'Awkward date': Couple won't return to wedding venue that cancelled on them

An Auckland bride-to-be will not be rebooking her wedding reception at a venue that cancelled on her at the last moment because it would be like going on "an awkward date".

April Shwe, 27, and Bobby Paul, 30, were devastated yesterday to discover Tom Tom Bar and Eatery, near Auckland's Victoria Park, had abruptly cancelled on them.

The couple in July booked the venue for their wedding reception taking place on the Sunday of Auckland Anniversary Weekend, even paying a $500 deposit and visiting the eatery multiple times.

Yet when they met the event organiser on Tuesday morning to confirm the wedding menu, they were instead told the eatery was cancelling on them because it wanted to host another group willing to spend $20,000 on a party.

April Shwe and her fiance Bobby Paul booked their wedding reception at Tom Tom in Victoria Park for the end of this month but abruptly discovered it had been cancelled. Photo / Dean Purcell

Shwe's booking had an estimated minimum spend of $3000 not including drinks.

However, after the Herald went public with the story, Tom Tom's owner Rav Brar said the incident was a mishap caused by the "confusion" of having a new events manager.

He offered to again host the couple's wedding reception.

But Shwe said the couple would not be returning.

"We're on the hunt for a new venue after everything that's happened - and what's to say they're going to give us good service if we stayed," she said.

"It will be like a very awkward date."

Shwe said Facebook users had inundated the couple with suggestions for other venues and they planned to check one out tonight. They earlier told the Herald they were absolutely stunned when Tom Tom's first cancelled on them.

"I'm still lost for words," Shwe said.

The couple were looking forward to celebrating their big day with family and friends. Photo / Supplied

They are due to marry at St Lukes Church in Remuera and had chosen Tom Tom's for its proximity and because it had a large dancing space and wheelchair access for Paul's mother.

A balloon arch, photo booth and venue stylist were all booked for Tom Tom.

When the couple earlier asked what the venue would do to compensate them, they were told the venue next door La Zeppa was available at the same price and that Tom Tom could possibly pay for some hot chips to compensate for its smaller meals.

But Shwe said it was like getting a hand-me-down venue and they wouldn't move there.

This was because La Zeppa did not have enough room for all their guests and didn't have a suitable dancefloor.

It was also too late for Shwe and Paul to cancel. The majority of their guests live in Auckland and some family members are flying over from Australia, while the couple are due to fly on their honeymoon a few weeks after the wedding.

Tom Tom Bar and Eatery in Victoria Park cancelled a wedding reception two weeks before the date because they had a more lucrative offer. Photo / Dean Purcell

Having dated for eight years, they became engaged last January. Shwe's mother died from cancer two years ago and Paul's mother also had a stroke so they decided to marry sooner to share it with all their loved ones.

They had also saved for the wedding themselves and are now worried they would end up spending more than they had budgeted for at another venue.

"I was like, 'In the future please don't, I'm begging you, don't take any other wedding bookings if you do this to people because that's horrible. It's traumatic. What's the whole point of the deposit, where's the integrity," Shwe said.

Tom Tom owner Rav Brar said the cancellation was due to a miscommunication.

"The understanding was that if we could move them next door and not compromise their plans - only then we would let them move," he said.

"Because we understand that it's a wedding - we host weddings all the time - it's just unfortunate that our events manager didn't pass on the right message."

"She's experienced but she's new to the job and due to the nature of the business she just didn't know."

He had contacted Shwe and offered both options.

"We will honour her booking because she booked before anyone else did."

The couple plan to head overseas for their honeymoon a few weeks after tying the knot. Photo / Supplied

But Shwe said they wouldn't be going back to Tom Tom's and doubted the sincerity of the offer to return.

"I definitely don't think they would have retracted what they had done if they weren't being contacted by New Zealand Herald," she said.

"This has definitely made it all a lot more stressful, if this hadn't happened, everything would have been pretty much sorted."

While Shwe didn't have a contract with Tom Tom she did have an invoice and an email confirming the venue had received the deposit and blocked out the dates for them.

Consumer head of research Jessica Wilson said the couple would be well within their rights to ask for compensation because the restaurant had verbally agreed to give them the venue on that date and they had paid a deposit based on that.

An MBIE spokesperson said the couple's rights depended on what was agreed between them and the wedding venue, even if it was in a conversation.

"If the contract has been breached, or the services were misrepresented to them, the couple may be entitled to seek compensation for any loss that they suffer as a result."

If the venue did not provide compensation, then the couple could make a claim to the Disputes Tribunal.

University of Auckland Associate Professor Alexandra Sims said it was a good example of how bad the current law was.

She said usually the venue would return the deposit, but a contract could contain a clause allowing the wedding venue to keep the deposit which would be classed as an unfair contract term.

"While NZ has a law against unfair contract terms, the law is pretty much useless because only the Commerce Commission has the ability to go to court over the use of unfair contract terms."