Bankruptcy leaves multiple couples jilted at the altar

CTV Montreal: Wedding venue goes bankrupt A Laval couple discovered this week they no longer had a place to host their wedding

A Laval couple has narrowly averted a wedding day disaster after their dream venue went bankrupt just days before their nuptials.

Casey Phillips and his bride, Roxanne Couston, put down a deposit one year ago at the Auberge Prema Shanti in Val David for their wedding, scheduled to take place Saturday July 15.

The hall was in the process of being decorated on Wednesday when Phillips "just got a text at 5 p.m. that the venue we're having the reception at shut down."

Dozens other couples that had selected the venue received the same message.

Trustees handling the case said the inn was closing because a court determined the company that ran weddings was unable to provide the services, or have them properly insured, even though the company had been reportedly been accepting deposits just hours before the text messages were sent.

With the bankruptcy happening at the height of wedding season, couples are now scrambling to find new venues, and to find out if they will get any money back.

Lawyer Jordan Charness said some couples may be able to get a refund.

"They may have a legal recourse as far as the deposits are concerned, because the deposits could theoretically have been placed in a trust account because those are deposits against something that they were going to receive in the future. That money is not really earned until the services are provided," said Charness.

Phillips said his priority wasn't the money: it was finding a new venue.

Fortunately for him, the Hotel Chanteclair in nearby Ste. Adele had a room available for Saturday, and offered a deal on the usual rate.

"We haven't had time to sit and look at the big picture right now. It's just we have a plan, we have a wedding now in 24 hours and it's all hands on deck," said Phillips.

The groom said Friday there was plenty of work to finish before the ceremony, but that he expected it would all get done -- followed by a honeymoon in the south of France.

"There will be a happy ending," said Phillips.