Adelaide couples left heartbroken, out of pocket and scrambling for a new wedding venue

ADELAIDE couples planning to wed at a popular Thebarton venue have been left stunned and out of pocket after the business was evicted.

Newlyweds Fiona and Mark Marschall, who found out just three days out from their wedding that their venue had closed down. Picture: Supplied.

ADELAIDE couples planning to wed at a popular Thebarton venue have been left without a place to say ‘I do’, and tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket, after the business closed down without warning.

Wedding venue Entropy was locked out from its premises, on the corner of Reid and Queen streets, on October 20, owning $20,998 in unpaid rent to its landlord — but only emailed couples last night after news broke on social media.

Adelaide brides told The City Messenger they heard through friends and on Adelaide Weddings Chit Chat Facebook group late last night the business had shut down.

Some brides then received an email saying the business had to shut because of “operational issues” and an “ongoing legal battle”.

Newlyweds Fiona and Mark Marschall were supposed to wed at Entropy last weekend, but were told days out from their wedding the venue had closed.

They were forced to move their wedding to Harry’s Bar, in Grenfell St, but remained $10,000 out of pocket.

“The owner text me on Saturday, October 21, to say there were closed for the day due to unforeseen circumstances, which was a lie,” Mrs Marschall, who is on her honeymoon in Vietnam, said.

“(It) has been a nightmare and the owners keep changing their story.”

Entropy owners Jude and Laura Alexander. Picture: Simon Cross

Newlyweds Fiona and Mark Marschall, who found out three-days out from their wedding that their venue had closed down.

Natasha Teck, 28, of Glenelg, was supposed to say ‘I do’ at Entropy on March 17 next year.

“I’m disappointed because a wedding is a sacred event and it is just unfair to be put through all that stress,” Ms Teck said.

“It’s is really disappointing the lack of communication really, just give us a call and tell us what is going on.”

Tegan Gully, 28, and her fiance Ryan Franceschinis, booked their wedding for March 3, 2018, and are yet to receive an email from Entropy about the closure.

The couple paid a deposit of $3500 for their wedding, which was supposed to cost about $120 per person.

“Myself and other brides have sent them letters of demand (asking) for our refund and now their email address is bouncing back, so we have no way of getting in contact with them,” Ms Gully, of Hillcrest, said.

“We do not have any help from our parents and we have just had our third kid, so we were using all our savings to do our wedding.

“To be $3500 out of pocket is not ideal … and then book another venue and change our date.”

Bride-to-be Gemma Afford, who was the first to raise the issue on social media group Adelaide Weddings Chit Chat, said they were searching for a new venue just three weeks out from their wedding.

She had been trying to contact the venue with no response, had paid in full and learned from an email last night the place had shut.

“My heart is racing,” she wrote on the social media site.

Entropy’s website, Facebook and Instagram pages have been removed and the owners had not been returning customers calls.

Entropy is on the grounds of the former University of Adelaide Thebarton Campus, purchased by Adelaide-based Australasian Property Developments last year.

Since then, venue operator Laura Alexander and her husband Jude have been in a dispute with the owners about additional payments, which Mrs Alexander said the couple does not need to pay under the terms of their lease.

The landlord changed the locks on the property in October 20 because the company fell in to arrears.

She said she did not tell brides about the closure because she thought the business would reopen.

Mrs Alexander, who is seeking legal advice, said she planned to refund couples, but “was unsure” of when that would be.

“I wish I had an answer to that, but I just don’t,” Mrs Alexander said.

Originally published as Adelaide couples left heartbroken, out of pocket and scrambling for a new wedding venue