A bride and groom who are set to tie the knot have lost thousands of pounds after being hit by an astonishing run of bad luck.
Bob Oliver, 45, and Michelle Nicholson, 46, from Woodham, County Durham, say their hen and stag dos were ruined by an apparent con and cancellation of flights, while their suit supplier has also gone into administration.
Now, the pair have had their honeymoon – a once-in-a-lifetime Eastern Caribbean cruise – cancelled following the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma last week.
The couple say they have been left ‘highly stressed’ ahead of their wedding day, which has been two years in the planning.
Bob Oliver, 45, and Michelle Nicholson, 46, from Woodham, County Durham, have been hit with an astonishing run of bad luck ahead of their wedding later this month
Bob explained how things started going wrong when they learned that a villa they had booked for £1,400 in Portugal did not exist.
‘Nothing had happened and we realised on Google Maps it was just a shack,’ he said.
‘The hen party all lost the money and had already booked the flights so had to fork out again for another villa which cost £1,100. We thought that would be the end of it.’
But last week, as the stags were enjoying themselves in Spain, Bob received a call to say the clothing store he was hiring his suits from – Greenwoods – had called in the administrators.
Bob says he had to pay out half of the initial cost of £822 again, in order to secure the suits from the retailer’s supplier ACS Clothing.
Their once-in-a-lifetime Eastern Caribbean cruise they had booked for their honeymoon has been cancelled following the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma (pictured) last week
He said: ‘Obviously they don’t have a shop for them to be delivered to, so the suits will come here to my home and we’ll have to fit them ourselves.’
The misfortune continued this week on Tuesday when the stag party’s return flight from Spain was cancelled due to French air strikes.
Despite Ryanair securing them another flight, the stags spent nine hours stranded in Spain and were flown to Newcastle instead of Leeds – incurring an added fee on the pre-booked taxi.
Following Hurricane Irma hitting the Caribbean, then couple’s dream honeymoon cruise, with stop-offs in the now devastated Tortola and Saint Thomas, has been cancelled.
The couple explained how their hen and stag dos were ruined by an apparent con and cancellation of flights, while their suit supplier has also gone into administration
This has forced the pair to hastily rearrange their holiday, which will now be a tour of the Western Caribbean.
Describing their incredible run of bad luck, Bob said: ‘We’re just highly stressed and disappointed. We’ve had this wedding two years in the planning and within two weeks it’s falling apart.
‘It has just been the stress and inconvenience of it all. It [has] ruined the stag do and the hen do and nearly the wedding day, but thankfully it didn’t.’
But with the wedding due to take place on September 30 at Walworth Castle, near Darlington, the couple have high hopes the day will be a success no matter what.
Bob said: ‘It’ll go ahead without a doubt – I told her [Michelle] I would get married in a skirt if I had to.’
According to ACS Clothing, from the point Greenwoods went into administration there was a backlog of 10,500 orders – for which ACS Clothing had not received any payment for.
A spokesperson for ACS Clothing said they wanted to reassure customers that the company was not trying to profit from the situation.
They said all orders would be honoured, but those who had paid in full in cash or by debit, like Bob, were required to pay 50 per cent of the fee.