Engaged couples left to find new wedding venue after Lenape Heights Golf Resort abruptly closes
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Couples are now left in limbo, forced to change their wedding plans after the venue they booked abruptly closed.
Imagine calling your wedding venue to check on a few last-minute details only to get no answer. You drive there hoping to talk to someone in person. Instead, you're greeted with a sign stating the resort is closed.
"I just immediately started crying. It's like a nightmare," bride-to-be Megan Kiebler said.
Kiebler and her fiance, Michael, are only 78 days away from their dream wedding at the popular Lenape Heights & Golf Resort in Armstrong County.
Or, at least, they thought.
"We haven't been able to get ahold of them, and I had a gut feeling this week that something just was not right, so we took a drive up Wednesday night and found a note on the door," Megan said.
Megan says she thought she was having a panic attack when she read the note posted on the entrance door of the resort. The abrupt closure has left the couple scrambling to find another venue to accommodate 170-plus guests for their May 4 wedding.
"Invitations were on the table to go out, and we have to reprint invitations, buy postage, to everything. At a time when I should be enjoying the last couple of months and doing the little things that give me joy, and now, I feel like I'm doing a whole second wedding."
In an email to Megan, management said the resort had been sold and would no longer be open for golf or events. To not leave Megan high and dry, the new owners are offering free use of the resort grounds while renovations for a new wellness center are underway.
KDKA-TV received part of the following statement from the resort that was sent to Kiebler.
"You would be responsible to rent a tent, catering and staff, purchase a cake and bring your own beverages. We will supply tables, chairs, chair covers, table linens, linen napkins, sashes and centerpieces at no charge."
"That's not what we planned, that's not what we paid for. I don't know how someone could do that and not honor what has already been booked there."
Lenape Wellness Center is expected to open later this year.
