**Update – 23/10/15**
The Stormont Hotel in Belfast stepped in to help the bride and groom and save their big day.
Jonathan Topping, General Manager of the Stormont Hotel said:
“We contacted Leonie to let her know that we would only be too happy to help her rearrange her wedding.
“We are currently working closely with Leonie on all the finer details and I have no doubt that we will be able to give her and Neil a wedding they will remember forever!”
Leonie Kelly said: “I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when I received the call from the hotel who were confident that they would be able to make sure our dream wedding was still able to go ahead on Friday.
“We have contacted all our guests with the new information and Jonathan and his team at the Stormont are doing everything they possibly can to make sure our wedding goes off without another hitch!”
We are still waiting on the final word as to how the big day went, but you can be sure we will keep you in the loop.
A young Belfast bride is facing every girl’s nightmare this week, as her wedding venue has suddenly announced its closure.
Leonie kelly was due to wed in the Portaferry Hotel on the Strangford Lough on Friday October 23rd.
However, Belfast Live reports that the 300-year-old hotel has this week announced that it has shut its doors, with twenty people losing their jobs.
Portaferry Hotel closes with loss of more than 20 jobs after three centuries in business https://t.co/SYmL4a1SKy pic.twitter.com/FwSf47FROn
— Belfast Live (@BelfastLive) October 19, 2015
Speaking to BBC’s Good Morning Ulster: “I’ve had it planned since January to have my wedding here and I’ve come down this morning to find out that I’m not getting my wedding here.
“Family from England, from Belfast – they all had rooms booked here.
“The band, the DJ and the cake and everything that was due to arrive here on Friday.”
Davy Edmont, Unite Regional Officer, said: “This is a brutal blow for a small, rural community already suffering from the ongoing closure of Exploris aquarium.
“Taking the two closures together over 50 jobs have been lost in this locality in the past year. In response, Unite is calling for a meeting with Bill Wolsey, the owner, to discuss what plans, if any, he has for the long term of this well-known establishment.”
A spokeswoman for property landlord, Beannchor, confirmed the closure to the Irish Mirror.
Portaferry resident and Unite community activist, Greg Sachno has made a plea with stakeholders to save the hotel.
“My understanding is that customers having long-term bookings, including for one local wedding have been told that it will now have to find an alternative venue.
“Unite is calling a show of solidarity with everybody affected and will be organising a public demonstration outside the Portaferry Hotel this Thursday at 12pm.
“I am calling for all stakeholders to draw up a plan including a community-based strategy to save the hotel and get the staff back to work as soon as possible.”
H/T: The Mirror
