Suppliers left standing at the altar as wedding show is axed

 
Rob Parsons17 January 2013

Wedding suppliers have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after a major exhibition was cancelled in London.

The organisers of The Designer Wedding Show, due to take place at Battersea Park between February 8 and 10, have suspended trading after admitting a slump in revenue.

Some of the 130 firms, including designers, photographers and florists, had paid in advance for their stalls and event costs and fear they may not get their money back.

The wedding show is described on its website as “the cherished favourite of brides passionate about quality and design” and “a luxurious oasis in which to find endless inspiration”.

Abby Gadd, 43, a former history lecturer at University College London, paid more than £2,000 for a stand and bought new marketing materials to promote her vintage accessories brand Cherished.

The designer, who lives in West Sussex, said exhibiting at the show would have been “an extremely important move for my business”.

Foxglove Events managing director David Wilkins wrote in an email to exhibitors this week that the company had “no alternative” to cancelling the show. He said: “The effect of a highly competitive market, together with an unforgiving economy, has meant that our revenues have been in decline.” Attempts to find another organiser for the show had failed. One exhibitor, who made her final payment to appear at the show on the day the cancellation was announced, wrote on the website that Foxglove shouldn’t have accepted her money.

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