A COUPLE left in the lurch after their wedding venue suddenly shut have had their special day saved after dozens of venue owners stepped forward offering their services.

Custom House in Poole Quay closed without warning on Tuesday after 21 years in business.

The move to shut up shop meant Gemma Gallacher and fiancé Sean Carmichael were “left scrambling” to find a suitable alternative for their reception.

But thanks to coverage by the Daily Echo the couple were inundated with kind offers from hotels, bars and restaurants stepping forward to host their special day.

Now the couple are set to be married at the Italian Villa at Compton Acres after the business read about their story.

Twenty-four-year-old Gemma, who lives in Branksome with Sean, 29, told the Echo: “I’m beyond excited.”

“I feel a lot of pressure off now. I’m really relieved. I was panicking that we weren’t going to get anything but a lot of people came forward. People were messaging me on Facebook being so, so kind. A few other hotels got in contact.

“We’re really really happy. It’s a happy ending to everything that’s happened. If it wasn’t for the Daily Echo we’d still be scrambling.”

The couple have an eight-month-old son Joshua.

Sean added: “People’s kindness has been overwhelming. The wedding could have been cancelled because everything was all set in place.

“The Custom House was right around the corner. All the invitations had been printed with Custom House on it and all the cars had been booked.

“It’s going to cost more because we have to get everything reprinted. We would have had to get transport sorted from one place to another whereas Custom House was a two minute walk from the Guildhall. It was just changing the logistics of it all a bit.

“Fingers crossed it will all go ok.”

Tony Beales, managing director of Beales Gourmet at Compton Acres, said: “What a horrible situation to be in. The first thing we had to do was to see if we could help.

“We found we had some availability on that date luckily and it is our pleasure to help bring a happy end to the nightmarish situation.

“She is going to have the wedding of her dreams and all this unpleasantness will be nothing but a distant memory.”