazbah (13 Feb 2006)

extopia said:
			
		

> Can't say I blame them


 
Eh?  Blame who?


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## mo3art (13 Feb 2006)

*Re: 98FM Wedding Factor Competition - Updated*

First off I would like to thank everybody for their unbelievable support over Friday and the weekend and the incredible amount of votes that came in for myself & John have really touched us. We really appreciate all the messages we have received since Friday and the text and online voting you did for us since the polls opened.

Unfortunately on Saturday the radio station decided to stop both the online and the text vote due to possible irregularities in the voting process and they have now decided to carry out a draw tomorrow morning with all the couples' names in a hat to decide a winner. Obviously, we want the most fair and equitable outcome for everyone involved, however we are very upset with this turn of events. It's a very disappointing decision for us as on Saturday afternoon before the polls were suspended we had a significant majority of the vote.

We understand that many of you went to an awful lot of time, effort and cost to vote for us and we appreciate your efforts. The decision on the winner is completely out of our hands and tomorrow morning we will be going into studio where a winner will be pulled. We're not beaten yet though, and still in the running with as much of a chance as every other couple in the competition. 

Thanks again


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## extopia (13 Feb 2006)

*Re: 98FM Wedding Factor Competition - Updated*



			
				mo3art said:
			
		

> Unfortunately on Saturday the radio station decided to stop both the online and the text vote due to possible irregularities in the voting process and they have now decided to carry out a draw tomorrow morning with all the couples' names in a hat to decide a winner.



Sounds more fair to be honest. At 20 cents a vote it's cheap enough to vote for yourself in a competition like this where 100 votes will be enough. Possible also that the radio station felt that soliciting votes on a forum such as this was bad form?


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## racso (13 Feb 2006)

well best of luck too ya tomorrow and will keep fingers crossed and as a newly married person it's feckin great life........damn it what do ya mean tomorrow is valentines........and our month anniversay??? gotta g but best of luck to ya


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## mo3art (13 Feb 2006)

No, we checked that we were free to carry out any publicity and campaigning for votes, including forums.  We knew we had to be clear on that before we posted on forums about the competition.
Fingers crossed there will still be a positive outcome for us tomorrow morning.


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## mo3art (13 Feb 2006)

Cheers Rasco & congrats on the wedding!


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## Alba Longa (13 Feb 2006)

Perhaps I am wrong, but have the rules of the game been changed durinag the game and not beforehand?


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## mo3art (13 Feb 2006)

Does that make a difference?


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## Alba Longa (13 Feb 2006)

Of course it would, at least morally.  You cannot change the rules of a competition as it goes along and as it suits you.  Best of luck anyway!


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## mo3art (13 Feb 2006)

Ah get what you're saying now.  Sorry for the confusion.
Well they must have had serious justification to pull the voting when they did and I suppose morally you can't continue with a competition if it's not fair and equitable for all concerned.  That would be my take on it anyway.


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## Guest127 (13 Feb 2006)

go luck mozzie. anniversary year and all that.


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## my2leftfeet (14 Feb 2006)

Well ............. what happened?


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## mo3art (14 Feb 2006)

Well, we lost.  We're upset naturally and it was a very tough day.  BUT, it's nice to have closure on a very hectic and stressful few weeks.
Thanks so much to everybody who voted for us, canvassed and campaigned for us and sent us their best wishes.


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## extopia (15 Feb 2006)

I'm sure your wedding will be much more dignified as a result. It's probably a blessing in disguise.


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## brodiebabe (15 Feb 2006)

Hard luck, but well done for trying! Just wasn't meant to be.........


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## Lauren (15 Feb 2006)

Sorry to hear that you lost....but I thought as we all voted, you were well ahead?? I haven't been listening to it...How did they decide on the winners?


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## kazbah (15 Feb 2006)

That's very unfair to change the rules during the cometition


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## my2leftfeet (15 Feb 2006)

Hard luck - I do think it's odd how it was handled by 98FM but that's water under the bridge now.


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## extopia (15 Feb 2006)

The published rules included the following. Note that it was specified that _listeners_ should vote for their favourite couple. Perhaps someone objected to the solicitation of votes from non-listeners? Just a theory.
____________________________
*The game procedures for "Wedding Factor" are as follows.   Failure to abide by these procedures will result in immediate disqualification

* Listeners must text "Wedding" plus their name to 53981 (texts cost 20 cent) to be enter 
* The Morning Crew will select the final couples 
* Each couple must be available to come into the studio at appointed times 
* Each couple will be asked to perform a task on air
* Listeners will vote for their favourite couple to win the prize*


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## mo3art (15 Feb 2006)

Thanks everybody, messages much appreciated.
Funnily enough, I was very clear from the start with the radio station that we would be canvassing internationally for votes and they told us both that they had no difficulty with this.  Also we know that all the other couple looked for votes internationally.
All done and dusted and time to get on with having a much more civilised and private wedding sooner than later.


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## Alba Longa (15 Feb 2006)

Somebody please explain what happened!
1.  Did mo3art not abide by the rules and was disqualified?
2.  Did mo3art not get enough votes?
3.  Has mo3art been the victim of a "fiddle"?


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## mo3art (15 Feb 2006)

Ans:
1) I was not disqualified
2) Votes were irrelevant, the voting was suspended due to possible voting irregularities.  That's all the information we have received to date.
3) Don't know what you mean by this one!


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## Alba Longa (15 Feb 2006)

By "fiddle" I mean a swindle.  I don't expect you to answer me but my thought is that if you were not disqualified and had more votes than anyone else despite the fact that voting was suspended, then you ought to be the winner.  If you did not win perhaps this was not a real competition and the winner was not decided on their merits as outlined in the rules of the competition. 
Have I overlooked something?


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## Guest127 (16 Feb 2006)

maybe the couple causing the voting irregularites won the draw. mayabe the couple meant to win weren't ahead and 98 pulled the plug to start again. happens in politics.
sorry about the result. for what its worth Cu and Mrs Cu are now maried over 25 years. in those years we have attended loads of weddings which were 10 times as lavish as the Cu's. in fact at one wedding we attended we actually wondered aftewards if we were married at all!. Enjoy the wedding day and all it entails but more importantly enjoy each other. cheers and good luck.


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## Marion (16 Feb 2006)

I read the terms and conditions on the link which was originally posted by Mo3art.

The competition rules stated that the poll/voting could be suspended. The radio station has covered its back.

If the radio station wanted listeners only to vote then why on earth did they put a poll on their website? The obvious thing to have done would have been to have had a phone-in to the radio station for a set time. 

I suspect that Mo3art's diplomatic replies also have something to do with the fact that entrants agreed not to disparage the said radio station. This was also stated in the rules. 

Mo3art: the ending is disappointing.

Put it behind you and forget about it. Chalk it down to experience, rise above it and move on: you will have learned some valuable lessons from it - some good and some hard.

More importantly, concentrate on your own life and your future with John.

Marion


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## racso (16 Feb 2006)

Well said Marion. I hope when you do get married MO3ART that you have a fantastic day and make sure you enjoy it as much as you can cause it will be the fastest day of your life!!!!!!!!


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