By Anucyia Victor From Daily Mail UK

Katie Carrick and Stephen Bell were meant to be married this October

The Sunderland couple had booked a resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Plans fell through after they had spent £5,000 on their upcoming nuptials

A couple’s dream wedding in Jamaica was left in ruins after a series of catastrophic errors with their booking.

Katie Carrick, 28, was overjoyed when her fiancée Stephen Bell, 45, popped the question on Christmas Eve and suggested that they tie the knot in the Caribbean.

But their hopes for a beautiful wedding were dashed after a number of errors were made after booking with their provider, Thomas Cook, which forced them to abandon their big day.

The couple, from Sunderland, spent almost £5,000 on their upcoming nuptials and were set to marry at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa in Ocho Rios, Jamaica on 27 October.

But their holiday was cancelled when Thomas Cook announced that the hotel had been closed.

Bride-to-be Katie, who works as a carer, eventually found another location in Jamaica, The Bahia Principe hotel.

Katie and Stephen were then kept in limbo for six months but with one month to go until the original date and four failed options later, the couple were forced to forget their big day.

Katie, who is mum to eight-year-old Connor, said: ‘I am completely devastated that our big day has been completely ruined.

‘I cried and cried in the travel agents. I felt as though we had no other choice than to cancel the entire wedding.

‘I was heartbroken. I spent £250 on my wedding dress and was absolutely thrilled with it. I couldn’t wait for Stephen to see me walk down the aisle in the dress of my dreams, but now I have had to put it away in the closet at my mum’s house.

‘I was over the moon when Stephen proposed, it was so romantic, it was a perfect Christmas present and we were desperate to get married abroad and in 2014.

‘Now the thought of getting married doesn’t feel exciting any more. It’s not the occasion I had always dreamed of.’

The fourth and most expensive option was ruled out when the unhappy couple’s bridesmaid and best man could not afford to attend and were then hit by a bereavement.

Katie complained to the tour operator who have refunded her the £3,800 that the family paid for the holiday and the wedding ceremony.

But she claims that she was not given a reasonable excuse for the wedding date not being confirmed or a realistic alternative option by Thomas Cook when the plans fell through.

‘What was meant to be a happy occasion, planning the best day of our lives has turned into the worst,’ Katie said.

‘The fact that this has gone on since we booked the wedding in January has left me stressed, fighting depression and has affected my work as I need time off.

‘We managed to receive all of the money that we paid for the holiday back but it does not compensate for the fact that Stephen and I were supposed to be married at the end of October and now we are not.

‘We had bought the rings, the suits, a bridesmaid dress and paid for decorations, it is such a huge shame. I went through hell and the amount of time we spent in the travel agents was a joke.

‘It’s safe to say that we will not be using Thomas Cook again.’

A spokesperson for Thomas Cook said,’ Thomas Cook would like to apologise to Ms Carrick with regards to the service she received when recently making her wedding arrangements with us.

‘It is never our intention to disappoint our customers, and we are sorry that we fell short of Ms Carrick’s expectations in this instance.

Due to an operational change at the original hotel, Thomas Cook were no longer in a position to be able to offer Ms Carrick her first choice of venue.

Thomas Cook sought to make alternative arrangements for the Carrick party. However, none of the proposed venues were either available during the selected dates of travel or deemed by the customers to be suitable for their wedding requirements, despite these being of the same, like-for-like level as Ms Carrick’s original choice of hotel.

Thomas Cook can confirm that Ms Carrick has cancelled her booking with us, and we have fully reimbursed her the deposit paid.

‘We understand that Ms Carrick and her fiancée are now no longer seeking to marry abroad and are in the process of making arrangements for a UK wedding.

‘We will be providing the couple with a gesture of goodwill by way of apology, and we would like to wish Ms Carrick and her future husband the very best in their married life together.’

IMAGES:

Katie Carrick was all set to marry her fiancée Stephen Bell this October in Jamaica but her hopes for a Carribean wedding were dashed after a series of catastrophic errors by travel agents

Second option: The wedding department at the The Bahia Principe hotel knew nothing of their booking

Disappointed: Ms Carrick’s experience left her so stressed that she is now battling depression

Ruined plans: The couple would have been married on 27 October in the Caribbean

Thomas Cook has apologised for the disappointment that they faced, saying ‘It is never our intention to disappoint our customers and we are sorry that we fell short of Ms Carrick’s expectations’

For more on this story go to: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2751073/Our-big-day-completely-ruined-Bride-left-heartbroken-series-disastrous-errors-sees-Jamaican-dream-wedding-cancelled-one-month-go.html#ixzz3D10Np9Rl