A bride-to-be will have her day in court after she was told the venue operator at Hunter Valley's Calvin Estate had gone into liquidation just 10 weeks before her wedding.
Emily Faulks and her partner Jacob Mosley had already forked out $7500 for their special day, set for March 25, the same day the Central Coast couple met seven years ago.
She's one of several brides who were told over email that weddings had been cancelled because the operator, Venue 1 Pty Ltd, had been locked out of the premises after it went into arrears.
On Tuesday, Ms Faulks will have her matter heard at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) at Newcastle.
"We want to try and get back as much as we can not for ourselves, but to give hope to other brides in the same situation - we're a bit of a trial run," she said.
"My partner and I were talking about this yesterday and my anxiety has increased a lot, I was so excited for our wedding day and now I'm really anxious because all of this happened so suddenly.
"We've been together for seven years, so we were excited for what's supposed to be the happiest day of our lives, but until we're walking down the aisle we'll be looking over our shoulders wondering what could happen next - and that's a terrible feeling."
The Herald contacted Venue 1 director Richard Wake for comment, who said he was not aware of Tuesday's hearing.
A search of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on Monday did not show the business had been formally placed into liquidation.
According to ASIC, the business is still registered.
Mr Wake did not respond to a question from the Herald regarding the current status of the business or whether an administrator had been appointed.
Couples who were looking forward to celebrating at Calvin Estate were told in an email in January that their weddings couldn't go ahead "due to the business being liquidated".
In it, director Richard Wake said the company had been unable to pay rent.
"We did make a last ditch offer to the landlord to enter a short-term "lease as required" arrangement which would have enabled us to still run your wedding, however the landlord is completely unwilling to offer any alternatives other than to lock us out," the email said.
Landlord Rajiv Shah purchased the property in May 2022 and rented the property out to Venue 1 for weddings and events.
At the time Venue 1 said it had "gone into liquidation", Mr Shah said he was pursuing legal advice over rent he was owed and encouraged affected couples to seek their own.
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