Couple’s Crown Hotel wedding nightmare

A Stone couple who were due to celebrate their wedding at the Crown Hotel on 10th August have spoken of their shock at the historic venue’s closure this week. 

Teachers Hannah Mclean and Lee Hawthorn were due to hold their wedding reception at the Crown on Saturday 10th August after tying the knot at St Michael’s Church – but the closure of the Crown earlier this week has put their plans into chaos.

The couple found out that their 18-months-in-the-making preparations had been cruelly scuppered on Wednesday, when they received texts and phone calls from friends and family telling them that the Crown had closed down.

“We thought they were winding us up,” said Lee. “It just seemed total madness what they were saying. We’ve lived in Stone for two years now and we love it here. We’ve really fallen in love with the town and we never thought for a single minute that the Crown would close down. It’s been a bombshell, it really has. There have been a lot of tears over the last few days and friends and family have really rallied round, but we’re doing all we can to make our big day happen.”

The couple are getting married at St Michael’s and had planned to walk with their guests the short distance to the Crown for their wedding reception and celebrations. They – and many friends and family members – were going to stay over at the hotel.

Now their plans are in disarray – but they’re determined that their big day will be going ahead.

And, as Hannah said, they’re very aware that they’re not the only people suffering in the aftermath of the Crown’s shock closure.

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“We don’t want a big sob story. We’re fully aware that a lot of people have suffered here, not just us,” she said. “People at the Crown have been made redundant and we don’t want those people to think that we’ve forgotten that. It’s just that we’ve been building up to our wedding for 18 months and the closure of the hotel has been the biggest shock you can imagine.”

Here’s Hannah and Lee’s story in their own words…

Against all the odds, the couple have managed to secure a new venue – Consall Hall, between Wetley Rocks and Cheadle – thanks to a last-minute cancellation there, and Hannah and Lee say the staff there have been “fantastic”.

They’re getting on with making their big day as good as it can possibly be, but they’re facing some major obstacles. They haven’t got a place to stay themselves, while friends and family who are travelling from all over the country to share their celebrations, and who were originally booked to stay at the Crown, are finding it difficult to find accommodation near to Consall Hall.

They’ve had to scale down their wedding considerably as their budget just won’t stretch far enough at Consall to include what they’d booked at the Crown – they’re not having a sit-down meal now, for example, but a high tea of sandwiches and cakes instead. They’ve had to book a coach company to ferry their 100+ guests from St Michael’s Church to Consall Hall.

The couple insist that they’re not looking for charity. But if anyone has any information to help them with any of the following, then please do get in touch by emailing news@alittlebitofstone.com and we’ll pass your details on to Hannah and Lee…

• Do you know of any accommodation that may have vacancies, for Hannah and Lee themselves, and for their guests?
• Do you know of a DJ who may be available on 10th August for their hastily rearranged reception at Consall Hall?
• Do you know anyone who’s available to do Hannah’s hair and make-up for the reception?

The Crown Hotel is now up for sale for £1.5 million. More details HERE