Wedding industry rallies around The Lussh after inferno collapses roof

Two days after a fire gutted an abandoned building in Woolloongabba and collapsed the roof of the 100-year-old heritage building now serving as The Lussh wedding venue, fire and police services have shut down the crime scene and handed the site back to the owners.

“The cause of the fire is undetermined due to the amount of damage,” said a spokesman for the Queensland Fire Department, although police said their investigation was ongoing.

The Lussh said in a statement posted online on Wednesday that it had a back-up, and its team was “busily pulling things together behind the scenes”.

With the site handed back to the owners, The Lussh can begin repair works on the building.Credit: Senncha Studio; Lover of Mine; About Time Co

Other events industry vendors flooded social media with messages of support and offers for help, with some even privately offering their own events spaces.

“If we can help any of your couples in any way, we would absolutely love to,” said wedding planning company The Organised Bride.

Avideas, an event styling and chandelier hire company, added to the shower of support. “We are here to help in any way we can. Future weddings and clients are in good, good hands,” it said.

It’s not the only time wedding vendors have faced last-minute venue changes due to disaster, with Queensland’s stringent COVID-19 lockdown and isolation rules forcing the events industry to adapt.

The Lussh, which was founded in 2020 amid the pandemic pressures, said its “years in the events industry have prepared us to handle just about anything,” although the fire came as a shock to the team.

Madison Sullivan, 33, and Nathan Crawford, 37, had plans to marry at The Lussh in four weeks’ time, and were equally shocked by the disaster.

Couple Madison and Nathan had not yet been contacted by Lussh to organise a backup for their wedding, scheduled in four weeks’ time.Credit: Madison Sullivan

Sullivan recalled thinking her fiance was playing “a terrible joke” on her when he told her their wedding venue was on fire.

Halfway through her nursing shift at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, she had seen smoke rising from the Woolloongabba area, but never imagined the burning building could be The Lussh.

Crawford, who works in digital media, said he was first notified by a series of messages and a missed call from one of his best men. His “first thought was I had to get a hold of Madison because ... it’s just devastating to hear that”.

The pair was now concerned about finding a venue in time for their October nuptials.

“We’re in the complete unknown – four weeks out, international people flying in, domestic people that have already booked accommodation and flights – so the idea of cancelling really puts a lot of stress on us,” Crawford said.

If they had to cancel, they expected to lose almost $10,000 in non-refundable down payments for usual wedding trimmings – including, photographers, caterers, and florists.

“It’d just be good to have a little bit more of an idea what’s going on, but … I imagine there’s a lot of things to deal with,” Sullivan said.

Crawford added: “We haven’t lost a business, and we’re not injured. It’s still very bad for us, but I guess there’s three tiers of this, and we’d probably be on the third tier”.

On Friday, the couple had yet to be contacted by The Lussh, which said it was prioritising “reaching out to events booked in the coming days and weeks”.

It is understood at least six couples expected to marry at the Woolloongabba venue in the next two months – a popular time in Brisbane for weddings – and Crawford and Sullivan said other couples had reached out to them to share information and support.

The Lussh was contacted for further comment.

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