Update: Bride's Dream Wedding Canceled Months After Hurricane Irene

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) – A happy ending to a story we first told you about last week.

After a little bit of investigating on our part, a bride will now get the wedding of her dreams.

On January 5^th, Pam Smith got a call from staff at the Sheraton Atlantic beach saying the hotel wouldn’t be open in time for her daughter’s May wedding.

Now – we’re happy to report things have turned around.

Smith emailed Nine On Your Side again to tell us the hotel fully refunded her deposit the night our story aired.  She also found a new venue for her daughter’s wedding at the Shell Island Resort in Wrightsville Beach.

Smith says she hopes sharing her story will help other brides get their happily ever after as well.

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MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) – It’s supposed to be one of the best days of your life. But what happens when your dream wedding turns into a nightmare?

When Hurricane Irene hit in August - the Sheraton Hotel on Atlantic Beach was forced to cancel hundreds of events - including weddings. Back in December - Nine on your Side told the story of two out of town brides who had to scramble to get a last minute wedding together. But the problem is far from over. Another mother of the bride reached out to us over the weekend.

Wendy Smith had dreams of a beach wedding ever since she was a little girl. So when she and her mother, Pam  started planning her may wedding - she couldn't think of a better place than Atlantic Beach.

When Hurricane Irene hit the Smiths were worried the wedding might not happen but Pam Smith says hotel  management assured her everything would be okay.

"We had been down at thanksgiving and asked, we had been down at Christmas and asked and we were told no problem, no problem, may is a long ways off,” she said.

But on January 5th things changed. Pam Smith was told the Sheraton on Atlantic Beach would not be open in time. Her daughter's wedding was canceled.

"We have a cake lady, and we have a DJ and we have a photographer and we're telling them well we're not sure if we have a venue yet,” said Smith.

Now they have the difficult task of finding a new venue. The Sheraton says they're doing everything they can to help brides in this position.

"We've worked tirelessly to find new venues for every bride, every meeting, every conference that we've displaced,” said marketing director, Tina Purifoy.

But Smith says - that's easier said than done. She says she's already paid for save the dates and plaques with the Sheraton's name on it and the hotels in the area are booked. She asked the Sheraton if they could use the hotel's "sandcastle clubhouse" instead.

"It is not damaged. They're just using it for storage,” said Smith.

But Purifoy says the clubhouse is still closed and wouldn't be ideal.

"In May we certainly expect a full blown renovation project with construction trucks in the parking lot and everything else. which certainly would not be an ideal situation for a bride,” she said.

Now - the bride and her mother don't know what to do. It's a day they'll remember for the rest of their life - but not the way they envisioned.

"You have this dream of a wedding and now it's turned into a nightmare,” said Smith.

Management at the Sheraton say all of the brides will be fully refunded. If you've already spent money on things like invitations or plaques - they say you can call the hotel and they will refund money on a case by case basis.

We checked with the better business bureau - they say the Sheraton on Atlantic Beach gets an A+ rating.

Whether you’re in the middle of your wedding planning or in the process of securing a venue, we did some digging to find out what you can do to make sure you’re not caught in the same situation.

The Better Business Bureau says if you have booked with the Sheraton and have concerns about cancellations you can file a complaint.

But if you are about to secure a venue be sure to not only read and understand the company’s cancellation policy – but print it out as well. You may also want to consider wedding insurance that covers anything from vendors to inclement weather. Policies are about $200.  And finally, always pay with a credit card since you can always dispute the charge if a venue falls through and doesn’t give you your money back.