It was supposed to be the most special day of their lives for Denise and her fiancé, Mike Ruh. After dating for 10 years, they were all set to be wed at the Avanti Mansion and Mike could not have been more excited for the big day.
“It was so beautiful there and if you’ve ever been to the Avanti, they have a gorgeous staircase,” said Denise. “Mike had bad knees, so he waited a week before the wedding to get his injection for them because he wanted to run up and down the stairs. One day when we met with the wedding consultant he decided he wanted to practice. He was running up and down the stairs at 62 years old. We were laughing hysterically. The whole thing was great until it wasn’t anymore. God had a different plan.”
Mike suffered a heart attack and unexpectedly passed away a week before the wedding. Denise was heartbroken to say the least.
“This was supposed to be our second chance,” said Denise. “We dated for 10 years and we were both married 20 years prior to our other spouses. Who ever thought we would get married again?” said Denise.
With sadness in her heart, Denise was left without the love of her life… and she was also left with the expense of paying for a wedding. While the venue did refund some of the deposit, Denise still had $4,000 left to pay.
“I made several attempts to personally discuss the tragic outcome with the venue’s administration and after being dismissed, family and friends and strangers went on Facebook to support me,” said Denise.
The venue then addressed this outcry of support for Denise and posted a status that stated they would gladly refund Denise her remaining deposit and they would also make a donation to the American Heart Association in honor of the groom. It’s been a year since this Facebook post and they did neither of these things.
Here’s what happened.
“I did receive a contract in the mail to sign from their lawyer stating that they would refund the money on two conditions. One – I had to make a public apology to them on social media (even though I never said anything about them) and second – if anyone – family, friends, strangers, anyone – said anything negative about the venue I would be charged $5,000. This appeared in small print in the contract. I was appalled.”
So not only did Denise not sign the contract – forcing her to pay off the remaining balance – the venue also never made a donation to the American Heart Association in honor of Mike.
“I was a happier woman when I paid that off,” said Denise. “It was a million rocks coming off my shoulders. I’ve forgiven, but I’ll never forget.”
Denise says she’s moved forward from the painful experience. She says, “it never gets easier, but it does get different. Every day is different.”
She hopes other wedding venues will show more kindness and compassion to those who suddenly lose a spouse.
“When you’ve gone through such an awful ordeal, to be treated the way I was by this venue wasn’t right. But I’ve moved forward. That’s what Mike would have wanted.”
