Continued closure of Fort Gibraltar causing changes for soon to be married couples
The closure of Fort Gibraltar following the collapse of an elevated walkway that sent 16 students and one teacher to hospital has left some couples scrambling to find a place to get married.
The fort was closed indefinitely after 17 people were injured during a school field trip. Now, the fort's caterer says they've been working around the clock to find new venues for their clients.
Shawn Brandson runs the catering business at the fort, hosting multiple weddings a week. He said what happened last week was traumatic for everyone.
Following the incident, he thought the area of the fort they use for weddings would be back open. That wasn't the case.
"We should be fine because it's not out area, it's the palisade," Brandson originally thought about the closure.
The weddings that were planned for last week were moved with little notice.
"Not knowing when we can re-enter into our space is a little stressful."
With the venue not reopening, Brandson began to scramble, looking for new venues to host weddings for his clients.
He was able to move two weddings to the St. Norbert's Art Centre, with only 24 and 48 hours until the couples walked the aisle.
"Completely bare bones, so we had to actually move our full kitchen, move all our staff, move all the food. Move everything."
For bride Desiree Penner, she said panic set in for a few minutes.
"Our first reaction was concern for the kids. We have a ten-year-old and we're teachers," she said.
Following the shock, she had to plan a wedding for the next day at different venue, across the city.
After dealing with some panic, she was able to call and re-route guests and decorations were put up.
"It was more beautiful then you can imagine. We are so grateful, the work that they did," said Penner.
Brandson said some clients have had to postpone or cancel their plans because of the closure and he has given back retainers which are supposed to be non-refundable.
"If we're closed for much longer, you know, another month or two months, it will probably put us into bankruptcy," said Brandson.
Festival du Voyageur, who leases the fort from the city, said there is no update at this time on when it could reopen.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.