VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Forget getting left at the altar. Two local brides say their wedding dreams were dashed when their wedding venue closed down just weeks before their big day — without refunding them any money.
Ashley Weaver and Tyler Langdon got engaged last Christmas and the wedding planning began almost immediately.
“We sat down with our parents, figured out a budget, figured out what we were going to do for our date,” Weaver said. “We stumbled upon Virginia Beach Wedding Company. We had a Zoom call, signed the contract, and everything started falling into place.”
The Weaver family put down two payments totaling $5,400 but after a few months of planning, Weaver said communication from the company’s president, Rose Ciconta, became more difficult.
“I’d say in July I started reaching out to her and wasn’t really getting a response. We finally got ahold of her after reaching out through email, Facebook messenger, texting the number and calling and leaving voicemails,” Weaver said.
Weaver tried to set up a second venue tour and a tasting but after a lot of back and forth to get it scheduled, she said it got postponed.
She started to fear the worst — and then, those fears were confirmed after she got an email from the company “suggesting” she finds a new venue — but not officially canceling their event.
“I just started bawling my eyes out. I just don’t know what to do. At that point it was 30 days before my wedding. It’s hard,” she said.
Dyamond Dixon got the same email as Weaver. Her wedding was scheduled for Dec. 10, one week after Weaver’s.
“I planned for a year and a half, and now I have no venue,” she said. “I’ve had to reach out to people and say, ‘I don’t have a venue,’ and cancel it.”
Dixon also put down $5,400 before she stopped hearing back from Ciconta and the Virginia Beach Wedding Company.
The contract that both couples signed says that if the wedding is canceled by the Virginia Beach Wedding Company, they are entitled to a refund.
Both brides are frustrated that so far, all the company has done is tell them to find a new location, without officially canceling. They’ve emailed and requested refunds with no response.
Weaver has rescheduled her wedding for a new location. Dixon has decided to do a simple wedding with a justice of the peace.
“That’s all I can do. I’m out of $5,400,” Dixon said.
10 On Your Side has reached out to the landlord of the property at 2014 Atlantic Avenue who could not confirm any additional details about what happened.
We also reached out to the Virginia Beach Wedding Company by phone and email with no response.
Check WAVY.com for the latest updates.