SAN ANTONIO — It’s supposed to be the most memorable day of your life. Yet a San Antonio couple planning for their wedding next month is now afraid their big day won’t even happen.
Stephanie Ramirez and her fiancé, Matthew Hettler, learned Sunday morning that the venue they booked to host their wedding has now closed.
Ramirez said she learned about Noah’s Event Venue closing through social media.
The shuttered doors could mean shattered dreams for the couple who met two years ago.
“We’re really dumbfounded at this moment,” said Ramirez.
The couple said they booked the venue last year, paying thousands of dollars for their wedding set to take place on March 14, 2020.
“We've paid about $6,500 to the venue in good faith that we're going to be able to provide and render the services for our wedding,” said Hettler.
But now, that faith is lost. Noah’s has shut its doors for good and shut this couple out of their dream wedding.
“We need to find another venue and venues are expensive. And since we've paid everything, we're so tight on money. And it's hard to find one at this moment,” said Ramirez.
With just one month before their wedding is set to take place, the grad students are scrambling to find another venue.
“We've paid every vendor - like we're just ahead of the game. And then for this to be thrown in our face, it's overwhelming,” said Ramirez.
The closure is not just affecting brides-to-be.
Pastor Landon Kyker of the Living Stones Church said they had to move their service out of the building this morning after they learned of the news on Saturday.
Kyker and some of his parishioners set up near the edge of Noah’s parking lot, warning visitors of the closure and their plan to hold Sunday’s service elsewhere that evening.
“We've been in this building four and a half years, and our church just turned five a couple of weeks ago. And we're trying to purchase our first property over on Booker. So, it's just all kind of happening at the same time,” said Kyker.
Kyker said they will have to find a new venue to host his services and congregation of hundreds.
“Our time here at Noah’s is done, and unfortunately, there's lots of brides and grooms that they're saying the same thing right now too,” said Kyker.
KENS5 reached out to Noah’s Event Venue in San Antonio, but we only received a voice message.
The message remained the same, indicating they were open for events -- but there wasn’t anyone showing up for work on Sunday.
Our sister station in Ohio, WKYC spoke to the attorney representing Noah’s., indicating that a judge forced Noah’s to close its remaining 42 reception halls nationwide.
"The company hired a restructuring officer, and he had a solid plan for reducing costs," said Kenneth Cannon, an attorney with Durham, Jones & Pinegar in Salt Lake City, Utah. "Traditionally, this time of year is some of the highest revenues -- when people are booking weddings -- but the closings led to bad publicity and a really, really bad January instead."
Cannon also told WKYC that it is unlikely clients will ever get a refund.
"Unfortunately, this case will probably move from bankruptcy court to a total liquidation," Cannon said. "There's just not going to be any money left."
While the doors remain closed at Noah’s Event Venue, those affected remain hopeful.
“We're surprised, but none of it caught God by surprise at all,” said Kyker.
Ramirez said they still have faith they will find a venue in time for their wedding.
“We have no choice. We have to keep trying,” she said.
The couple has set up a GoFundMe page in hopes to raise money to offset the payment they lost. If you’d like to help, follow this link.
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