It went from fairy tale to fiasco.
Many brides who had booked six-figure weddings at New York’s legendary and ultra-luxurious Plaza Hotel had to scramble to find altar– places after the explosive announcement of its closure in January for at least four years.
Christine Carney, whose expensive May 1 wedding was booked nearly a year in advance, only learned her dream had been dashed when a friend texted her to tell her it was closing.
The 38-year-old Chicago-based bride, who had wanted to get married at the opulent hotel since she was a child, told the Post that she spent seven agonizing minutes waiting with the hotel concierge — before learning that her 200-guest wedding was suddenly without a venue.
To make matters worse, she told the Post: “No one from the place has contacted us yet to tell us what the next steps are and what is happening with our money.
The photographer, band, flowers and rentals have all been secured with deposits, while her rehearsal dinner and welcome party are still pending.
“Everything for spring books is coming so fast that you’d have to hope they’re willing to reimburse us so we can find a replacement, otherwise we’d have to eat the deposit and find a replacement anyway,” she whined.
“I’m really frustrated and disappointed that this happened, and I look forward to hearing what the next steps are.”
And with backup dates already sent out, downsizing is not an option.
So for her, the show must go on.
The question is simply where…and when. And this part sends high-end event planners into a frenzy.
For Alyssa Pettinato, owner of Alinato Events and Carney’s wedding planner, the sudden closure means planning the entire extravagant affair again — for free.
“Technically, we are penalized as planners,” Pettinato told the Post. “Do I have the right to ask them for payment for this?
The organizer said the alliance had already struggled over a possible date change, creating another costly headache.
And this predicament isn’t entirely unheard of: Pettinato said this is the third wedding she’s had to replan this year due to venue disruptions.
But the veteran events planner says the announcement seemed out of left field and that, for a venue as prestigious as the Plaza, the lack of communication was particularly shocking.
Pettinato said she was still working with hotel employees on room block contracts when news of the closure broke — and believes staff members were completely unaware of it.
“People who have been working there for decades are blinded,” she said. “It feels like this is a leak because they seem extremely unprepared.”
Hannah Livingstone, a 30-year-old Scottish bride, booked eight nights in a Plaza Suite for around $9,000.00 and splurged on first-class flights to New York for an intimate February wedding with her partner, James McPherson.
A lifelong fan of American romantic comedies and Sex and the cityLivingstone planned a first look to capture the moment the couple first see each other in the Plaza bar, the wedding photographs and even the steaming dress services.
Instead, she found out the hotel was closing while scrolling through TikTok – a pretty 1-star experience.
“I thought, no, surely that can’t be true,” Livingstone told the Post.
A few weeks earlier, she had contacted the hotel to confirm her reservation and prepare for the day.
“It’s a little angry to me that they’re still taking reservations and still being in touch like things are normal,” she said, adding that she still hasn’t heard directly from the hotel and that her wedding is 4 months away.
“I’m obviously quite stressed.”
The couple still plans to get married in New York on the same date, but finding another comparable hotel was disappointing and the timing couldn’t be worse.
“I’m actually leaving this weekend for my bachelorette party, so obviously I was very upset last night,” the bride said. “This comes at a pretty dire time.”
Hotel management attributed the closure to extensive restoration work on its protected façade, citing the complexity of the undertaking and security considerations.
But some planners familiar with the venue told the Post that the hotel’s gilded grandeur hides interiors that have begun to show their age.
Casey Kaufman, founder of Imagine Party and Events, has planned many lavish events at the Plaza over the years and estimates that weddings at the legendary landmark can cost more than $1,200 per guest — with elaborate celebrations easily reaching $500,000 or more.
Kaufman recalled a wedding in which his team essentially built a whole new room inside a Plaza event space, erecting temporary walls to conceal the originals.
In another, they installed new window treatments to hide outdated architectural features.
“I recently took people to the Plaza, and they think it’s outdated,” she said, noting that expensive decor upgrades can add to an already astronomical bill.
With the newly renovated Waldorf Astoria back in business, Kaufman speculated that the hotel might have felt pressure to keep up, adding that she would be surprised if it didn’t also use the four-year closure to refresh its ballrooms.
She stressed, however, that the name, history and prestige of the Plaza are almost impossible to replicate.
“I’ve had clients come up to me before they got engaged and say, ‘I know I’m going to get married at the Plaza,'” Kaufman said, remembering couples determined to follow in their grandparents’ footsteps.
And it’s not just weddings that are being sidelined.
The Russian Child Welfare Society announced that its annual Petroushka Ball, held in February and part of the New York charity gala circuit, could no longer be held at the Plaza next year.
The closure will also put other quintessential Plaza experiences on hold, like the extravagant birthday celebrations in the Eloise Suite or the Home Alone 2 experience.
As for refunding deposits, Pettinato hopes the hotel will be fair.
“Your contract could say whatever you want to say, but are you going to blow up your reputation by fighting something that is technically immoral,” she argued. “This is where it gets a little fuzzy. Something of the caliber of The Plaza, like I expect them to refund everyone and not even fight this.”
In response to the Post’s request, the Plaza provided only its public statement and provided no further details about the affected reservations or refunds.
Gn bussni
