It went from a fairy tale to a fiasco. <\/p>\n
Numerous brides who had booked six-figure weddings at New York City\u2019s legendary \u2014 and ultra-luxury \u2014 Plaza Hotel have been left scrambling to find altar-nate venues after the bombshell announcement that it was closing <\/a>in January for at least four years.<\/p>\n Christine Carney, whose costly May 1 wedding had been booked almost a year in advance, only learned that her dream day was dashed when a friend texted her about the closure.<\/p>\n The 38-year-old Chicago-based bride, who had wanted to tie the knot at the opulent hotel since childhood, told The Post she spent seven agonizing minutes on hold with the hotel\u2019s concierge \u2014 before being told that her 200-guest wedding was suddenly without a venue.<\/p>\n The Plaza Hotel will be closed for years for renovations. Chad Rachman\/NY Post<\/p>\n To make matters worse, she told The Post, \u201cWe haven\u2019t yet had anyone from the plaza reach out to tell us what next steps are and what happens with our money.<\/p>\n The photographer, band, flowers, and rentals have all been secured with deposits, while her rehearsal dinner and welcome party are still up in the air.<\/p>\n Christine posing for engagement pictures. Claudia Lumperdean<\/p>\n \u201cEverything for spring books up so quickly we would have to hope they\u2019re willing to refund us so we can find a replacement, or we\u2019d have to eat the deposit and find a replacement anyway,\u201d she groaned.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m definitely frustrated and disappointed that this happened, and I\u2019m anxious to figure out what the next steps will be.\u201d<\/p>\n And with save-the-dates already sent, downsizing isn\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n So for her, the show must go on.<\/p>\n The question is just where\u2026 and when. And that part is sending high-end event planners<\/a> into a frenzy.<\/p>\n Christine and her fiance posing together. Claudia Lumperdean<\/p>\n For Alyssa Pettinato, owner of Alinato Events and Carney\u2019s wedding planner, the sudden shutdown means planning the entire extravagant affair<\/a> all over again \u2014 for free.<\/p>\n \u201cTechnically, we are getting penalized as planners,\u201d Pettinato told The Post. \u201cAm I allowed to ask them for payment for this?\u201d<\/p>\n The planner said the wedding band has already been difficult about a possible date change, creating yet another expensive headache.<\/p>\n And the predicament isn\u2019t entirely unheard of: Pettinato said this is the third wedding she\u2019s had to replan this year because of venue-related disruptions.<\/p>\n Guests attend a lavish event in The Plaza Hotel\u2019s Grand Ballroom. Rabbani and Solimene Photography\/Getty Images for FIT<\/p>\n But the veteran event planner says the announcement feels out of left field and, for a place as prestigious as the Plaza<\/a>, the lack of communication has been particularly shocking.<\/p>\n Pettinato said she was still working with hotel employees on room-block contracts when news of the closure broke \u2014 and believes staff members were completely unaware.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople who have been working there for decades are blindsided,\u201d she said. \u201cIt feels like it was a leak because they seem extremely ill-prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n Hannah Livingstone, a 30-year-old bride from Scotland, booked eight nights in a Plaza suite for roughly $9,000.00 and splurged on first-class flights to New York for an intimate February wedding with her partner, James McPherson.<\/p>\n A general view of one of the ballrooms. WireImage<\/p>\n A lifelong fan of American romantic comedies and Sex and the City, Livingstone planned a first look to capture the moment the couple sees each other for the first time in the Plaza\u2019s bar, wedding photographs, and even dress-steaming services.<\/p>\n Instead, she discovered the hotel was closing while scrolling TikTok\u2014a rather 1-star experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, no, that surely can\u2019t be right,\u201d Livingstone told The Post.<\/p>\n Just weeks earlier, she\u2019d been in contact with the hotel to firm up her booking and preparation for the day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit mad to me that they\u2019ve still been taking bookings and still being in contact like things are as normal,\u201d she said, adding that she is still yet to hear directly from the hotel and her wedding is 4 months away.<\/p>\n The hotel offers bridal suites and entire experiences designed to make a wedding memorable. Steven Chrappa<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m quite stressed out obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple still plans to marry in New York on the same date, but finding another comparable hotel has been disappointing, and the timing couldn\u2019t be worse.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m actually going away this weekend for my hen do, so obviously I was very upset last night,\u201d the bride said. \u201cIt has come at a pretty rubbish time.\u201d<\/p>\n The hotel management has attributed the closure to extensive restoration work on its landmark-protected fa\u00e7ade, citing the undertaking\u2019s complexity and safety considerations.<\/p>\n But some planners familiar with the venue<\/a> told The Post that the hotel\u2019s gilded grandeur hides interiors that have begun to show their age.<\/p>\n Brides are now scrambling since their Plaza-planned weddings are being canceled. Rabbani and Solimene Photography\/Getty Images for FIT<\/p>\n Casey Kaufman, founder of Imagine Party and Events, has planned numerous lavish affairs at the Plaza<\/a> over the years and estimates weddings at the legendary landmark can run upward of $1,200 per guest \u2014 with elaborate celebrations easily reaching $500,000 or more.<\/p>\n Kaufman recalled one wedding where her team essentially built an entirely new room inside a Plaza event space, erecting temporary walls to conceal the originals.<\/p>\n At another, they installed new window treatments to disguise dated architectural features.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve taken people to the Plaza recently, and they\u2019re just like, it\u2019s dated,\u201d she said, noting that costly d\u00e9cor upgrades can pile onto an already astronomical bill.<\/p>\n With the newly renovated Waldorf Astoria back in business<\/a>, Kaufman speculated the hotel may have felt pressure to keep up, adding that she\u2019d be surprised if it didn\u2019t use the four-year closure to refresh its ballrooms, too.<\/p>\n Many are devastated over their Plaza dreams being over, thanks to year-long renovations. Zach Hilty\/BFA.com\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n