Couple compensated for ruined wedding veil

PERTH: Holiday firm settles and accepts responsibility ahead of legal action

A groom who sued a luxury beach resort for ruining his bride’s veil on their wedding day has won an out-of-court deal with the firm.

Steven Stewart, 50, took the Caribbean holiday resort Sandals to court over the incident that had left his new bride devastated.

Alison Stewart, 49, was in tears when she found her veil ruined just 15 minutes before she wed the Perth businessman.

He raised a bid to force Sandals owner Unique Vacations (UK) Ltd to pay the £8,200 cost of a replacement holiday.

Now Perth Sheriff Court has been told the couple have struck a deal. It is understood the firm agreed to pay the costs of their desired break in St Lucia.

The company admitted damaging the veil after the couple left their wedding outfits to be pressed in the laundry at the romantic £350 night Royal Bahamian Hotel in the Bahamas.

Mr Stewart said: “We had got off the plane with our clothes crushed up in our suitcases so we put them into the hotel laundry to get freshened up and pressed.

“It was about 15 minutes before the ceremony when Alison phoned me from the room in floods of tears.

“My first thought was that she had taken cold feet and decided not to go through with it or something like that.

“Then she told me that she had just put the veil on and realised it had been completely ruined. They had ironed it and it had a big hole and scorch marks.

“It was far too late to do anything about it or even think about a replacement. We just had to go ahead with what we had.”

The hotel admitted responsibility and resort manager Jackson Weech agreed to pay for a future holiday for the couple as compensation for their distress.

But when Mr and Mrs Stewart tried to book a week-long break at the group’s resort in St Lucia they ran into a dispute.

The holiday was due to cost £8,200 but Unique Vacations claimed it only agreed to a credit note for the £3,523 originally paid in the Bahamas. However, a deal was reached before a proof that would have seen the company forced to fly witnesses from the Caribbean to the Scottish court.

The legal action stated: “The couple attended the Royal Bahamian Resort for the purpose of their wedding.

“In preparation for the wedding ceremony, Mrs Stewart’s wedding veil was taken for cleaning and pressing by staff.

“During that process the veil was damaged by application of excessive heat, burning a hole in it. It was not capable of being repaired.

“The damage to the veil was only ascertained 15 minutes before the wedding ceremony. The wedding ceremony required to proceed with the veil damaged.

“Mrs Stewart was particularly distressed by this. The distress impacted on their enjoyment of their holiday, and in particular upon their wedding ceremony.”

It stated Mr Stewart and Mr Weech shook hands on a deal for the couple to stay free for seven nights at any resort.

In return, Mrs Stewart removed a Facebook post that criticised the hotel.

The holiday firm, in its legal answers, admitted: “Mrs Stewart’s wedding veil was damaged by the hotel’s staff by the application of excessive heat burning a hole in it.

“It is admitted that the damage caused to the wedding veil constituted a breach of the booking contract.”

Steven and Alison Stewart, who were married in the Bahamas, said the damage to her wedding veil by staff in the hotel laundry took the shine off their big day.