A bride-to-be’s engagement party descended into chaos when thieves reportedly made off with the decorations for the celebration. Danielle Mason, 41, and her fiancé Lee Dopson, 44, who got engaged in May after a year and a half together, faced unexpected chaos just as they were set to commemorate their engagement with loved ones.
The proposal was nothing short of romantic, with Lee asking for Danielle’s hand in marriage on a private boat, leaving the social media influencer completely enchanted.
However, the joy was short-lived for the former model and TV personality, who is also known as the sister of Eastenders actress Jessie Wallace. They had planned an event at the Hilton, which Danielle praised as an “amazing” hotel located in Wokingham. Despite being offered the hotel’s event services, Danielle had already made arrangements with another company.
Danielle said: “Another company had reached out to me and said they really wanted to do it, and would offer me a good price. They organised the dancefloor, all the blue arches and some table decor and other backdrops.
“They called me at 9am on the morning of the engagement party, and said that the van had been nicked with all the stuff inside, and basically let me get on with organising it with two hours to spare.
“Luckily, my friends rallied around and found three amazing companies who got everything organised for me in the space of two hours, so I managed to replace everything within two hours for something that it took me two months to organise.”
Despite the bad news, Danielle said the company confirmed her money would be refunded but, due to sudden nature of the situation, she admitted it “threw a spanner massively in the works”. She said all her friends were stressed because they had to help organise the event, but luckily it all worked out.
She had also booked performers and celebrity acts to attend, so the day did end up being quite chaotic. Even so, they managed to turn it around, but she confessed the experience has put her off getting married in the UK.
“As much as we did end up having a good night, I would never want the stress of it again, so my partner and I decided we would go away on our own and get married in private,” she added. “I think it shows people that really do care for you were the ones that turned up.
“It was a great night, but the stress I wouldn’t go through again, as it should be a really happy experience leading up to the event.”
The suppliers who were meant to supply the party decor are a small family business who say they take what they do “extremely seriously”. A spokesman for the company said they’ve “never let anyone down and consistently deliver a great service”.
He said: “This event would have been the same if the van hadn’t been stolen. Having a van full of equipment stolen is devastating for a business like ours – especially in the lead up to a busy Christmas season.”
It’s said the van was stolen early on the Saturday morning after it had been loaded for the three events that were due to take place that day. The incident was immediately reported to the police, and the team “quickly” worked to think of solutions for the three events.
The company said, for Danielle, it found a company in Surrey who could supply the key items they were providing. They say they called her to let her know what had happened, and what they had organised as an alternative.
As well as this, they claim to have organised the booking and transferred her whole fee back to her immediately, so she could pay the new supplier. In the end, she declined to go with them, and found her own alternative.
The events company said it also understands and accepts that Danielle was upset and stressed by the situation and are “really sorry” for that.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: “We received a report that a white Ford Transit van was stolen from Speedfields Park, Fareham, on 7 November. Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting reference 44240488446.”