OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Noah's Event Venue, a popular event space and wedding venue in Omaha announced in an email to customers it will be closing it's location at 17121 Marcy Street, leaving engaged couples stranded without a venue and wondering if they'll get their money back.
"My heart sank right away, as soon as I got the email I thought this could not be happening," said Kyndra Jensen, a 25-year old physical therapy student who was planning on using the space for her wedding on August 28, 2020. Nine months before her wedding, Jensen and her fiance, Brett Smith, are needing to find a new wedding venue.
"I'm redoing every single thing," Jensen said. "I think that's every brides biggest fear that this happens. I feel a little taken advantage of. I reached out to Noah's and they assured me nothing was going to happen and everything was safe."
In its email to customers, Noah's Event Venue said they would try to refund customers but didn't make any guarantees. Jensen and her fiance have already put down $3,000 of the $5,200 fee for the venue. If she and Smith don't get the money reimbursed, their dream wedding may need to be modified.
"It's hard to book another venue without that money so we're looking at cutting back the guest list or finding a cheeper venue," Jensen said.
"That place and everything that is going on with it is an absolute and literal nightmare," said Steven Finkle, the owner of 402 Event Services in Omaha. "We've worked with them since they opened and honestly I've had nothing but problems with them."
Finkle posted a message on an Omaha wedding Facebook group letting couples know Noah's Event Venue is shutting down.
"We had so many people message me after we made that post that had no idea and that was after the email was sent out to all of their Omaha client," Finkle said. "They had no idea. Their venue that they're supposed to have the biggest day of their lives in just closed and they have no idea if they will get money back, when they will get their money back, where they will get married."
According to Finkle, when Noah's Event Venue closed in other cities, couples who put down deposits didn't get their funds reimbursed.
"They can send out an email saying they're getting refunds but are they," Finkle said. "I can't say yes or no."
The final two weekends Noah's Event Venue in Omaha will be open are January 4 and January 11.
Jensen and her fiance are back on the venue hunt. They said vendors across the city have been sympathetic to their situation, and at the end of the day, the venue doesn't make the marriage
"The most important thing is you marry who you want to marry and the place is just a place," Jensen said.
Jensen said her family has reached out to Noah's Event Venue but hasn't heard anything definitive from them regarding reimbursements. 3 News Now left multiple calls and voice-mails with Noah's Event Venue but the company didn't return any of the calls.
12/20/19 Update - This morning, Kyndra Jensen sent us this message:
“To make this story worse, they assured us they would not take anymore money, that our automated payments ended...and they debited 400$ from us yesterday. We are so angry.”
12/21/19 update:
The Bellevue Berry Farm told 3 News Now they will offer anyone that had a wedding reservation at Noah’s a discount when they book their wedding at the farm. They have four different venues on property.
12/20/19 Update:
The Doubletree by Hilton in downtown Omaha reached out to 3 News Now saying that they would like to help out those who are left hanging by the Noah wedding venue closure. The hotel says, depending on availability, they will waive all room rental fees and work with couples as best they can with their remaining budget. The hotel says couples who need help should call Maria at the hotel at 402-639-4909.
12/22/19 Update:
Two different venue's have offered to help couples after their wedding plans may be in limbo. On Thursday, Noah's Event Venue said in a email they were closing down their Omaha location. Questions still remain on if the venue will refund customers as well. The Bellevue Berry Farm reached out to KMTV and said they will offer anyone with a reservation at Noah's a discount when they book at their farm.
They say they are happy to help those couples, who are dealing with a time of uncertainty. "It's stressful, especially for the bride, and we do a lot of weddings and we were voted as the best place for Bellevue and Sarpy County, so we've been doing weddings for over 30 years here," said Ed Schafer, owner of Bellevue Berry Farm.
The Doubletree by Hilton in downtown Omaha reached out as well, saying they would also help those stranded by Noah's.
Bellevue Berry Farm contact info: 402-661-4786
