A ‘wicked and twisted’ wedding planner accused of scamming couples out of thousands of pounds has been pictured for the first time, as her devastated ex-husband says she should be ‘fed to the wolves.’
Dana Twidale has disappeared after several couples have come forward in the past week accusing her of ‘ruining their weddings.’
The 42-year-old, who ran her own wedding and event hire business in Hull, has also been accused by her ex-boyfriend Nigel Wainwright of conning him out of £10,000.
Now her husband Carl Twidale, has spoken of his shock and bewilderment after learning the truth about her wedding business and has faced threats by angry brides demanding answers.
Dana Twidale (pictured right) on her wedding day with Carl Twidale, who has said his wife should be ‘fed to the wolves’ after conning couples about to get married
Dana Twidale, 42, has disappeared after allegedly conning couples out of thousands of pounds
Dana Twidale (pictured left and right) who ran her own wedding and event hire business in Hull, has also been accused by her ex-boyfriend Nigel Wainwright of conning him out of £10,000.
Mr Twidale, who has been separated from his wife for the past two years, said: ‘It was numbing to read about all the scams and I can’t believe she has done this.
‘When I first met her she was lovely, bubbly and you just wanted to be around her. Everybody would say the same but it seems that was all part of the act.
‘There are no words. She is just wicked and it’s twisted – you can’t do the things she has done. It’s one thing scamming people but preying on their vulnerabilities is just wrong.
‘I’ve started to question now if I ever really knew who she was. She was my wife but I just don’t know her anymore.’
Mr Twidale said he and his wife were a ‘fun loving couple’ with the pair getting married in 2015 after a six-month whirlwind romance. They had met at his cousin’s funeral and within weeks they were living together.
However, two years ago he filed for divorce after falling out of love with her, although it has not been officially finalised.
‘It wasn’t a nasty split,’ Mr Twidale said. ‘I held off getting it all finalised because we were still getting on and life was busy.
‘I think we both hoped we might reconcile but now I’ve realised that I was just part of this bigger plan.’
Nigel Wainwright, pictured, said his ex-partner, who is accused of stealing thousands of pounds from clients at her wedding planning business, took £10,000 from him
Nigel Wainwright, who has allegedly been scammed out of over £10,000 by Mrs Twidale.
The discovery of her other secret relationship left him shocked and late last week he learnt about numerous couples allegedly being duped out of money given to Mrs Twidale so she could plan their weddings.
Although Mr Twidale knew of her wedding planning and event hire business, he says he had no involvement in it. However, this has not stopped people messaging him and even sending threats to try and get answers and ultimately their money back.
‘I feel like I’m having to explain myself,’ the 45-year-old said. ‘People out there have lost money and their special days and I’ve had threats off people on Facebook who have messaged me saying that Dana has ripped their friend off.
‘One said ‘she owes X amount and it’s going to go up even more – you will pay for this.’
‘It frustrates me and upsets me but at the same time I understand people are angry and upset and they take it out on me because I am known to her by association.
‘It’s just callous what she has done and I feel stupid and naïve because I’ve been duped too. Somebody said this has been going on for five years which means she was doing it for two years under my nose.
‘Part of me feels so angry and I’m just so sorry to everybody who has been affected. I just want people to know that I have nothing to do with this and I’ve been duped the same as everybody else.’
Even after the split, Mr Twidale continued to send money to his wife and he says she owes him around £4,000.
As a result of her disappearance she has been logged as a missing person and Mr Twidale is just desperate to know the whereabouts of her second youngest child.
‘I’ve no idea what she will have done next or where she has gone because I don’t know who she is anymore,’ Mr Twidale said.
‘I thought that one person she could trust was me but she has dumped me. There are rumours she has gone to Tenerife but if she has I will go and get her myself. However, I don’t want people to think I have gone out there to meet her.
‘I don’t want to help her and they can feed her to the wolves but my only concern now is wanting to protect my family and getting her daughter home.’
Dozens of people across Yorkshire, including brides Sam Devine (pictured with fiance Phil Leech), Araminta Waldron, Kaylie Norris and Kayleigh Enderby, claim they have been duped out of money they gave to a Hull wedding planner
In an appeal to Mrs Twidale, who used to work as a funeral planner for Heavenly Services, said: ‘Please don’t drag your daughter into this. She is still your daughter at the end of the day and we need her home.’
