JENSEN BEACH, Fla. — Crews were still cleaning up on Thursday from the damage outside the Indian Riverside Park pavilion in Jensen Beach after it was damaged by a fire Monday morning.
WPTV spoke to Jessica Coons from Fort Lauderdale, whose wedding was supposed to be there in three weeks. She is now forced to find another venue.
Coons said it was a dream wedding location.
"I love it, and I miss it,” said Coons. “It really is the perfect wedding venue."
This time last year, Coons and her fiancée Allyssa, booked their wedding at the pavilion for about $2,300.
"Catering, photography, videography, everything was already booked and in place," said Coons.
After this week's fire, Coons got a devastating call from county officials.
"I had hope up until the moment they said, 'Jess, we cannot host your wedding'" said Coons.
Wedding bells suddenly went silent.
"You go to bed and you're imagining this beautiful wedding with this beautiful scenery in the back, and at a moment's notice, it's taken away from you,” said Coons. “There’s literally nothing you can do to fix it."
Coons was one of 28 weddings and two other events canceled until the end of year.
Martin County was unable to give a timeline for how long it will be closed or an estimate for repairs.
WPTV spoke with Todd Faust with Martin County, who said they're fully refunding 10 couples, including Coons, rebooking 11 at the nearby Mansion at Tuckahoe, and helping the remaining couples re-schedule or rebook at different venues.
"We'll call and work with the wedding planners, or we'll call other facilities to see what their availability is, to try to help them out the best we can," said Faust.
After hearing about the fire, wedding planner Cindy Morley got Coons booked at her venue, The Barn at Mencil Ranch, for the same price and date.
"We're just honoring what they're getting from there,” said Morley. "It's 100% a price match."
Morley said anyone affected by the cancellations could reach out to her if they haven’t found an new venue.
Coons said while heartbreaking at first, she's still getting her happily ever after.
"Everybody has a wedding story,” said Coons. “Everybody does, and this is our wedding story."
