CORAOPOLIS, Pa. \u2014 Brides from Detroit to Pittsburgh said they were blindsided after they learned a highly recommended mobile bartender stopped showing up to events \u2013 and announced she had sold her business.<\/p>\n
Michigan-based Sip of Eden\u2019s sudden announcement last Friday left at least 100 brides scrambling to get answers and find a new vendor.<\/p>\n
According to a spreadsheet WPXI was given access to, the brides discovered Sip of Eden had booked more than one wedding for the same date, often several hours\u2019 drive apart. She promised a discount to the brides if they paid in full in a single lump sum.<\/p>\n
The brides say they\u2019re collectively out tens of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had the contracts. She had great reviews. She had a recommendation from our venue,\u201d Ashley Stough said. \u201cPeople were recommending her everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stough and other brides say the business\u2019 now-former owner, Eden Regula, gave multiple conflicting reasons for no-showing her events that didn\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n
WPXI tried to reach Regula and her husband without success. Regula\u2019s number was disconnected Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The man who bought Regula\u2019s business promised, in an email, to honor any contracts paid in full. He did not respond to a follow-up question about Stough\u2019s event. She has already hired another bartender.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like the money is lost, but I am still willing to fight for it,\u201d Stough said. \u201cI hope whatever happens that she had a grand time with it because I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be a grand time now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several brides posted screenshots of complaints filed with their state\u2019s attorney general. Others said they filed lawsuits against Regula in small claims court.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf enough people do complain, then sometimes those cases do reach the tipping point, and the attorney general will follow through,\u201d Pittsburgh-based attorney Todd Elliott said, in addition to recommending people not contract across state lines to make lawsuits easier.<\/p>\n
Stough said the stress level has gone down now that she\u2019s rescued her own wedding, but she still wants answers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else are you supposed to do?\u201d she said. \u201cIf there is someone else, whether it be 2027, because she was still booking into that year \u2013 I mean, well into that year, like we\u2019re talking the fall — I don\u2019t want them to feel alone. I want them to be able to have a resource and welcome them into our odd group chat of just camaraderie.\u201d<\/p>\n
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