Newlyweds outside a Noah's Event Venue in San Francisco.
- Popular wedding venue company Noah's Event Venues unexpectedly shuttered its remaining locations on Thursday after a ruling from a bankruptcy judge in Utah.
- Couples around the country told local news outlets they were never notified of the closures, and many have been left empty-handed and at risk of losing thousands of dollars just weeks before their big day.
- "It's supposed to be the best day of my life, and now we're left with unresponsiveness," Angelica Gonzalez told Click 2 Houston after learning that she would be losing her venue in Katy, Texas.
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Thousands of distraught couples around the country are scrambling after unexpectedly losing wedding venues booked through bankrupt Noah's Event Venues.
A bankruptcy judge in Utah ordered that Noah's abruptly shutter its remaining reception halls across the US after the company filed for bankruptcy in May, according to local reports. The decision reportedly impacted thousands of Noah's employees and couples in cities including Albuquerque, New Mexico; Charlotte, North Carolina; Wichita, Kansas; Houston, Texas; and Columbus, Ohio, among others.
Alayna Spooner, a part-time employee at Noah's in Des Moines, Iowa, told local reporters she received an email late on Thursday night stating that the company would "cease all operations, event hosting and all other services therein."
A representative from Noah's Event Venues did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment.
According to Kenneth Cannon, an attorney with Durham, Jones & Pinegar, the closures could leave more than 7,500 clients empty-handed and without refunds. Cannon told KTHV in Utah that Noah's had hired a restructuring officer in hopes of implementing a turnaround plan to keep the company afloat, which ultimately proved unsuccessful.
"Unfortunately, this case will probably move from bankruptcy court to a total liquidation," Cannon said. "There's just not going to be any money left."
However, many of the brides- and grooms-t0-be say they were given no notice of the closures, with some left emptyhanded mere weeks before their wedding day. Most spent thousands of dollars on deposits that may never be returned.
Angelica Gonzalez told Click 2 Houston that she learned the venue she had booked through Noah's in Katy, Texas, closed after receiving a phone call from her wedding DJ regarding "sketchy news stories online." Gonzalez said she tried calling and emailing Noah representatives, as well as visiting the venue itself, but wasn't able to speak with anyone.
In total, she and her fiance paid $12,000 to book the venue and onsite services.
"It's supposed to be the best day of my life, and now we're left with unresponsiveness," Gonzalez said.
In Pittsburgh, Emily Wagner and Jared Grace were preparing for their wedding at a Noah's venue just two weeks from now they heard the news. Wagner told CBS News in Pittsburgh they stand to lose $7,500 and have yet to determine what to do about the 250 guests expecting to see them exchange vows.
"When we saw the text, we said this isn't happening and we really don't know what we are going to do because our wedding is two weeks away," Wagner said.
Several other Noah's clients took to social media to air their grievances, including Twitter user Katie Breding, who wrote that her wedding is in four months.
Our wedding is in 4 months, NOAH'S was our venue, and this just happened... https://t.co/1vrIH8tsw8
- Katie Breding (@_katehhbred) February 8, 2020**Please Share**
How disgusting is this! We booked our venue last November to have our wedding this year in November. We just got told that NOAH'S Event Venue has filed bankruptcy and now allowing anymore weddings. Noah's has not even called us to tell us the news
- Daniel Hernandez (@DanTheMann1) February 8, 2020