Cape Town – The Goodwood couple, whose wedding day was ruined by their caterer, has been refunded – in part.
On Thursday, the bride and groom confirmed that R17 000 they paid to Natasha Lombard of I Do Weddings has been deposited back into their bank account.
This excludes the R4 000 the bride paid for a bridesmaid’s dress and her own botched wedding gown.
Lombard, from Malmesbury, also spoilt their big day when she failed to organise their reception.
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But the groom said: “Even though the money was paid back, it will never bring back the day my wife and I planned for 17 years.”
The couple, who has two kids, tied the knot last Saturday after dating for 17 years.
But to their horror, when they arrived at the reception, they found an empty hall.
Lombard and her “drunk” husband, Shane, were arrested at the Ridgewood Sport and Recreation Centre in Goodwood after telling wedding guests that the food had gone off.
Shane Lombard Picture: Daily Voice
The disappointed and embarrassed couple say they celebrated their wedding by buying take-aways for their close family.
But there is light at the end of this tunnel.
The bride, 31, who went into a depression after her disastrous wedding, said that a new reception will take place some time next month, thanks to the generosity of readers.
“We could have done it on the 1st of April, but then realised that’s on April Fool’s Day.
“So we thought we’d rather avoid that date to prevent any more disasters from happening again,” she joked.
“We are getting so much more than we even spent on our wedding.
“We didn’t expect this response from people, but we welcome it and we are so overwhelmed.”
Empty reception venue in Goodwood. Picture: Supplied
Among the offers the couple received from empathetic readers are new dresses for the bride and bridesmaid, a suit for the groom and best man, a venue, wedding cake, full catering, a photographer, sound and lighting, and cutlery and crockery.
The couple added: “We are so happy to be getting a chance to do it all over again.
“Thank you to the Daily Voice and readers for making it all happen.”
Lombard has not responded to any of the Daily Voice’s queries.