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A marriage ceremony venue in North Carolina is reportedly refusing to return a deposit after the groom died 5 months earlier than his huge day — sparking outrage on-line and requires compassion.
Christopher Perry, a Durham resident, proposed to his fiancée, Kristen Seidel, in Italy in 2024. The couple booked The Cotton Room for Oct. 11, 2025, and paid over $18,000 in deposits for meals, drinks and rental charges — about half the entire contract, WRAL reported.
On Could 12, 2025, a day earlier than his thirty third birthday, Perry collapsed and died. Inside two days, the household notified the venue, a part of TC Hospitality Group.
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The corporate stated the deposit was nonrefundable as a result of it secured the date and lined “advance planning, staffing and operational commitments,” as an alternative providing a partial refund provided that the date was rebooked, which didn’t occur.
Workers on the venue, which is a former textile mill, stated it will hold the $7,500 rental deposit regardless and waived the remaining 50% steadiness of the entire invoice.
Christopher Perry, pictured right here, died someday earlier than his thirty third birthday and 5 months earlier than his marriage ceremony day. (Sue Leblanc Perry)
“They’re profiting off the demise of my son,” Christopher Perry’s father, Invoice Perry, stated in an interview with WRAL as he sat alongside his spouse, Sue Perry.
“No father or mother ought to ever need to expertise the loss of a kid – and having conditions like The Cotton Room and what they’ve accomplished or are doing simply type of retains the wound open,” Perry added.
“They have not accomplished something, they usually have not earned this cash but.”
His spouse stated the household could not determine what the venue would have spent the cash on already. “They have not accomplished something, they usually have not earned this cash but,” she stated.
Fox Information Digital reached out to TC Hospitality Group for remark.
The DJ, marriage ceremony planner and marriage ceremony photographer, in the meantime, all returned the deposits, in keeping with the New Hampshire-based mother and father.
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In a Fb submit, Sue Perry shared a private plea with others.
“How can a venue that focuses on the enterprise of affection, happiness and weddings have such a chilly, merciless and compassionless response to this tragedy that my son’s household, fiancée and her household are coping with?” she wrote.
Since her son’s demise, the homeowners have refused to have a name with the household, she added.
A marriage venue in Durham, North Carolina — as soon as a textile mill — is now going through consideration for a dispute that is gone viral. (Google Road View)
A whole bunch of individuals have taken to social media, Reddit and Google evaluations in help of the couple and their household, with many urging the corporate to rethink its determination.
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“Stunning for a family-run enterprise,” one man wrote on Fb.
“Atrocious,” one girl agreed. “They may lose greater than that deposit. …. They’ve misplaced their repute.”
“Legally, they’ve accomplished nothing unsuitable. …. Have they accomplished one thing morally unsuitable? Maybe.”
Nonetheless, in a Reddit group devoted to Durham, some folks defended the enterprise for its determination.
“[Four to five] months is final minute,” one individual wrote. “October is prime marriage ceremony season in North Carolina. …. Not stunning they could not fill a slot with just a few months’ discover.”
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Another person stated, “Legally, they’ve accomplished nothing unsuitable. …. Have they accomplished one thing morally unsuitable? Maybe.”
One marriage ceremony planner stated that firms are counting on deposits.
Perry’s father stated he believes the corporate is cashing in on his son’s demise. (Sue Leblanc Perry)
Raleigh-based marriage ceremony planner Haines Jones, who will not be affiliated with the household or venue, informed WRAL that many companies are “staying afloat on retainers” amid a post-pandemic stoop.
“I see each side,” she added. “On the finish of the day, I do suppose the household not less than deserved a partial refund.”
The corporate informed WRAL that funds made forward of an occasion aren’t tied dollar-for-dollar to food and drinks and famous that it waived the remaining 50% steadiness for the household.
“Deposits additionally help the superior planning, staffing and operational commitments required to organize for an occasion of this measurement,” Michelle Aldred, government director of TC Hospitality, informed the outlet.
Perry was remembered in his obituary as a lifelong athlete who cherished soccer, basketball and baseball, and as a pc science skilled who constructed a profitable profession. (iStock)
“Whereas our venue insurance policies don’t particularly plan for sudden deaths, we strongly encourage all {couples} to acquire occasion insurance coverage,” Aldred stated. “We stand by the integrity of our course of, our determination and proceed to increase our condolences to these mourning this loss.”
“We stand by the integrity of our course of.”
WRAL additionally reported that The Cotton Room stated, partially, “In our business, deposits serve two necessary functions: They assist cowl upfront prices and, equally necessary, they reserve a particular date solely for that shopper. On this case, the date had been held and faraway from availability for 11 months earlier than the unlucky passing. Whereas our deposit coverage is non-refundable, we deeply sympathize with the household’s loss.”
Perry’s mother and father stated the couple was “so excited” to tie the knot, and the dad famous his son “adored” his fiancée.
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Perry was remembered in his obituary as a lifelong athlete who cherished soccer, basketball and baseball, and as a pc science skilled who constructed a profitable profession, most not too long ago serving as a software program engineer.
Following Perry’s demise, a brand new know-how lab was inbuilt his identify at Fryeburg Academy, the Maine boarding college the place he attended highschool, his mother shared on Fb.