Fair or foul? Florida wedding venue refuses refund to woman after her fiancé dies

What was speculated to be one of many happiest days of Tye Hinson’s life, marrying her fiancé William Coney, turned tragic final November when Coney unexpectedly died of a coronary heart assault on the age of 42.

Now Hinson says the marriage venue the 2 have been set to tie the knot at is imposing a non-refundable coverage and refuses to return the hundreds of {dollars} Hinson and Coney gave them for his or her marriage ceremony day.

Hinson and Coney have been set to get married in Might of this 12 months. The pair had met greater than 20 years in the past and had lengthy determined to get married in Central Florida, signing a contract with the venue and paying a sizeable administrative charge.

“I known as (the venue) two days after he handed away to make them conscious,” Hinson instructed Orlando’s Information 6. “This wasn’t like a cancellation. This was an individual dying.”

The venue, the Crystal Ballroom of Lake Mary, is an all-inclusive occasion area. Because of established firm coverage, the venue opted to not void the contract that they had entered into with Hinson and as an alternative stored the $7,600 she had beforehand paid. Based on Hinson, an unidentified venue worker supplied to host another occasion for her.

“Her suggestion was, ‘Perhaps you are able to do a memorial right here in your marriage ceremony day,’” Hinson stated.

Crystal Ballroom proprietor Lukasz Rogowski instructed Information 6 that he knowledgeable anybody who books with the venue of its refund coverage and in addition encourages them to buy cancellation insurance coverage from third-party suppliers. He did specific sympathy for Hinson’s unimaginable loss.

“Providing compassion and providing refunds should not the identical factor, and each should exist inside a framework that’s honest, clear, and constant for all purchasers,” Rogowski stated.

Hinson paid the venue $2,000 when she first booked it in August 2025, and later paid an extra $5,609. The final fee she made was two days earlier than Coney’s loss of life. Hinson secured cancellations and refunds from all the opposite distributors she labored with to assist plan the ceremony and reception, regardless of these firms additionally having non-refund insurance policies.

“I perceive contracts. I’ve them,” Hinson stated, referring to the copy of the contract she signed with Crystal Ballroom. “I’ve issued a refund to somebody when a hurricane destroyed their residence earlier than their marriage ceremony. My compassion as a human being carries over into my enterprise.”

Rogowski contends that it’s not “correct” to match the choices of a marriage venue to a cake maker and even firms designated for flowers or different marriage ceremony requirements, as they don’t “function below the identical authorized, monetary or operational constructions.”

He added, “A full-service venue coordinates area, staffing, stock, and third-party providers months prematurely and incurs prices on a unique timeline than particular person distributors.”

A GoFundMe web page has been arrange for Hinson by her marriage ceremony planner. It has raised $4,480 as of publication and has a set aim of $5,000. The marketing campaign states, “We perceive contracts and insurance policies exist, we imagine compassion and care ought to at all times cleared the path, particularly after such a tragic loss.”

Rogowski was among the many people who donated to the GoFundMe. His $525 donation is the highest donation, and he says he made it with no affiliation with the marriage venue he owns.