Brides' despair as Lincoln wedding venue cancels all bookings
Brides are facing a desperate rush to find new wedding venues after sudden changes to a Lincoln hotel.
The Old Palace Hotel has cancelled all of its wedding reception bookings from January 1, 2016.
A letter posted to affected people on Wednesday, August 12, said the cancellations were due to a "business re-organisation that significantly restricts the space and facilities available for hospitality at these premises".
of deposits are being sent, however some brides face a sickening chain of money paid for other wedding deposits and suppliers.
One bride told the Echo she stands to lose £3,000 in deposits unless a suitable venue for her chosen date can be found. She has just eight months left until tying the knot.
"I was in floods of tears, I was beside myself," she said.
"All weekend I've been on the phone to different venues across Lincolnshire.
"My fiancé proposed to me at the cathedral, that's why we wanted the Old Palace, as it's so close to the cathedral that we could have walked across for photos.
"They have helped with organising different venue options, but it's whether they cater for your needs."
Another bride, from Doddington Park in Lincoln, said: "I am just devastated.
"When you've planned your wedding it's hard to think about a different venue. We hope we are not always thinking what could have been.
"We have a church planned in Saxilby and we are not sure if we will now have to cancel that."
There had been suggestions that the diocese of Lincoln was moving into the hotel building.
However Will Harrison, deputy diocesan secretary, said there are "no firm plans" for that to happen.
He said bookings are being honoured until the end of 2015, and that the hotel part of the business will continue as part of the reorganisation.
"The Old Palace Hotel started as a small enterprise to support the work of the Diocese of Lincoln, but has since grown to the extent that we are concerned about the future
capacity to meet the specific needs of wedding parties," Mr Harrison said.
"It is the demand particularly of wedding receptions that has led us to decide that the rate of wear and tear inherent with such events, and the capacity of the building, will not provide a consistently high experience in the future.
"We are doing what we can to help wedding parties find alternative venues, and to help couples look ahead to a special day elsewhere."
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