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“Exciting news!” reads the caption above the reimagined photo of the ballroom posted by the Madison Hotel in Morristown on Dec. 8.
“The New Glynallyn Ballroom Coming Early 2023.”
But for many commenters — some who have paid tens of thousands and signed binding contracts based on the ballroom’s current color scheme — they’re anything but excited.
“Is this how it’s going to look like in February 2023? Really hope not, because I signed the contract for my wedding there and planned the decoration based on how the ballroom looked before - which was drastically different,” one commenter wrote.
“Black walls?! What are they thinking?!” a reply says. “So inappropriate for a wedding! No bride wants funeral colors on their wedding day.”
According to a joint letter from nine couples that was sent to the venue and obtained by NJ.com, the photo — which was accompanied by an identical post on the business’ Instagram page — was the first way many of them found out about the drastic change.
“We were not afforded a phone call, e-mail, or notification of any sort about the renovations,” the letter says, according to the outlet. “(We) can only imagine the frustration and horror on the faces of any couples who do not follow the Madison online and will be discovering the changes for the first time on their wedding days.”
Some commenters even expect legal action.
“Many couples booked based on the current look of the ballroom. Allegedly many of them learned about the renovations from social media and not from the venue itself,” one reply says. “This venue should probably anticipate legal action in the future. Definitely a breach of contract based on what was sold to these couples, which never included information about already planned renovations at the time couples signed the contracts.”
A co-owner of Clearview Hotel Capital, the investment group that purchased the hotel in June, Jon Kline, told NJ.com that the venue had reached out to everyone within 48 hours and that they felt as though the social media post was the “best way” to make the announcement.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” another furious commenter writes. “What you are doing to those poor brides is atrocious. There were so many better ways to handle this.”
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