Couple forced to make alternative wedding plans at short notice (From This Is Wiltshire)

A TROWBRIDGE bride who had her heart set on a dream wedding in her home town has suffered sleepless nights after the booking was cancelled with no explanation, leaving just 15 weeks to rearrange it elsewhere.

Sam White, 36, and Rob William, 38, of Heather Shaw, were due to get married at the Civic Centre in Trowbridge on April 20. The ceremony and reception would have cost around £5,000 .

They booked the venue in the spring of last year after the bride visited the centre.

Office administrator Miss White said: “I was just gobsmacked by the place and fell in love with it. I told Rob about it and there was a wedding fair taking place there in March so we wanted to get it before any other brides took our date.”

After booking a registrar and their services and paying a booking and band fee of around £100, the couple committed to the venue, paying room hire charges of £514.93. They became the first to book at the new centre for a wedding, with their reception also planned to take place there with 120 guests expected to attend.

So they were shocked when they received a slip from the centre earlier this month returning their payment.

Miss White said: “It was a Friday, I came home and could see Rob looked pretty naffed off. When I found out what happened I hit the roof, drove down to the centre but it was closed, which was probably for the best as I was boiling over.”

After months of difficult communication, the couple had intended to pay a £2,500 catering charge at a December meeting with the Civic Centre and while there entered futher discussion over what they felt were ‘unreasonable’ drinks prices.

The couple wanted 36 bottles of wine and 36 bottles of Asti and had to pay either £1,020.60 for the centre to supply the drinks or buy their own for £432 but pay the centre £684 in corkage fees.

Miss White said: “I was close to tears at this point because this was our wedding and I was dreading it. We asked if there could be a compromise on the drinks price but there wasn’t and we said we’d consider looking at moving the reception, not the wedding, but we were told not to do anything rash.”
The couple, who live with their six-year-old son Aaron, Mr William’s daughter, Chelsea, 14, and Miss White’s son Tyler, 10,  have now managed to secure the West Barn, in Bradford on Avon, for the wedding and Westbury Conservative Club for the reception but estimate that they’ll have to pay out an extra £2,000 which includes them having to repay the majority of their registrar costs.
Mr William said: “The people at the Civic Centre  have finally sent a letter of apology but they didn’t give any real explanation or even offer to meet us halfway. The Civic Centre is such a fantastic facility and used properly it can be such a wonderful asset.”
The couple endured a turbulent time while booking their wedding as they had to agree a new catering deal with Victoria Moore Catering after the centre ended a deal with Crown Catering but hadn’t been told about it. And after receiving their refund theysent a letter of complaint to Trowbridge councillor Peter Fuller.
He said: “I was very disturbed to receive details from Rob and Sam. In this case the council have upset their potential customers and in doing so, have damaged the reputation of the council.”
The Civic Centre’s management committee met this week to discuss the issue and Trowbridge Town Clerk Lance Allan said: “The town council is deeply sorry that Rob and Sam are unable to make their wedding arrangements at the Civic Centre. We have made an apology for the breakdown in the communications. We have had many successful events and wedding bookings at the Civic Centre which we have received compliments for.”pay the centre £684 in corkage fees.

Miss White said: “I was close to tears at this point because this was our wedding and I was dreading it. We asked if there could be a compromise on the drinks price but there wasn’t and we said we’d consider looking at moving the reception, not the wedding, but we were told not to do anything rash.”
The couple, who live with their six-year-old son Aaron, Mr William’s daughter, Chelsea, 14, and Miss White’s son Tyler, 10,  have now managed to secure the West Barn, in Bradford on Avon, for the wedding and Westbury Conservative Club for the reception but estimate that they’ll have to pay out an extra £2,000 which includes them having to repay the majority of their registrar costs.
Mr William said: “The people at the Civic Centre  have finally sent a letter of apology but they didn’t give any real explanation or even offer to meet us halfway. The Civic Centre is such a fantastic facility and used properly it can be such a wonderful asset.”
The couple endured a turbulent time while booking their wedding as they had to agree a new catering deal with Victoria Moore Catering after the centre ended a deal with Crown Catering but hadn’t been told about it. And after receiving their refund theysent a letter of complaint to Trowbridge councillor Peter Fuller.
He said: “I was very disturbed to receive details from Rob and Sam. In this case the council have upset their potential customers and in doing so, have damaged the reputation of the council.”
The Civic Centre’s management committee met this week to discuss the issue and Trowbridge Town Clerk Lance Allan said: “The town council is deeply sorry that Rob and Sam are unable to make their wedding arrangements at the Civic Centre. We have made an apology for the breakdown in the communications. We have had many successful events and wedding bookings at the Civic Centre which we have received compliments for.”