Syracuse Couple Left Scrambling After Wedding Venue Announces Shutdown Two Months Before Their Nuptials

The Sheraton hotel, where the couple had planned their summer event, will close right before they get to say "I do"

A couple is frantically searching for a new place to say "I do" after finding out that their wedding venue is shutting down.

Lauren Penizotto and Anthony Rufo were set to get married in July at the Sheraton hotel on Syracuse University’s campus in New York, according to local outlet NewsChannel 9.

But on Nov. 8, the university confirmed to the outlet that the hotel would be shutting down in May to be converted into a new residence hall for students. In light of the news, