Big day back on for castle couple

Aug 18 2005 By Jon Griffin, Evening Mail

BRIDE-TO-BE Jane Moore and fiance Matt Bird were overjoyed today after being given the all-clear for their £6,000 dream wedding - just nine days before it was meant to take place.

The couple have been on tenterhooks for two weeks after a contractual wrangle at Studley Castle threatened to turn their big day into a nightmare.

The Redditch couple had booked the Warwickshire banqueting complex more than three years ago - but found themselves caught up in the fallout from the collapse of MG Rover.

Jane and Matt had to put an alternative venue on standby while castle owners Phoenix Venture Holdings sought a buyer for the property, whose catering operators OCS had decided to scrap their contract from August 26.

But compromise talks between OCS and Phoenix ensured the wedding reception would go on - much to the relief of Jane and Matt.

Jane, aged 26, a recruitment administrator, said: "I have had a letter from Studley Castle's general manager confirming that our wedding is going ahead as planned.

"We are both absolutely delighted. I just can't believe that everything has worked out so well.

"I have run up a fortune in phone calls ringing all our guests to say that we didn't know what was happening. I also had to ring all the suppliers, including the photographer, the people supplying the flowers and the balloons etc.

"All the phone calls have been for nothing but the way things have worked out is absolutely fantastic."

Jane and Matt, a 27-year-old project engineer, can now look forward to their fairytale castle wedding reception on August 27 following the marriage ceremony at Olton Friary, Solihull.

Potential buyers are currently negotiating to buy the castle, put on the market for around £6 million by PVH directors in the wake of the Longbridge crisis.

The Phoenix Four have pledged to donate the proceeds from any sale of the castle to former MG Rover workers.