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08
Jul 2021
Bogus wedding planner overshadows Harrogate couple's dream day
A Harrogate couple who lost £2,300 after being scammed by a bogus wedding planner have said they're pleased with the court's sentencing.
Nicky and Jason Asquith-Thorpe didn't get the day they imagined in July 2019 after a fake wedding planner, Dana Twidale, ran off with their money.
The pair had met and spoken to Ms Twidale on numerous occasions insisting "there were no warning signs".
It was only when July 25 2019 arrived, two days before their wedding, that all communication stopped and the fake planner didn't show up to help set up the venue.
Mrs Asquith-Thorpe still held out hope but after hours of waiting finally came to the conclusion that they'd been abandoned.
Mrs Asquith-Thorpe, who works in the Harrogate Hospital pharmacy, said:
Determined to give them the wedding day they'd dreamed of, a friend of the couple asked ex-local radio station Stray FM to put a call out for local businesses to help.
The bride-to-be said she was "overwhelmed" by the response and was ecstatic to go ahead with the wedding on July 27.
Moving the party to a function room at the back of the Christ Church, Harrogate, and getting help from a local caterer and DJ the wedding went ahead, albeit not exactly as planned.
She added:
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Ms Twidale, 44 and from Hull, was sentenced this week to five years after conning another 22 people out of a combined £15,000.
Hull Crown Court also heard Ms Twidale had defrauded a man she had met on Tinder out of £42,000 by lying about her mother's death and saying she was a victim of domestic violence.
Mrs Asquith-Thorpe said she was "glad she got what she deserved" and hoped to draw a line under the whole ordeal.
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