It’s a bride’s worst nightmare. Two weeks ahead of her wedding, a woman received an email from her event coordinator that the company had closed “effective immediately,” leaving her ceremony and hundreds of guests hanging, in addition to losing her money entirely.
Taking to her TikTok page on Monday (April 22), Katelyn Stalboerger shared a video of herself completely devastated and pleading with her viewers for help upon learning that the company organizing her nuptials had abruptly ceased operations.
Highlights
- Bride-to-be Katelyn Stalboerger's wedding venue closed abruptly, losing her $10,000 and leaving 185 guests stranded.
- Katelyn's venue closure was blamed on economic changes.
- The bride's desperate plea for help went viral, amassing 3.3 million views on TikTok.
In her teary clip, which has since amassed 3.3 million views, Katelyn explained that she received an email from Circle B Wedding and Events, the event planner, stating that they had closed their venue “effective immediately,” leaving her wedding party “nowhere to go.”
The desperate bride further revealed that she didn’t get her money back before asking if anyone in her planned location could help.
“We’re just trying to figure out what to do,” Katelyn emotionally expressed.
Katelyn Stalboerger was informed two weeks before her wedding that her venue shut down, taking her $10,000 deposit and offering no refund
Image credits: FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul
As per the distressed wife-to-be’s wedding planner page, Katelyn and her fiancé, 28-year-old Isaac Nelson, had plans to tie the knot on May 4, 2024, in Isanti, Minnesota, USA, where their church, the Church of Saint Paul, is located.
But with their plans going bust, the couple, who have known each other since high school, have been left in a desperate situation, as Katelyn wrote in her viral TikTok video’s caption: “PLEASE HELP our wedding venue just told us they are closed effective immediately and we have nowhere to go and are out all of the money.”
TikTok users have urged the bridal partner to “sue” and “dispute charges,” with some even offering a helping hand, as a person commented: "My family owns Pondview Farm in Cambridge, definitely reach out to them right away!"
Image credits: katelynstalboerger
“If they don’t already have a wedding booked, I’m sure they will accommodate you!!”
Someone else noticed: “What’s crazy is I’ve been seeing Circle B ads for months now.
“They’ve been advertising for new bookings, KNOWING they would close.”
A separate individual chimed in: “I’m a local HMUA that does a lot of weddings at Circle B.
“I just got the news this morning and all my brides are scrambling.
“You’re not alone, and I’m so sorry this is happening to you.”
Katelyn was to marry Isaac Nelson on May 4 with 185 guests, but the couple has now lost their wedding venue and money
Image credits: Katelyn Stalboerger
In another TikTok video, Katelyn shared a screenshot of Circle B’s email, which blamed its closure due to “changes in the economy.”
“It is no longer possible to maintain the business in the current economic environment, the change in the economy, proliferation of new wedding venues in the market, and most importantly, increased costs have forced the management to make the difficult decision to close this historic venue,” the email stated.
Yesterday (April 23), the worried fiancée shared a follow-up clip of herself, clarifying that she had tried to call Circle B, but she could only reach the company’s voicemail.
Image credits: KARE 11
Katelyn further unveiled that the event planner had deleted its websites and social media, which Bored Panda has verified and can now confirm.
“There are no traces of them anymore,” the Minnesotan stressed, adding that her wedding was in 12 days.
Katelyn did reveal that she “may have found one place,” but it only accommodates 150 people, whereas her wedding party consists of 185 guests.
“We just have to make it work with extra people,” the 26-year-old said, adding that she hoped to get “some money back.”
Katelyn received an email from Circle B saying they were closing due to "the current economic environment"
Image credits: katelynstalboerger
In an interview with Fox 9 on Monday, Katelyn revealed that she had booked Circle B in Isanti a year ago and paid more than $10,000 upfront.
"I think I'm more sad just because I had this day in my mind of what it was going to look like and that all came crashing down really fast in one email," she told the Minneapolis-based news channel.
Upon receiving the bombshell email from Circle B on Sunday (April 21), Katelyn recalled: "Honestly, at first I thought it was a scam.
"I realized it wasn't a scam when their website was gone and shortly after they deleted all of their social media."
Image credits: FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul
According to the local County News Review Hometown Source, Katelyn had been coordinating the wedding all the way from Alabama, where she goes to college.
Luckily, the vendors she and Isaac hired have reportedly been very flexible and even checked in on them to make sure they were OK.
“We’re hoping that one of the venues that we’re now starting to talk with, we’re able to just book and still enjoy our day,” Katelyn told the local paper.
You can watch Katelyn's viral TikTok below:
The crushing news affected other couples, including Mikayla Minikus and her fiancé, who she revealed had saved up for a year to book Circle B for their wedding on June 1.
She told Fox 9: "I'm devastated. I don't know how to feel. My heart, it's just broken.
"You dream about this as a little girl and you don't ever think that this would happen and it happened."
Bored Panda has contacted an employee at Circle B for comment.
"They need to be prosecuted," a reader commented
