Financial Assistance for Wedding Couples Affected by The Willows Closure

As you've likely seen in the media, The Willows, an historic wedding venue in Melbourne, closed its doors without warning in late June, leaving 64 couples planning their special day in disbelief, shock and in many cases, tears.

Collectively, the couples paid The Willows a total of $323,000 in deposits, and none of them will get a dime back after liquidators moved in to take over late last week.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/more-than-60-couples-fleeced-in-willows-wedding-wipeout-20180627-p4zo4j.html


The company's balance sheet shows that it’s more than $1.3 million in debt and lists 135 unsecured creditors, according to documents lodged with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

The company owes more than $600,000 in unpaid loans from six high-interest lenders.

In situations like this, it’s the banks and other businesses that are first in line to receive any payouts, and it’s because of this that we know none of the 64 couples will see any of their deposits returned.

The Willows had been hitting up clients with requests for increased deposits as recently as three weeks ago, before pulling down the company’s website and Facebook page over the weekend along with their personal LinkedIn accounts, knowing full well they were going under. The fact that they asked couples for more of their money knowing this is downright deplorable.

These couples are now left without any funds to secure new venues, and have an extremely hard road ahead organising what should be one of the happiest day of their lives.

This is where we come in, and we really hope you can help. We’re Corey (Corey Wright Photographer) and Lochlan (Tango Films), and we’ve captured hundreds of weddings over the years, both at The Willows and other venues across Victoria. We get to see just how happy couples are on their wedding day, and it upsets us to know that 64 couples might not get to enjoy their day now because of this nightmare. We understand just how much goes into planning a wedding. The sheer time it takes to organise one is completely overwhelming, not to mention the cost. Aside from finding a new venue, many will need to consider new wedding dates due to availability at the new venues; contact dozens of other suppliers they've booked to ensure they're going to be available; and many friends and relatives who have planned to come from interstate and overseas will be affected. The list is huge.

With your help, we hope to raise as much as we can to help these couples enjoy an amazing day, and put this awful situation behind them. Lochlan and I will get the ball rolling with a donation of $500. Any amount paid by the conclusion of the campaign will be divided amongst the 64 couples (whose identities are withheld for privacy reasons), based on the total amount they paid individually to the venue.

Thank you so much for your support,

Corey & Lochlan.