Bride devastated after wedding venue refuses to refund $8800 following fiancé's death

A bride whose fiancé died before their big wedding day is beside herself after the wedding venue is refusing to refund them their $7000.

UK man Guy Boswell died in March from heart failure following a short battle with cancer.

Guy and Fiona Boswell were legally married last October before his condition deteriorated, but had booked a bigger celebration for July with more guests.

Fiona, 50, chose Elm Farm Country House in Norfolk, England for their big day.

They were quoted £4500 (NZ$8800) for the event but now she's struggling to get a refund as it was too close to the date.

Fiona told the venue her husband had died and sought a refund, but she says their response was a flat no.

"Back and forth correspondence saw the venue had no compassion and were rude.

"The impact from this on myself and my family has been huge. It has made me angry."

The venue then offered to attempt to sell the day to other couples but Fiona said this idea left her in tears.

"I told them how upset this had made me, selling my day that was supposed to be a happy day shared with my family and friends, a day I will never get to do with Guy."

In an email to Fiona, Elm Farm Country House said they were informed of Guy's passing, writing "I am sorry to hear this sad news".

However, they then attached the terms and conditions Fiona had signed.

"As you can see from your terms and conditions, due to cancellation at this stage, full payment would be required to be paid if you hadn't done already. Once again, I am sorry to hear this sad news."

She now wants a change in the industry and has asked companies to add in clauses that cover unforeseen circumstances such as the death of a partner.

Fiona said the response from the company hasn't met up to their definition of a "fairy tale venue".

"A wedding day is a day that most girls think of from a very early age, this venue, I would say, does not meet the definition of a fairy tale venue."

"Our relationship was perfect, we were soul mates. He was the love of my life. We were both sad that we had not met earlier as young adults.

"The impact of his loss has been huge on his family and I. We were told he would not see old age but did not expect it this quick."

Friends of the couple have set up a GoFundMe page to help Fiona to replace the money spent on the venue.

This article was first published on the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.