Distraught victims left counting cost

Distraught couples who fell foul of Williamson’s two-year con were left with thousands of pounds of extra costs as they desperately tried to salvage their ruined plans.

It is understood that at least two couples who were duped by the fraudster have since separated, their relationships perhaps another victim of Williamson’s deceit.

One groom, who spoke to The Courier anonymously, said he and his bride went on to have “the happiest day of their lives”, but not before having to fork out thousands of pounds extra – on top of the tens of thousands they had already paid.

The groom said: “Our wedding, fortunately, went ahead at the castle but to be frank, we weren’t entirely happy with how we were treated.

“We had to prove every last payment we had given over to Williamson, who was in charge of the package deal, or so we thought.

“There were a lot of elements which we thought would have been in place that weren’t, and at one point one of the staff told us during a meeting that what we were going through wasn’t the ‘worst case scenario’.

“They said just three to four weeks before we were due to be married that the wedding might be cancelled.

“I feel like they should have apologised to us for the stress caused.

“I know they were a victim of a crime, as were a lot of people, but their response to us didn’t put them in a good light.”

No one from Guthrie Castle was available for comment.