MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF/Gray News) – A South Carolina couple says they are living a wedding planning nightmare after losing thousands of dollars and their wedding venue at the same time.
Travis Marshall and Rachel Staley said they lost all the money they’d put toward their dream venue, Champagne Manor in Monroe, North Carolina, after the venue suddenly closed last week.
“We are roughly out about $20,000,” Marshall said.
But it’s not just about the money. The couple has also lost the venue they agreed on.
“Pretty much from the beginning, from the drive up we said, ‘Oh, this is it’,” Marshall said.
The couple said they have been together for nearly six years and got engaged in June of 2023.
They have different styles, so they said finding a venue was a bit of a challenge. But once they found Champagne Manor, they booked it in May 2024 for their May 2025 wedding.
They signed the contract and paid their deposit, but the owner of the venue stopped communicating.
“He already had so much of our money that we were like, well, we have to, like, make this work,” Staley said.
Fast forward to New Year’s Day, that’s when the soon-to-be bride and groom said their florist told them the venue was being foreclosed on.
At midnight on Jan. 2, the owner sent them an email explaining a series of loan issues and failed funding attempts that led to the foreclosure.
“You’ve not only potentially ruined a once-in-a-lifetime moment for us, but for dozens and dozens,” Marshall said.
The couple said the venue’s owner, Jason Lottmann, shared in an email that he would “be in touch” with a plan “for a full refund.”
But according to Marshall, that has not happened and they have reached out again to Lottmann without yet receiving a response.
The couple said they’re now working to plan another big day even with their wedding fund now nearly gone.
“We’re just trying to stay focused on what matters and find a venue that we can afford,” Staley said.
Lottmann did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the situation.
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