A wedding venue in North Carolina won’t refund thousands of dollars after the groom passed away earlier this year! And the family is pissed!
According to an infuriating report on WRAL 5 On Your Side this week, Chris Perry proposed to his girlfriend, Kristen Seidel, while on vacation in Italy in 2024. She said yes, and when they returned home to North Carolina, they immediately jumped into wedding planning — starting with picking out the venue. The couple booked The Cotton Room, a 12,000-square-foot venue in Durham for October 11, 2025. Sadly, though, Chris and Kristen won’t get to exchange I do’s next month. Chris collapsed and died on May 12, just one day before his 33rd birthday. Kristen was the one who found his body. Heartbreaking.
And then insult was added to injury as she was informed she wouldn’t even get back her wedding deposit!
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Chris’ family told WRAL they contacted The Cotton Room about what happened within two days of his death to try to get a refund. Chris and Kristen had already paid the deposit for the venue — a whopping $18,000 to cover the food, drinks, and rental fees! Damn! Per the contract, that money is non-refundable. The family was hopeful the venue would make an exception. The Cotton Room did, but it came with conditions…
The venue reportedly told Kristen it would refund a portion of the money — if another group booked the same date! But no matter what, they’d keep $7,500 of the deposit since it “held [the] date [for] 11 months.” The place also “released the family from the remaining 50% balance of the contract.” Meaning… they weren’t going to charge them another 18k?
Michelle Aldred, the executive director of TC Hospitality Group, which owns The Cotton Room, explained the reasoning to WRAL 5, saying:
“During that time, we turned away other couples who inquired about booking October 11th. Deposits also support the advance planning, staffing, and operational commitments required to prepare for an event of this size. In other words, those funds are tied to the commitment of space, people, and resources leading up to the day — not just to what physically happens on the event date. We also released the family from paying the remaining balance of the contract, and we extend our deepest sympathy during this very difficult time.”
Uh, yeah, we understood why they’re potentially out some earnings. But the family is out a whole PERSON!
This isn’t a situation where the two called off the wedding or wanted to switch venues! The groom died unexpectedly! Couldn’t the venue bend the rules just this once, given the circumstances? It seems a bit cruel to a grieving family to go through all these hoops. At least give them half the deposit back without the new booking condition or something.
And speaking of that… The Cotton Room hasn’t been able to book the space! And with the wedding date being just a little over two weeks away, there’s probably no way they can get someone to take it! Not unless a miracle happens. That means Kristen won’t get a single penny back from the deposit! She’s losing out on a lot of money! Aldred claimed to the outlet that The Cotton Room staff tried their best to re-book the date, saying:
“Our intention has always been to handle this heartbreaking situation with care. After learning of Chris Perry’s passing, we honored the family’s request to rebook the date. We offered it to every client that inquired about dates in the fall of 2025 as well as advertised it online. Unfortunately, despite our good-faith attempts, the date has yet to rebook.”
Now, his parents, Sue and Bill Perry, are desperate for a solution at this point. Back in August, his mom even left a Google review for The Cotton Room explaining the situation. She wrote:
“Tragically, my son passed away on May 12, 2025, and his fiancée has requested that the contract with the Cotton Room be cancelled and their deposits be refunded due to this unfortunate situation. The Cotton Room has insisted that they ‘cannot’ refund the deposits paid, although they have done nothing to earn the nearly $20,000 that had been paid to them to date. How can a venue that specializes in the business of love, happiness and weddings have such a cold, cruel and compassionless response to this tragedy that my son’s family, fiancée and her family are dealing with.”
Sue claimed she requested meetings to talk it out with The Cotton Room, but it was unsuccessful, which is why she and her husband also contacted WRAL News 5 to tell this tragic story in the hopes that the venue would change its mind. The mom expressed:
“We can’t figure out what they could have spent the money on, they haven’t done anything, and they haven’t earned this money yet.”
Bill added:
“No parent should ever have to experience the loss of a child and having situations like The Cotton Room and what they’ve done or are doing just kind of keeps the wound open, yeah absolutely.”
Oof.
Unfortunately for the families, The Cotton Room is sticking by their decision. Michelle said:
“We stand by the integrity of our process, our decision; and continue to extend our condolences to those mourning this loss.”
Ironically, this is really bad press for the venue… and is probably just going to make it harder to book that evening!
What an awful situation. Learn more (below):
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Are you on the venue or family’s side? Sound OFF in the comments below!
[Image via WRAL/YouTube]
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