Multiple people across the country have posted on Facebook claiming to have also been conned by the woman, including 32-year-old Sam Devine, from Paull, East Yorkshire, who brought her wedding forward so that her terminally ill mum could see her marry her fiancé Phil Leach.
Miss Devine was due to get married abroad in 2022 but after learning six weeks ago that her mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, she brought the wedding forward to 2020.
The mother-of-one joined numerous Facebook groups to try and sniff out the best deals ahead of the big day and came across one wedding planner offering bargains which she initially thought were ‘too good to be true’.
After getting in touch, messaging her and meeting the woman face to face, Miss Devine was convinced everything was ‘kosher’ and paid more than £500 to cover the cost of decorations and £100 to cover the deposit for the hire of a marquee.
She last spoke to her on July 22 before going on Facebook on Friday to find posts and comments from people who said they had been scammed.
Miss Devine attempted to contact the woman again having heard the news but has since heard nothing and she fears she may now have lost hundreds of pounds.
‘I felt upset, shocked and just absolutely gutted,’ Sam said. ‘I just couldn’t believe somebody could prey on someone’s weakness like that.
‘Your wedding day is supposed to be the best day of your life and I knew that mine was going to be bittersweet because although I am marrying Phil we had to bring it forward so my mum could be there.
‘I feel taken advantage of and I did have doubts at first and everybody said it was too good to be true but the messages from her reassured me. She kept saying ‘don’t worry. We’ll make sure the place is beautiful and that your mum is in beautiful pictures’.
Kaylie Norrie (pictured with fiance Sean Lane) knows the wedding planner as an ‘old family friend’ and after her services were recommended she saw no reason to doubt her legitimacy
‘I even said to her that I thought she was my guardian angel and it turns out that all along she was doing this.’
Miss Devine, who has reported the alleged fraud to the police and is trying to get reimbursed through her bank, said she now faces a race against time to get everything ready for the big day.
She said: ‘It’s going to be hard for us. The only reason why I had that money was because I sold some puppies that my dog had had.
‘I only had the dress to sort out and I was supposed to be trying some on Saturday but I’m not going now because it just doesn’t feel right.
‘I think she saw us coming and I think she is disgusting and vile. I hope the police find her and justice is served because she could have done this to hundreds of people and I just hope people get their money back.’
Kayleigh Enderby is getting married to her partner Marc Hodge in just four weeks’ time and handed over £600 to the alleged fraudster after being encouraged by Facebook reviews and a friend.
This covered the cost of cars, a buffet and room decorations, and Miss Enderby, 29, thought everything was in hand until she looked on Facebook on Friday and realised she had been the victim of an alleged scam.
The mother, of north Hull, said: ‘She gave me a package for a certain amount and everything was arranged and paid for but I kept in contact and last spoke to her on July 16.
‘Then I went on Facebook yesterday and was like ‘wow – what are we going to do? We get married in four weeks’.’
Fortunately, Miss Enderby has since been reimbursed through her bank and has even tried to help out other desperate brides affected by the scandal.
She questioned how someone could be so ‘horrible’ and praised friends and family for rallying round her to ensure her big day still goes ahead as planned.
Miss Enderby: ‘We’ve got four weeks to try and do it and we will get there – we’ve got a good family backing us up. She isn’t going to ruin our big day.
‘At first I said ‘We’re going to have to cancel it’ but then my family and friends said ‘You’re not cancelling it. We will get through it’.
‘I just don’t know how she can be so horrible. I’m complaining about it being just four weeks away but there are brides getting married Saturday and it’s just lucky everyone is pulling together.’
Kaylie Norrie knows the wedding planner as an ‘old family friend’ and after her services were recommended she saw no reason as to why she should doubt her legitimacy.
The 30-year-old from north Hull, who is marrying partner Sean Lane next year, said: ‘She told us about all these offers and I trusted her. Someone else said she wouldn’t rip us off so we got all the catering off her and made a full bank transfer.
‘As far as we were aware everything was booked and she sent us a receipt and when we said we needed a photographer she said she had one we could use for the day.’
In total, Miss Norrie gave her £700, comprising £500 for the catering and £200 for the photographer, and she was planning to give her another £500 this weekend.
She was livid when she realised she had been allegedly scammed and although she has managed to retrieve the £500 she fears she will never see the other £200 again.
MailOnline has contacted Dana Twidale for comment.