An Ocala bride and groom had their wedding on Clearwater Beach canceled by Hurricane Irma—and now the company they paid for the wedding has refused to issue the couple a refund.
The bride told Channel 9’s Angela Jacobs the owner told her she could have her wedding, originally scheduled for Sept. 8, despite the weather warnings for the area.
“We’re so excited to finally tie the knot, be mister and missus, and then this happens,” said Britney Simpson.
After nine years together, Simpson and her fiancé, Taylor Furlong, picked “Beach Sunset Weddings” for a small ceremony on Clearwater Beach.
The Tampa Bay Company advertises affordable oceanside wedding packages.
Simpson and her fiancé put down a $100 non-refundable deposit for the “Heart Felt Melodies” package and paid half of the nearly $1,200 upfront.
“We're a one-income family you know we have 4 kids so it wasn't easy to try and pull this off,” said Simpson.
But the day before the wedding, with the reception hall decorated, Hurricane Irma loomed off the coast.
Operators of the hall hosting the wedding closed and refunded the couple’s money—but when the couple called Beach Sunset Weddings, a representative told them to go on with the ceremony anyway.
“I can't ask my guests to come during a storm like that, I can't be like, yeah, put your lives in jeopardy so this guy can be happy. So he can get his money,” she said.
Simpson said the company then said she could reschedule the week after the storm—but she, like most Floridians, lost power after the storm.
“Our wedding cake was destroyed, everything,” she said.
The main causeway to Clearwater Beach was also flooded for some time after the storm.
The owner of Beach Sunset Weddings told Channel 9 he also lost money ordering extra chairs for the canceled wedding.
He did say if the couple is willing, he’d like to work with them to reschedule again.
Cox Media Group
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