Four postponements, then their venue went into liquidation but bride and groom finally get hitched!
NOTTS COUPLE TIE THE KNOT AT THORESBY PARK BUT ARE STILL CHASING £10K THEY PAID TO KELHAM HALL BEFORE IT WENT INTO ADMINISTRATION
Future Covid brides - I know it’s been tough for us all - but I promise it will be worth the wait.
Seema Kanani
A BRIDE-TO-BE whose hopes of a dream wedding day at Kelham Hall were dashed when the venue into liquidation, has finally tied the knot.
The wedding, booked at the historic hall near Newark since 2018, had already been rearranged four times due to the Covid restrictions.
In June, Seema Kanani, 29, and her fiancé Vikesh Gohil, a 28-yearold financial adviser, were devastated to learn that all weddings had been cancelled, including their own civil ceremony and reception for 300 guests.
They had paid £10,000 in full, which they haven’t managed to get back so far.
When news broke of Kelham Hall going into administration the couple immediately started searching for alternative locations, ringing 30 venues in a desperate bid to see if any could accommodate them on the date they’d booked in order to keep the same registrar, caterers, and other suppliers.
“When we called up most of them said no way, you are looking at 2023 if you want a Saturday or there’s a random Wednesday in December,” said Seema, a marketing manager.
However, they struck lucky at short notice, getting a booking at Thoresby Park. They were finally married in front of family and friends last month.
Fresh from a honeymoon in St Lucia, Seema, of Arnold, said: “I still can’t get over the fact that it finally happened.
“We had the best day ever and it was most definitely worth the wait.
“The staff at Thoresby Park were absolutely phenomenal and did everything in their power to make our day even more special, after everything we’d been through.
“We’re so thankful to our friends, family and suppliers who have made this journey an unforgettable one.
“Now that the wedding is over, it’s as though a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders. “There’s nothing to panic or worry about and it’s a strange feeling not running around like a headless chicken every day.
“Future Covid brides - I know it’s been a tough journey for us all, but I promise it will be worth the wait.” Kelham Hall, a Grade I listed building, was bought by businessman Jonathan Pass for £4 million in 2017.
Previously, Seema said she had become suspicious when staff didn’t return her telephone calls or answer emails about the wedding arrangements.
They are trying to claim back the payment through their insurance company.
“Unfortunately, the bank said they couldn’t help us. As the transaction was made over 105 days ago, they said they won’t be able to raise a dispute or a charge back. They told us the next point of call was the insurance company,” said Seema.
“Now that the stress of wedding planning is over and we’ve come back from our honeymoon, we’ll be submitting our insurance claim this week.
“We’ve had to gather lots of documents and evidence which has taken a while to dig out. We managed to scan it all on to the laptop - there were over 60 pages that came through the post from the liquidators. So we wanted to make sure we had everything possible to help our case.
“I really hope we get our money back, that’s why you buy insurance - to give you peace of mind. But there’s a lot of small clauses in these policies that you can’t argue with unfortunately. So we’re keeping our fingers crossed and praying that justice will be served.”
Privately owned commercial finance company A Shade Greener Finance Ltd took control of Kelham Hall’s financial affairs after it ceased trading.