Hannah Moore is one of many brides and grooms left devastated by the cancellation of their weddings following the closure of Holm House. The luxury hotel in Penarth, confirmed yesterday that it was the latest business to fall victim to the cost-of-living crisis.
Hannah from Cardiff, had planned her big day at Holm House in May. She selected it as her wedding venue with partner Daniel Coombes as they have many emotional connections to Holm House.
She said: “We just loved it. The first time we ever stayed overnight anywhere together was at Holm House, our anniversaries, the night we got engaged we went there, so many memories there.” You can keep up to date with the latest What's On news by signing up to the newsletter here.
These connections include her dad and nan, who have both now sadly passed away, also visiting Holm House. Hannah explained: “Even though my dad has never been there with me, he has been there, and at the start of last year because it was my wedding venue we took all my aunties and my nan, who sadly passed away in May 2023, we took her and we went for afternoon tea. I’ve got memories of my nan, who isn’t here anymore now, at that venue because I thought it was going to be my wedding venue. It breaks my heart so much more because I had such an emotional connection to the venue, it was so much more. It wasn’t just ‘oh it is my wedding venue’ it has so much more to it.”
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After missing a call from Holm House, believing it was about her menu tasting which was supposed to take place next week, Hannah rang back to find out the devastating news. She said: “My heart sank… I have envisioned what my day is going to be like, getting ready, I knew what rooms we were going to stay in, our invites have gone out, our menu choices have been picked, all my guests have RSVP.” Want less ads? Download WalesOnline’s Premium app on Apple or Android.
Hannah booked Holm House in 2021 and has spent three years planning her wedding and is now faced with organising a wedding in just four months. She said: "I am very organised and now four months to plan what I have planned in three years. It is not the same. I never actually went and viewed the other venues because I knew Holm House is where I wanted my wedding… I just knew that was my wedding venue so to now not be getting married there is absolutely devastating.”
On Wednesday, January 31 Holm House announced they were closing and General Manager, Dan Jones said: “We’ve tried our best to navigate through the challenges we faced as a hospitality venue in the post-covid era only to be hit by another storm, the cost of living crisis. We are a luxury offering and as people made cutbacks and another harsh winter hit, it has become increasingly hard to justify Holm House as a commercially viable, seven-day-a-week business. Our restaurant and spa has been hit the hardest and whilst the weekends are booming you can hear a ‘pin drop’ midweek at this time of year.”
It was Dan who spoke to Hannah to tell her that her wedding was cancelled. She said: "You could hear his heart break… by the end of the phone call I was crying and you could just hear in his voice, you can see they are struggling to hold it back themselves. They are losing their jobs as well, it is not just us being affected, they are affected too. I just hope everyone affected by it is OK, not just the couples. The staff as well, I really really feel for them because it is such a horrible situation for them to be in. I hope they are all OK as well. My heart goes out to all of them.”
Hannah now faces the next four months to organise her wedding as well as tackling any extra costs as prices have gone up dramatically since 2021. She will be receiving a full refund from Holm House. She said: "I am still excited but I also don’t feel as excited as I was. I know on the day it will all come together but at the moment you are spiralling. I don’t know what is going on, I don’t know if I am going to like these venues if I can even afford these venues."
