Wigan couple's heartbreak after wedding venue goes bust

And unless Kirsty Catterall and Andrew Porter can get a full £5,600 refund from Park Hall in Charnock Richard, they say they won’t be able to afford to re-arrange the big day for what would be the third time.

The Hindley pair got engaged way back in 2018 with the plan to tie the knot two years later.

Covid intervened and the intention was then to wed in March 2021. However the pandemic put paid to that date too and Park Hall said it would only then be able to accommodate them in August 2022.

But now the warehouse workers have seen that dream shattered too after it was suddenly announced that the Chorley venue had gone bust.

It piles misery on misery for the would-be bride and groom who had put all their savings into the occasion.

Earlier this week Standish couple Adam Weate and Danielle Sugden revealed their wedding plans had been ruined by the Park Hall debacle but they have been offered the chance of moving it to Holland Hall in Up Holland. At present there are no such chances for Andrew and Kirsty.

“So many things have gone wrong since we got engaged that this Park Hall nightmare, while very upsetting, didn’t come as a surprise.

“It was only last week that we were trying to find a new wedding car company because the one we had booked had gone under.

“And we have recently lost a parent and a step-parent. To be honest we just can’t get exciting about the wedding at the moment, especially after what has just happened.”

Kirsty and 37-year-old Andrew have been contacted by several hospitality venues offering them their facilities, some even on the date in August on which they had planned to marry.

But Kirsty said: “Until and unless we get the money back, we can’t afford any alternatives.

“We put down a £600 deposit at the start and later on I paid another £5,000 which was more than the original contract because we wanted some extras.

“After the first time the wedding had to be cancelled, we rather objected to the venue dictating to us when the ceremony would be moved to and then later they tried to increase the bill, but I dug my heels in and said that we had agreed a price in our contract so they accepted that.

“Now however, we’ve not got a penny.

“I first found out about Park Hall being in trouble on Monday night when family and friends started messaging and phoning me.

“We later received an email giving us another email address we could contact for a refund but we’ve both written to that address five times now but have received no reply.

“It’s very nice of other venues to offer their services, but unless we get that cash back, then nothing can happen.”

The wedding was going to have 50 guests at the afternoon events and 100 at the evening reception. Several guests had already booked hotel rooms at Park Hall but they hadn’t paid anything up front so at least they are not out of pocket.

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