‘We’ve lost everything after Lancashire venue shuts’

“We have lost everything, it’s all gone”.

A heartbroken bride-to-be says she and her fiancé have lost £6,500 following the abrupt closure of a Lancashire wedding venue.

Nikita Stewart, 30, and Jack Smith, 31, from Morecambe, were due to get married at The Mill at Conder Green, in Lancaster, this coming summer.

The couple, who have been together for nine years, said they had no contact from the venue until administrators called them on Wednesday evening to tell them it was “unlikely they would get their money back”.

The BBC has approached FRP Administrators for comment.

For Ms Stewart, she says the news has left her “numb”.

“We thought, ‘it’s going to be a great year, we’ve had a baby, we are going to get married’,” she said.

“I don't think it has hit me yet. We have given up so much of our life to pay for this wedding and the venue has just closed, they have not even said sorry”.

After being notified by a family friend, the couple said they had tried to call The Mill at Conder Green but – after no success – drove to the venue, which they said was “completely empty”.

“There was just a piece of paper on the door with a sign that said ‘closed’ in red writing,” added Ms Stewart.

The Mill was built around 1740 and is close to a lock serving the Glasson branch of the main Lancaster canal way, making it a popular attraction for weddings.

The four-star venue won Countryside Wedding Venue of the Year at the 2024 Wedding Fayres Lancashire Wedding Awards.

It has been on the market for offers in the region of £2.3m since last summer but Ms Stewart said she had been assured weddings would still be going ahead, with hers booked for 31 July.

Hundreds of others have also been left without a wedding venue.

Jay Murray, 31, and James McInnes, 31, from Morecambe, were due to get married there on 7 March, describing it as “everything they were looking for”.

“We were both shocked when we found out, we had absolutely no inclination there was anything wrong,” said Ms Murray.

The couple spent £7,500 and said they had paid up until 8 February for accommodation for family travelling from Scotland.

“To think, in that moment, everything had been for nothing was just awful,” she said.

The couple say they have reorganised their wedding for the same date at the Ashton Memorial in Lancaster and at Lancaster Brewery, thanks to securing wedding insurance.

But not all those affected have taken out a policy.

Venues across Lancashire have been offering support, honouring deposits and expressing availability.

“We are lucky we have some great people around us helping us where we can but I know not everyone is fortunate to be in that situation,” she added.