UPDATE: May 7 at 3:40 p.m.
LEX18 has recieved a statement from The Farm LLC, the venue Chelsea Kolman booked her wedding through.
It reads:
The Farm LLC is a hospitality company committed to ensuring our guests have an extraordinary experience. Whether it’s a family reunion, a wedding, or a simple staycation –we want every guest to feel taken care of, but when they aren’t – we’re here to make it right. A recent convergence of events involving company restructuring, booking vendors, and market dynamics led to some guest cancellations. Guests affected to date have been notified of any changes in itinerary and they have received information on refund or rebooking options. Guests who have not yet executed on those options, including the guest highlighted in your story, are still welcome to do so at their earliest convenience. We encourage any guest with questions about any future booking to contact us using the methods provided in the notification to them or by emailing reservations@thefarmllc.com.
Original Story:
Three weeks before her wedding, a Versailles bride found out she no longer had a venue.
Chelsea Kolman told LEX18 nine months ago she booked her venue through VRBO. She paid the host $8,000 outside of the platform. Kolman said as her wedding day approached, red flags started to fly.
"As time got closer we would message her and it would be two or three weeks before she'd respond," said Kolman.
On April 17, 21 days before her wedding, she received an email that said their booking was canceled by VRBO, but the email came from The Farm LLC. The host told her to contact VRBO for a refund.
She contacted VRBO, who told her the reservation still exists. However, on other sites, she can see the venue has other bookings for her dates.
Kolman said when researching the host, she saw both positive and negative reviews. Not everyone had a bad experience.
"It really is like a Russian roulette sort of thing," said Kolman. "It's just enough to make you believe it's not too good to be true, it's a real thing."
According to the Better Business Bureau website, The Farm LLC has an "F" rating. Kolman said she wants to warn others.
"I'm kind of encouraging people to beware, and you shouldn't have a thought in your head like this could be a scam, but now I'm telling people you gotta look out because it happens," said Kolman.
