ROY, Utah – Dozens of couples are being forced to cancel their weddings and are out thousands of dollars after the owner of the Tuscany Gardens reception center in Roy was arrested for fraud. Now, other local vendors are stepping in to help the brides out.
The owner of the wedding venue, Tuscany Gardens, promised Teisha Gilbert and Brandon Whiteleather the wedding of their dreams, but what he did was something they never expected.
Gilbert said: “You put your trust and money into someone that is supposed to help you just to be told he stole that, and took your dreams away, you know?”
Anthony Consolo, 37, was arrested and is being held in jail on suspicion of fraud and identity theft for neglecting to pay his vendors and provide services for his clients. Now Gilbert and Whiteleather are out $6,000.
“So all these couples dump all this money into there, and we’re all out of luck,” Whiteleather said.
These soon-to-be newlyweds aren’t alone. Philip Falkenburry and Leslie Coy opened an $8,000 loan at Tuscany Gardens for their wedding in June.
“It, like, makes me sick to my stomach, because I’m continuing to still pay on the loan that he has, and we contacted the bank, and there’s nothing they can do at this point,” Coy said.
Florist Raelyn Boman was a regular vendor at Tuscany Gardens. Several checks Consolo wrote her for services bounced. Boman lost thousands of dollars as a result.
“Things were really, really unorganized,” Boman said. “When I would drop weddings off, he wouldn’t really be there and I’d go to get my checks and he didn’t know where the checkbooks were.”
Now local vendors are stepping up to help brides who booked their weddings at Tuscany Gardens by offering their services for free.
“What that guy did is such a heartbreak, especially to the brides because they’re stressed out anyway, and we just want to make it better,” said Paul Mitchell, a wedding DJ.
They’re meeting in Ogden Thursday night to discuss what they can do.
“I just hope that, you know, these brides can find another venue and they can still have their special day,” Boman said.
Most of the brides say while they're happy so many people are stepping in to help out, they don't think they'll ever get their money back and feel their big days have been tarnished by such unspeakable acts. They say they just want justice for Consolo.
“I’m completely heartbroken by it,” Coy said. “I’m just hoping that we can get our money back.”
Wedding vendors interested in helping the brides affected by this scandal can contact Paul Mitchell with America’s Wedding DJ at (801) 731-9688. Mitchell is offering a free DJ and photo booth to brides in need. For more information, click here.
GoFundMe pages have been set up for both couples:
