FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Central Kentucky woman is starting her wedding planning from scratch just weeks before her November ceremony after discovering her dream venue was sold and the new owner won't honor her contract.
Shandi Lindsay got engaged to her boyfriend of five years, Colton, last fall and booked The Elizabeth in Frankfort for her November 15 wedding. What started as a fairy tale planning process quickly turned into a nightmare when she learned the venue had been sold.
"It almost seemed like someone plucked it out of my brain. It was exactly what I wanted my venue to look like," Lindsay said.
Lindsay started planning her wedding in February, choosing The Elizabeth because it matched her vision perfectly.
"I've always wanted like, chapel, big stained glass windows," she said. "That was the dream."
Concerns first arose when Frankfort experienced historic flooding in April, which damaged and destroyed many properties in the area. However, The Elizabeth's owners assured Lindsay the venue hadn't experienced any damage.
"There was like a news article. They called it the miracle of Frankfort or something like that. Because there had been hardly anything flooded there," Lindsay said.
Communication issues began at the end of July when Lindsay started emailing The Elizabeth's owners to finalize wedding details. She says responses became increasingly delayed.
On September 2, Lindsay finally received answers. She was told The Elizabeth had been sold, but the new owner was prepared to honor the two wedding contracts planned for November.
"I immediately started freaking out like, do I need to start looking for a new venue? I already sent my invites out at this time. And she reassured me, it was in the contract that the business bought by the Elizabeth wants the contracts booked this year. All great news," Lindsay said.
That reassurance was short-lived. On September 29, Lindsay learned the new owner would not uphold the contracts.
"She didn't respond until September 29 and said that actually, the new owner of the venue was not gonna uphold the contracts and said that it was due to $100,000 worth of damage from the floods," Lindsay said.
While Lindsay and her fiancé were offered a full refund, that doesn't solve the problem of where their wedding will take place on November 15. She says her community has rallied around her and offered help.
Lindsay shares this advice for other venue owners:
"Any person who owns a venue, if at some point you are considering selling your venue, if you're even thinking about it, you should tell your renters that's a possibility. If she'd been thinking about this during the flooding, we would've done something back in April," Lindsay said.
The owner selling The Elizabeth provided this statement:
"I am devastated that the historic flood in Frankfort in April of this year created a situation that has been ongoing involving repair and replacement totaling over $100,000.00 in damages to the property. The last thing I ever wanted was for this to impact someone's special wedding day and to any of our wedding couples. Our couples were informed that the property was flooded and on the market, and we have been in communication throughout this restoration and sale process."
