A BLINDSIDED bride-to-be has told of her heartbreak after discovering her dream wedding was cancelled – on Facebook.
Jade White, 29, was still making the final arrangements for her big day at the Park Hall Hotel in Preston when she saw the shock post.
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The mum-of-two says she and fiance Adam Flitcroft, 30, are now £4,250 out of pocket – without any explanation from the venue.
The pair had booked the hotel four years ago after scouring the country for the perfect location, but Covid forced them to reschedule twice.
After welcoming two children and moving house while organising their nuptials, the couple took out a £10,000 loan to cover the costs.
But Jade was adamant the venue was “the one” and told how she broke down in tears seeing it for the first time “because it felt so special.”
The car saleswoman even picked her “medieval” wedding dress to match the classic 1970 countryside venue and took it on the chin when their dates were cancelled.
They decided to then rebook for April 29, 2023, to avoid any more disruption as they arranged to tie the knot.
After a conversation with her makeup artist confirming the hotel’s location last month, Jade excitedly decided to check Park Hall Hotel’s Facebook page.
But the 29-year-old was devastated after finding out her wedding was off via a paltry social media post.
She told Stoke-on-Trent Live: “Apparently it shut its doors – I didn’t hear a thing until I went on the hotel’s Facebook page.
“Absolutely everything was prepared – outfits and rings bought, cake ordered, decorations purchased, invitations sent – just for this to happen.
“It had been booked for four years – we even took out a loan to cover the costs. My first reaction was just to burst into tears.
“I was crying too much to even tell Adam what had happened.
“Who knows if we’ll ever get our money back – and I have no idea how to tell all our guests that there’s no wedding after all.”
The frantic mum was unable to get in touch with anyone at the venue to confirm the abrupt closure – despite hundreds of bookings still being in place.
Who knows if we’ll ever get our money back – and I have no idea how to tell all our guests that there’s no wedding after all.
Jade White
Jade desperately emailed the hotel for answers, before receiving a response from a member of the management team who had lost their job as a result of the venue being sold.
It said: “I am truly heartbroken this has happened and really hope you get this sorted and get the wedding day you deserve.”
But the crushed bride-to-be was still furious as she had never been directly informed of the cancellation in the first place – which the former employee said had been an emailing error.
Jade says she was told to email her invoice and a bank statement to the hotel, but has had no response or acknowledgement since.
The 29-year-old now has no idea whether her and her mechanic fiance Adam will ever receive their money back after paying in advance.
The parents are also set to lose £350 for a separate ceremony due to having rescheduled it so many times already.
But, bizarrely, it is claimed that the hotel has since reopened for a dance event – leaving those who had their weddings cancelled flabbergasted.
‘JOKE’
Jade continued: “I need to accept it’s cancelled and move on but that’s hard to do when its our money on the line and we might lose it.
“It seems we didn’t need to bother taking out a loan, since it’s now just sat somewhere in someone’s pocket.
“I remember feeling so excited finding the perfect wedding venue – it felt so special, and that’s been taken away now.
“It was meant to be third time lucky with this date – I’m starting to think we are jinxed.
“I feel like someone somewhere is having a joke at our expense.”
The Park Hall Hotel was previously managed by the Best Western group, who launched a probe after the hotel suddenly closed without notice.
The chain said in a statement at the time that it did not “own or operate” the property, so did not have a say in operational decisions.
The group then cut all ties with the Park Hall Hotel for good, with a spokesman saying it had been “removed from the brand portfolio”.
The Sun Online was unable to reach the Park Hall Hotel for comment.
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