Hidden Garden Estate: Bride left stranded after wedding venue shuts
A bride-to-be’s dream day has turned into a nightmare after her wedding venue closed – leaving her without a location, her deposit, or even the paperwork needed to make the marriage legal.
A furious bride-to-be whose wedding was set to go ahead at the Hidden Garden Estate has been left scrambling for options, with deposits and essential documents stuck in the hands of the unreachable venue owners.
On Monday, the Mercury reported the venue owners of Berridale’s Hidden Garden Estate had issued a letter to dozens of couples outlining a series of strict occupancy conditions.
The three conditions – a guest cap of 60, a limit of two vendors, and a requirement that owner Diane Burrows be the celebrant – were designed to allow weddings to proceed under the venue’s council permit.
While the letter prompted a wave of cancellations, Risdon Vale resident Jane Gangell was believed to be among the few whose wedding was set to go ahead.
The wedding was scheduled for November 30.
But with the owners having announced their closure, she has been left chasing her $5800 deposit, as well as a new venue.
She’s also trying to recover her marriage certification application which was submitted by Ms Burrows, as is required of the celebrant under the Marriage Act.
Without it, she risks her wedding not going ahead.
“My daughter tried to ring yesterday and sent emails and text messages because we were supposed to go up on Saturday and do the table decorations but there’s been no answer since I received a phone call on Friday morning,” Ms Gangell told the Mercury.
“We’re just normal, working people, and we’ve saved for two years for this wedding.
“It’s been horrendous.”
In Australia, couples must submit their Notice of Intended Marriage to a celebrant at least one month before their wedding.
If they change celebrants, the new celebrants must have a valid notice – either the original one transferred, or a new one lodged.
If the wedding is less than a month away, couples can apply to fast-track approval with the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry — part of Service Tasmania.
The saga has sparked an outpouring of support across Tasmania’s wedding community, with people rallying to help find new venues to accommodate last-minute ceremonies.
Celebrant Emma Harrison, who owns the Tasmanian Wedding Directory, is in the process of compiling resources for couples specifically affected by Hidden Garden Estate’s closure.
She is welcoming them to the directory website to find information on available venues.
“This is what we do in the wedding community,” she said.
“This has been a really disappointing episode, but it’s been nice to see that silver lining and see people rallying together to make a terrible situation easier.”
It’s understood the owners of Hidden Garden Estate had not had the appropriate permits and approvals from Glenorchy City Council to hold weddings beyond the conditions laid out in the initial letter to clients.
They announced they were going into liquidation in a social media post late Monday night, and were in talks with “relevant professionals” over refunds.
They did not respond to requests for comment.
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Originally published as Hidden Garden Estate: Bride left stranded after wedding venue shuts
