Bride-to-be 'gutted' by Gower Hotel wedding venue closure

A bride-to-be said she was "gutted" after finding out her venue had closed, a few months before her wedding day.

Jazmine Parry, 30, from Swansea, was due to marry Kurt Tracey, 31, at The Gower Hotel in Bishopston on 27 April.

However, the hotel ceased trading on 31 December with 23 people being made redundant, meaning 28 couples who booked weddings in 2017 and 2018 now have to make new plans.

Miss Parry said: "We are just devastated by it to be honest."

Insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor told the Jason Mohammad programme: "Having lost some key members of staff, and themselves suffering ill-health, the owners are now no longer able to run or financially support the business.

"The owners of the family-run business are deeply sorry and extend their sincerest apologies to those affected customers."

People who had booked an event or to stay at the hotel in January are being contacted by post.

The couple got engaged last February and booked the venue the following month - they had paid £5,000 towards the cost of the wedding, including £3,000 last month.

Miss Parry said the couple took out wedding insurance at the beginning of January but as the company, unbeknown to them, had stopped trading a few days earlier, it was not covered.

"We found out on Friday. We had an email from the wedding coordinator who basically just said that she'd lost her job and the hotel was closing," she said.

"I was in shock, I still am. I feel completely let down."

Miss Parry said other venues in the area had offered to match the original price, but as they had already lost £5,000, they did not have the budget for it.

The couple intend to keep their wedding date but are now considering a small ceremony abroad with just their two daughters Layla, eight, and Isabelle, seven.

Consumer law expert Prof Margaret Griffiths urged couples involved to go to a creditors' meeting on 25 January as it will allow people to find out what is happening.

She said: "Unfortunately, of course, people like Jazmine and the other couples involved will be what's termed unsecured creditors, so they will actually be at the end of the line when it comes to paying out for the insolvency of the firm."