The biggest buzz around Canberra this week has been the closure of beloved food and wine destination, Pialligo Estate. While people are speculating what could have led to its downfall, the brides and grooms who had weddings booked are left wondering why they have been kept in the dark.

Last Friday, 24 March, the Estate shut down its website and social media, switched off their phone, and sent out an email to anyone who had a reservation. The notice told them that although the business owners had tried their best to survive the bushfires and pandemic, they had to temporarily shut their doors. Recipients were informed that they cannot guarantee the outcome of negotiations with financiers and anyone with bookings in the immediate future may want to mitigate their risks by considering alternative options.

Local bride-to-be, Katie [who didn’t want to use her full name], is frustrated.

“I called our two wedding coordinators; their mobiles are both being diverted to new people and were not answering. The emails went into the ether and I kept getting these bounce-backs where it says the emails kind of closed down. Web pages gone. Instagram, literally the day before I was looking at weddings at Pialligo, and now the Instagram’s completely gone, too,” says Katie.

Twelve years in the making, Katie and her husband-to-be to be decided to start a family before tying the knot. Now their kids are old enough and ready for a party after the pandemic lockdowns, the couple booked with the Estate last June for their big day in autumn 2023. After checking out other wedding destinations, such as Bowral, they were drawn to the vibe and openness at Pialligo.

The bride-to-be says the business should have been upfront if they knew they were in financial trouble. Just two weeks before the doors shut, Katie and her fiancé, and around nine other couples attended a tasting session there, and she says the couples were being pressured to pay up.

“I think it was a kind of last ditch effort. The two wedding coordinators walking around very much like ‘this is what’s going to happen, book in final dates and make sure we have final payments.’ They were all very pushy for the money,” she says.

After the deposit was paid and the contract signed, no further payments were required in full until 30 days out. Soon, though, a suggested payment plan was sent to the couple with most of the money to be paid before the due date, then in February they received another email saying the payments were overdue.

“Saying that we owed them $13,000 and I read the contract again and said that we don’t actually owe any of this money until 30 days out according to our contract. We started paying money; we thought ‘we’re going to have our wedding here, we might as well keep paying it anyway’,” she says.

So far, the couple has paid around $14,000 to the venue for their 90-person ceremony, canapes and drinks, followed by a sit-down dinner in the venue’s premium glasshouse location.

Family and guests travelling from interstate have already booked their accommodation, while the couple had also booked a band, soloist, photographer, photobooth, and hair and make-up artists for the day. Most of those contracts state the couple will forfeit their deposits if the wedding is cancelled, so that is potentially more money they face to lose, while the vendors themselves are now without an income from the bookings, beyond the deposit.

“It’s not fair on them either. They’ve booked this day, and they’re not probably, in this close time, going to get another booking,” Katie says.

Still hoping to have their wedding on that day and with little hope of getting their money back, Katie and her partner are going to have to change their expectations; their sit-down dinner will now likely be cocktails. Her heart goes out to the couples who are one or two weeks out from their big day.

“You’ve spent ridiculous amounts of money. Also, if you’ve got florists and stuff, it’s all been tailored for your wedding at Pialligo. Now you have to find a location that will be suitable and try to alter what you’ve already ordered,” she says.

Katie says the email statement last week was the last communication they have received from the venue, at the same time it went online via the media. For her, the lack of communication about the situation has been an extra sting on top of the already heartbreaking circumstances.

“Send one to people whose wedding is literally six weeks out, some people the week out or two weeks out, and you’ve taken upwards of $20,000. Show some actual heart and actually care,” she says.

Some online comments have forgotten that some people invest a significant amount of time in planning their weddings, some from childhood. She says it’s disheartening to read comments saying that if you’re having a wedding at Pialligo you’re obviously wealthy and can afford a new one.

“I think a lot of people, especially weddings, if you are spending a chunk you probably saved for it or you’ve got assistance from your parents or something to allow you to have this day,” Katie says.

Owner of Pialligo Estate, John Russell, issued his first statement since the closure last night, to say that after a hard fight, the business will be put up for sale. He said the small business tried as hard as it could but had succumbed to environmental factors like the Black Summer bushfires and pandemic restrictions, followed by increasing interest rates. Mr Russell’s statement made no mention about what would happen to those who have bookings, saying the fate of the venue is now in the hands of the financiers.

Katie says she believes it was dishonest of the venue to be taking bookings well into next year when they knew they were facing financial troubles.

“I actually think if people dug a little bit deeper, this has been a long time coming and it shouldn’t be kept a secret. They should not have been taking these deposits or pushing for these brides, who are vulnerable and are wanting this day and wanting this to take place, to be handing over large sums of money,” she says.

“It is a disaster and I think if they called us and [showed] some sort of sympathy, I think you’d probably feel a little more comforted by it,” Katie says.

Get local, national and world news, plus sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.