Planning a wedding is supposed to be a joyous and exciting time in your life. However, when unexpected challenges arise, such as your wedding venue filing for bankruptcy or being shut down by the county, it can quickly turn into a wedding nightmare. There are steps you can take to navigate this difficult situation and ensure that your special day can move forward. First off, if you are impacted by a wedding venue shut down due to bankruptcy or other issues, please contact us immediately. We are a free resource of support, and we will do whatever we can to help you find resources. We do not charge couples anything, ever, we have no services to sell to couples. So, fill out the contact form at the bottom of the page and we will do what we can to help you find venues with your date available, legal support, media support, wedding option alternatives and community support.
The number one thing every couple can do to protect their wedding investment is to purchase wedding cancellation insurance immediately after signing the wedding venue contract. One of the most important things a wedding venue owner can do to help engaged couples is to require wedding cancellation insurance. A wedding is one of the biggest investments couples have likely ever made. For a small amount of money, typically around $200 (this varies), they can cover their wedding from all types of potential losses including if your vendors no show, if the cake gets damaged, if severe weather causes damage or unsafe travels and a venue shutting down due to bankruptcy or other issues. I know this information will not help couples who have already been informed that their wedding has been cancelled, however, it must be shared. We are seeing so many stories of wedding venues being shut down or closing due to law suits and bankruptcy, we must create more awareness so that engaged couples can protect their wedding. If your wedding venue did not tell you about wedding cancellation insurance, please let us know. We want to celebrate and support wedding venues who are actively educating their couples and we want to reach out to wedding venues who are not sharing this information so we can help them become more aware of the importance of wedding cancellation insurance.
If your venue has notified you that they are no longer operating and they are officially shut down or have filed for bankruptcy, here are some steps you can take.
- Contact the Venue: The first thing you should do if you hear that your wedding venue has filed for bankruptcy is to contact them directly. Ask for clarification on how the bankruptcy will affect your wedding and what options are available to you. They may have alternative arrangements or solutions in place to ensure that your event can still take place as planned. If your wedding venue has stopped communicating with you and it appears that your wedding is cancelled & your payments are not being returned, you want to show proof that you contacted them to access more information and you did get a response, you need to add this to your files for documentation. Some venues going through bankruptcy or shutting down may try to confuse couples with false information, or delay a couple from filing charges, reversing credit card charges or hiring an attorney. Anything you get from the venue should be saved as it may be evidence you need later.
- Review Your Contract: Take some time to carefully review the contract you signed with the venue. Look for any clauses related to bankruptcy or cancellation policies. This will give you a better understanding of your rights and obligations in this situation. If there are specific terms outlined in the contract regarding bankruptcy, make sure to follow them accordingly or refer to your attorney so that you can move forward properly with the advice of your legal counsel.
- Contact your wedding vendors. Assuming you hired professional wedding vendors, they will have resources and expertise in the region, and they will likely reach out to their industry connections to assist with finding resources and solutions. You will need to find out how this will impact your contracts with vendors, will they be able to change locations or dates if necessary. A venue cancellation can result in additional challenges for your vendor agreements. If you find a replacement venue an hour from the original venue, you may have to pay additional fees to vendors for travel or overnight accommodations (for example). If you find a new wedding venue but the date is changed, this may void your contracts with your vendors. So, contact them immediately to get a clear understanding of how to move forward with securing a new venue and understanding how changes may cost you more or void your contracts with vendors.
- Explore Alternative Options: If it turns out that your original wedding venue cannot accommodate your event for any reason, start exploring alternative options. Reach out to locally owned wedding venues in the area that may have availability on your chosen date. Consider hiring an experienced wedding planner who can help you navigate this unexpected change and find a new venue that fits your vision. Most couples can’t afford to pay for a wedding venue twice, so considering
- Stay Positive: Remember that what truly matters is celebrating your love with friends and family. While dealing with a bankrupt wedding venue is undoubtedly heart breaking, try to focus on finding solutions rather than allowing this ruin your outlook. This is your love story, love must be celebrated, it must endure, do not allow this challenge to get in your way. Love conquers all!
***Do not assume that a wedding venue replacement can provide their venue for free because you may be suffering under the weight of unexpected expenses (paying thousands to secure a new venue without getting a refund from the original venue). A wedding venue can’t give away their dates no matter how badly they feel for the couples displaced by a bankruptcy. This could place a wedding venue in financial hardship risking all of their upcoming weddings. A wedding venue MUST at all times unapologetically protect the financial well being of the business to ensure that all the upcoming weddings will be fulfilled. It feels wonderful to help a couple and give away the venue service and space, but it is not an appropriate solution. A venue may be able to offer one free date or offer a weekday for free but I have to tell you, this is a risky solution because venues carry more risk & liability than most wedding industry businesses. If they give away a wedding date, they may not have the ability to properly pay for essential services like professional staffing, heating & cooling, safety measures, rain plans, security, mowing, cleaning crew, room set up, flipping the space, communications tools, all of these expenses add up for the wedding venue.
Additionally, imagine if you paid $10,000 or more for a wedding venue and you found out that your wedding venue gifted someone else a free wedding. Some couples may become angry with the venue and express that they feel it’s unfair to have to pay when another couple is getting the venue for free. This may sound silly, but our wedding venues owners must be very cautious when it comes to disappointing their booked wedding couples. It may not be the couples who are upset by the wedding venue offering a free wedding date to displaced couples, it’ very often is the parents of wedding couples who will complain that they had to pay for the venue and someone else is getting it for free. This can make a paying client furious and result in refund or discount demands. Again, the best way to avoid the worst type of fall out from a wedding venue bankruptcy or shut down is for the wedding couples to have cancellation insurance, honestly, this small investment can save so much heartache, drama and expense.
According to the Sheppard Firm, “Approximately 7,500 brides and grooms all over the country were struck with a nightmare situation when they found out that the Utah based chain wedding venue Noah’s Event Venue had gone bankrupt, closed its doors at locations across the country, and would not be hosting their upcoming weddings, even though many had already paid in full. These brides and grooms had weddings scheduled in the coming weeks as close to home as Little Rock, Arkansas.” – Olivia Sheppard Law
According to Jasmine Norris Photography, “If your vendor has declared bankruptcy then there are a few steps that you need to take and it can be a longer process. You will need to find the company who is handling the bankruptcy and file a claim. This will put you on the list of people who the company owes. Keep in mind, that when a company files for bankruptcy, sometimes not all debts are paid back in full and it can be a long process. However, you must file a claim to be considered for a refund. You may also still be able to cancel payment or reverse charges with your bank or credit card company in the event of a bankruptcy so it still doesn’t hurt to reach out there as well.”
Dealing with a bankrupt wedding venue is undoubtedly a stressful situation, but by taking proactive steps and staying organized, you can navigate this challenge successfully. Remember to reach out to the venue directly, review your contract carefully, explore alternative options, communicate with vendors, and above all else, keep try to remain dedicated to finding a solution rather than falling into despair. This is a perfect time to remember why you started this process in the first place, to celebrate your love story with the people who love you the most. You can still do this, it may take a few days of mourning to make peace with your original vision being shattered, that’s perfectly fine. Remember to handle this challenge together as a loving couple who can depend on one another to weather any storm. Your wedding can move forward, you have the entire wedding industry community on your side and you have each other! As Mrs. Doubtfire would say, “Help is on the way dear!”
