Bride-to-be left without wedding venue, half of deposit after Bucks County restaurant suddenly closes without explanation
BENSALEM, Pa. (CBS) -- CBS3 is working to get results for a bride left without a wedding venue and half of her deposit -- more than $4,000. The frustrating ordeal began when a Bucks County restaurant suddenly closed without explanation.
Water's Edge is still closed Monday night more than a week after the bride learned her wedding would have to happen somewhere else.
She says she called the owner several times with no response. Now, she's worried she is never going to get her money back, and may even have to cancel her wedding.
"I went to make my last payment and I was told they could no longer hold my wedding and the owner was MIA," Kayla Kilpatrick said.
Kilpatrick was counting down the days until she gets to marry her fiance Steve.
But when she called her wedding venue two Sundays ago, Water's Edge in Bensalem, she says the caterer told her the business had suddenly shut down and Kilpatrick was left without her $4,300 deposit.
"She told me that it's happened to several people now at this point. Employees and herself haven't gotten paid since May," she said.
The Water's Edge Facebook page says it's temporarily closed for maintenance. An orange application on the door shows the owner is applying for a liquor license.
CBS3 spoke to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board who confirmed the current license expired on Feb. 14.
"I feel played. I feel like they knew the whole time that I wasn't going to have my wedding here," Kilpatrick said.
"It's happened so much more recently with staffing issues and COVID issues," Bucks County Director of Consumer Protection Michael Bannon said.
Bannon says he's now received three complaints about Water's Edge similar to Kilpatrick's since Friday. His advice: don't sign anything unless you know what happens if a business can't meet its obligation.
"The most important part of the contract for consumers is the cancellation part. Most contracts address the business needs and not the consumer needs in this situation and it's up to the consumer to make sure the language is in their contract in case something like this happens," Bannon said.
"It sucks because we really did like the venue," Kilpatrick said
For now, Kilpatrick is searching for a new place to say "I do," and hopes her story can help others avoid a similar fate.
"I just want my money back so I can move forward," she said.
CBS3 reached out to the owner of Water's Edge who said he cannot comment on current legal matters but says all who booked catering events have been contacted and reassured their deposits will be returned in the "very near future."
Kilpatrick says she never received this call.
