(Image: Supplied)
A couple has said they were left without a wedding caterer hours before the event was due to take place after a York company announced it would be entering liquidation.
It was supposed to be one of the happiest times of their lives – but the night before their wedding, all Lauren, 28, and Luke Marsland-Gray, 29, felt was stress.
The couple said they paid a “significant amount of money” for Dining by Matthew Hyde Ltd, which legally traded as Baba Ganoush – Dining by Matthew Hyde Ltd, to cater their wedding on Friday, October 2, at Hornington Manor, near Bolton Percy.
But at 11pm on October 1, Lauren said they were told that the company would cease trading on October 2, meaning it would be unable to cater their wedding.
“We were absolutely devastated,” she said. “What should have been an exciting evening celebrating with our closest family and friends turned into complete panic, stress and tears.”
Ashley Hyde, co-director of Baba Ganoush - Dining by Matthew Hyde Ltd (Image: Darren Greenwood)
Ashley Hyde, director at Baba Ganoush – Dining by Matthew Hyde Ltd, said the company, based at York Business Park and later at the Thorp Arch Trading Estate near Wetherby, was “genuinely devastated by the closure of Dining by Matthew Hyde and the impact it’s had on couples and their families, employees, venues and suppliers.”
“We completely understand the anger and disappointment, and the distress for those wedding that were disrupted at short notice. We never thought that that would happen.”
Ashley said the company, due to enter liquidation on October 30, has “personally reached out to every couple that has been affected” to “apologise and outline the options available to them”.
Lauren, from Mapplewell, Barnsley, said she managed to find catering for her wedding thanks to her “amazing family, friends and venue” who “pulled together and somehow managed to save the day.”
“We arranged a last-minute pizza van for our wedding meal, our in-laws rushed to Costco for cheesecakes, and our venue organised evening food.
“Against all odds, we had the most incredible wedding, but that was entirely down to the people around us.”
'Against all odds, we had the most incredible wedding' ... Lauren and Luke Marsland-Gray on their wedding day (Image: Supplied)
Since the wedding, Lauren said she has “been trying to get answers” from Baba Ganoush – Dining by Matthew Hyde Ltd’s directors, Ashley and Matthew Hyde.
“Although we’ve received apologies,” Lauren said, “we’ve been told the company cannot issue refunds, leaving us thousands of pounds out of pocket, alongside the additional costs of replacing the catering.”
“We feel completely let down and betrayed,” she added. “Ashley and Matthew [Hyde] could have ruined one of the most important days of our lives, and we feel as though our money has simply been taken with nothing provided in return.”
Lauren and Luke Marsland-Gray on their wedding day (Image: Supplied)
Ashley said Baba Ganoush – Dining by Matthew Hyde has “personally reached out to every couple that has been affected over that period of time to apologise and outline the options available to them".
“We’ve been dealing with, obviously, a high volume of correspondence,” she said. “It’s currently just myself that’s managing that because I want to get back to people personally.”
“We’re not ignoring people that have been affected – we remain committed to helping people as best as we possibly can,” Ashley added.
Caterer arrived late for wedding, father of the bride says
Meanwhile, Gary Mason said Baba Ganoush – Dining by Matthew Hyde Ltd catered the wedding of his daughter Sophie Mason to Oliver Wilken on Saturday, August 1, but he claimed the service was poor so he asked for a partial refund, which he is still waiting for.
Gary said the family paid Baba Ganoush – Dining by Matthew Hyde Ltd £5,500 to cater the wedding in the garden of his home in Ravenscar.
The wedding ceremony was at 1pm but Gary said Baba Ganoush – Dining by Matthew Hyde Ltd “eventually turned up at 12.50pm”.
Gary claimed the food served to the wedding guests by Baba Ganoush – Dining by Matthew Hyde Ltd was delayed by two hours and when the meals arrived, they were “awful”.
But Gary said the family “class ourselves as lucky. We had our wedding; we had some sort of food – although it was crap.”
Ashley said she has contacted Gary over the situation, adding that Baba Ganoush – Dining by Matthew Hyde Ltd’s team was late to the wedding due to an accident on the road that resulted in “gridlock” traffic.
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She also said the firm agreed to 75 per cent refund “prior to the company going into liquidation. And that was the intention to pay that to Mr Mason because we just didn’t want to argue any further – that was his experience.
“Obviously, we have entered into liquidation now so I am just seeking advice about we’re doing with that.”
Gary also noted that Ashley and Matthew Hyde are now listed as directors of a company called Marjoram Yorkshire Limited, according to Companies House.
Documents on Companies House show a company called Hyde Hospitality Limited changed its name to Marjoram Yorkshire Limited on October 6.
Marjoram Yorkshire Limited was incorporated on August 30, according to Companies House.
Ashley said she and her husband aim to carry on providing wedding catering through Marjoram Yorkshire Limited but as a smaller operation overseen by the couple.