A Newcastle bride and groom have been left facing an 'awful' choice just days before their wedding after being told the incorrect guest limit for their venue.
Sharell Douglas, 24, is due to marry fiancé Ryan Williams, 31, at Newcastle’s Civic Centre this Saturday, 10 September. But the pair say that an error made on the paperwork from the venue has now threatened to spoil their big day as they now have to disinvite several friends and family members who were on the ceremony guest list.
The Walker couple booked their wedding back in November 2020, and were given documents by the Civic Centre to confirm the booking which stated that 70 people would be allowed in the venue’s Leazes Room. However, they have since been told that the room in fact has a capacity of 50 - and the pair say that this information was only given to them on Monday, 5 September, with less than a week to go before the wedding .
This means that 20 of the invited guests will not be able to attend the ceremony, leaving Sharell and Ryan with more pre-wedding stress than they had bargained for. With big families on both sides, the couple had already had to be selective with their invites and say that this development has left them with some difficult conversations to have.
Family members have already made travel arrangements for the big day, with relatives coming to Newcastle from down south as far as London, and Sharell and Ryan had also paid for a coach for 70 people to transport them to the reception venue after the ceremony. “It’s left us thinking, how are we going to tell our family that they can’t come to the wedding when they were already invited - or that they can only come to the evening when they’ve travelled all that way?” said Sharell.
The bride-to-be added that she was “a mess” when she was informed that the venue’s limit was 20 people less than they had planned for. “I couldn’t even tell my mam what they had said over the phone, because I was getting so worked up and upset by it,” she said. “It was awful.”
“It’s breaking her heart,” Sharell’s mam Nicola said of her daughter. “She doesn’t know what to do - it’s just put more stress on her.”
Sharell added: “I’ve always got to be organised, and I like having things done in advance - I thought I had nothing to do this week for the wedding and that everything was sorted. But now this has tipped me over the edge a bit, because I feel unorganised again now that I have to go back through this guest list.”
“We wanted to celebrate with everyone, and it just feels like we can’t do that now,” she said. “It’s very upsetting.”
The Civic Centre has issued Sharell and Ryan a £100 refund of the £320 that they paid to use the venue. A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: “We are really sorry we have been unable to fulfil the couple’s wishes to have 70 guests at their wedding.
“Before the Coronavirus pandemic, the Leazes Room had a capacity for 70 guests as this was the number allowed in the previous ceremony room which was much larger. However, the room was often cramped as the seats had to be arranged very close together and there was little or no scope to accommodate those with a disability.
“As social distancing restrictions eased, we reviewed our arrangements and reduced the capacity from 70 to 50 to provide a more comfortable and safer environment for couples, their guests and our staff. We apologise to the couple for not informing them sooner that the room could not accommodate 70 guests and unfortunately we are unable to provide an alternative room for their ceremony.
“We will do all we can on the day to ensure the couple enjoy their wedding ceremony.”
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