Shock wedding cancellations, as venue becomes a care centre

Brides who had booked their wedding receptions, and paid hundreds of pounds in deposits, have received crushing news just weeks before they are due to get married. Their venue has been sold, and the new owners have already started turning the hotel into a care centre for people with autism and learning difficulties.

The River's Edge Hotel in Gateshead, previously branded as Elephant on the Tyne, was sold to a care home company, who have already started converting the place.

The care home company told the Chronicle that it thought all the couples had been informed and the weddings cancelled, but the old owners had failed to tell anyone that the business was up for sale. One couple told the newspaper that they only discovered the truth when the groom went down to pay the final balance, and walked onto a building site.

According to the Daily Mail, the firm has now spoken to all the couples who have been affected, and said it would do everything it could to ensure all deposits were refunded. One couple said that the care home owner had personally refunded their money.

But while this will solve the problem for those with several months until their wedding, it's another matter entirely for those due to get married this summer. Finding another venue at the height of the wedding season is not going to be easy, changing all their arrangements, and moving all their guests is going to be a headache, and there's every chance that all the affordable venues will have been snapped up - leaving them with much higher bills for the reception.

What can you do?

When you are arranging a wedding, you have no alternative other than to leave large deposits with everyone from the venue to the florist and the caterer, in order to secure your booking. It means you are left vulnerable if any of the businesses are sold, or if they go out of business.

If you are left high and dry, and you have a relationship with a supplier, then before you do anything else, talk to them. Stay calm, and they may be able to help, by suggesting an alternative, providing a refund, or helping you find a solution. If they want to stay in this industry, it's in their best interests to sort out any problems that they cause.

Unfortunately, not all suppliers are so decent - and some simply go under without a trace. It means your best bet is to get wedding insurance to cover the whole of the wedding. This will pay out if you are forced to cancel the wedding (assuming the reasons for cancellation fall within those outlined in the small print), if any of your suppliers fail to deliver, and will cover you for personal liability if there is some sort of accident or injury on the day.

It's important to buy it as early as possible, so you are covered as soon as possible after you start making bookings, and it's worth checking the small print to make sure it covers everything you need. There's a vast array of cover on the market - at a number of different price points - so if you want more cover, you may need to spend a little more on your policy.

You should also make deposits by credit card, so you can make a Section 75 request if something goes wrong. That way you can get a refund from your credit card, and it's up to them to chase the supplier.

If you don't have insurance, and you didn't pay by credit card, then if venue cancels or goes bust, you should still be entitled to a refund. In the case of administration, you should register your claim for a refund with the administrator. Unfortunately, this can be a long process, and there's no guarantee you will get your money back, so it's worth taking precautions just in case.