The business operated at 48 Watt Street has been placed in liquidation and is insolvent, leaving couples out of pocket with no sign of their deposits in sight.
Jae-Maree and her partner, Joel, whose last names have been withheld, planned to tie the knot at 48 Watt Street on August 25 - just five weeks away. They had paid about two thirds of their total venue fee, amounting to around $11,000.
They were contacted by liquidator Rapsey Griffiths on Monday July 17 and were told Wellsman Pty Ltd, which owns the event company 48 Watt Street, was insolvent.
Jae-Maree said it was unclear if the couple would get their money back from Wellsman.
Rapsey Griffiths told the Newcastle Herald in a statement on Tuesday that "those people who have paid a deposit or purchased tickets to future events will be unsecured creditors of the company".
"Unfortunately, those people who have paid a deposit or purchased tickets to future events will be unsecured creditors of the company," a spokesperson said.
For Jae-Maree and Joel, the news has left them with no answers. She and Joel have been saving for the wedding since they got engaged in early 2022.
"We have got very, very limited cash left. We are just trying to scramble and find somewhere that will be able to accommodate us," Jae-Maree said.
The couple have two children with another baby on the way. Jae-Maree said that after a "really difficult" 18 months, her wedding was what she looked forward to.
Rapsey Griffiths told the Herald they understood the director of Wellsman had "attempted to arrange an alternate option for customers impacted by the business closure", prior to appointment as liquidator.
Jae-Maree did not feel this has been the case.
"Finally being able to celebrate what I think Joel and I deserve has now been literally ripped away from us," Jae-Maree said.
Jae-Maree said rescheduling the late-winter wedding was "not an option" with about 30 friends and family flying to Newcastle from interstate.
She was concerned they would lose money on other vendors by moving locations, including on a DJ whose services had been paid for in full.
Fellow couple Lizi Blanco and her fiance were set to get married at 48 Watt Street on Friday, October 13. It was their dream venue for a "witchy wedding", which they booked "over a year ago".
Ms Blanco told the Herald she contacted a sub-contracted events organiser on the night of Sunday, July 16, when she was told the organiser no longer worked with Wellsman. She said she tried to make contact with Wellsman the following morning, but her emails "bounced back".
"I had my final [planning] meeting coming up this Friday," she said.
The couple had paid about $14,000 to the operators at 48 Watt Street.
"It is a lot of money and it's super scary," Ms Blanco said. "There is a chance we just lost so much money.
"You dream about having a wedding and you have to save for years. It is not just money you can whip out," she said. "Where am I supposed to get that for another venue?"
Ms Blanco said the community had been very empathetic towards herself and her fiance, with venues being "super sweet" because they know about the circumstance.
The liquidation of Wellsman has left entertainers and ticket-holders searching for answers.
Joel Stewart, of band Kaylens Rain, was set to perform at 48 Watt Street on July 27.
He has not heard from the venue regarding a return of the $500 deposit his band paid. The venue was also handling the sale of tickets at $35 a person.
Mr Stewart said he "did not know" how many tickets had been sold.
At 4pm on Tuesday, tickets to Kaylens Rain's gig could still be bought via the 48 Watt Street website and other upcoming events remain listed. The 48 Watt Street Instagram page was still live, though no new posts had been made.
Donna, whose last name has been withheld, had bought tickets to attend a Harry Potter dinner at the venue on Friday night.
She told the Herald she was contacted by the venue and asked to move her booking to Saturday due to cancellations, before the event was cancelled entirely.
Donna and her sisters, who she planned to attend with, are about $300 out of pocket between them. At the time of speaking, she had not heard from the liquidator.
"I am very dubious. I go to a lot of events and I would never outlay money if I didn't think something was ridgey-didge," she said. "The [event] had happened before ... I thought there'd be no worries."
Rapsey Griffiths told the Herald on Tuesday afternoon that they had "now contacted all known event bookings via phone where possible and issued a formal notice advising that the company is in liquidation and is unable to honour any future events planned."
The liquidator said it would continue to contact ticketholders for other upcoming events.
48 Watt Street's website was updated on Tuesday to state the business had gone into liquidation.
The bottom of the site said: "Mitch Griffiths of Rapsey Griffiths was appointed Liquidator of Wellsman Pty Limited trading as 48 Watt Street on 17 July 2023."
"If you are a creditor of the company, please email the liquidator's office on enquiries@rgia.com.au with any queries and their office will contact you in due course."
In a statement to the Herald on Tuesday, a spokesperson from NSW Fair Trading encouraged couples impacted by the liquidation of Wellsman to "contact the external administrator to clarify available options".
"This includes registering as an unsecured creditor or seeking a chargeback," the spokesperson said.
"By registering as an unsecured creditor with the administrator you will be included in the disbursement of any money that might remain in the business once its assets are sold or, if the business that went bust is sold to a new business that agrees to take on the old business' liabilities," they said.
"If you paid with a loan, credit card, debit card or through a secure payment provider such as PayPal, your financial institution or card provider may be able to get your money back by reversing the payment. This is known as a 'chargeback'. There are time limits on chargebacks, so contact your financial institution straight away,: NSW Fair Trading said.
The Herald has contacted Wellsman for comment.
