Christine Carney learned her Plaza Hotel NYC wedding had lost its venue after a friend texted her, then she spent seven minutes on hold before being told her 200-guest May 1 celebration was suddenly without a place to go. The hotel will close in January for at least four years, forcing brides with booked dates to start over.
Carney had booked almost a year in advance, and she said the Plaza had not yet told her what the next steps were or what would happen with her money. Her photographer, band, flowers and rentals were already secured with deposits, while the rehearsal dinner and welcome party were still unsettled.
Christine Carney and Hannah Livingstone
Carney said, "We haven’t yet had anyone from the plaza reach out to tell us what next steps are and what happens with our money." She also said, "Everything for spring books up so quickly we would have to hope they’re willing to refund us so we can find a replacement, or we’d have to eat the deposit and find a replacement anyway," before adding, "I’m definitely frustrated and disappointed that this happened, and I’m anxious to figure out what the next steps will be."
Hannah Livingstone was in a different stage of planning but faced a similar scramble. She had booked eight nights in a Plaza suite for roughly $9,000.00 and had already splurged on first-class flights to New York for an intimate February wedding with James McPherson.
Alyssa Pettinato and Alinato Events
Alyssa Pettinato, who owns Alinato Events, said the shutdown means planning the entire affair all over again for free. She said it was the third wedding she has had to replan this year because of venue-related disruptions, and that she was still working with hotel employees on room-block contracts when the news broke.
Pettinato said, "Technically, we are getting penalized as planners," and asked, "Am I allowed to ask them for payment for this?" She added, "People who have been working there for decades are blindsided," and, "It feels like it was a leak because they seem extremely ill-prepared."
The Plaza Hotel
The closure has left numerous brides who booked six-figure weddings at the Plaza Hotel trying to find alternate venues, while contracts tied to spring and winter celebrations now have to be rebuilt. For couples with deposits already placed, the immediate issue is whether the hotel will refund money or force them to absorb the loss while they book elsewhere.
Carney is already dealing with that outcome for her May 1 wedding, and Livingstone is facing it from a suite reservation and travel costs tied to February. The first practical step for affected couples is to press for a written answer on refunds and what the hotel will do with existing bookings before they commit more money elsewhere.
