MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman booked a Memphis venue for her wedding only to find that it had been shut down when the big day arrived.
Rhiannon LeClair has dreamed about getting married her whole life, but the dream was dashed when her special day suddenly turned into a nightmare.
She was supposed to get married Friday at Noah’s Event Venue near Hacks Cross and Winchester, but when she arrived Friday afternoon, her heart sank.
“There’s no one there. The sign on the door said that they were open, but all the doors are locked,” she said. “I’m knocking, there’s no one answering. I called every number that I had. No one is answering the phone. No one is calling back. We were actually there last night for a rehearsal. No one mentioned that anything was going to be different.”
Standing outside a locked building, the 34-year-old realized her plans were ruined.
“I had to have my friend take my keys because I wanted to park my jeep through their window,” LeClair said. “I mean, we spent a lot of money.”
Turns out, Noah’s locations across the country have been closing after the company filed for bankruptcy last year. WREG spoke with the company’s lawyer, who said events at the Memphis location were supposed to continue through the weekend, but he claimed he doesn’t know why employees didn’t show up Friday.
“I was sitting at the door at Noah’s crying for about an hour,” LeClair said.
She and her husband-to-be said they knew about the bankruptcy but didn’t think it would be a problem because they already paid in full.
“I rented a building — the building is still there,” groom Bruce Joyner said.
“I figured everything was fine,” LeClair said. “Surely if something’s going to happen, you’re not going to be that selfish to ruin a bride’s day.”
The couple didn’t want to postpone the wedding. So, they found a last minute backup venue and got married Friday night at LeClair’s church in Collierville. It was memorable but nothing like the wedding she planned.
“This has been in the works for a minute,” she said.
And she wants Noah’s to make it right.
“You took almost $5,000 from us,” LeClair said.
This same thing has reportedly happened to other couples at Noah’s locations across the country.
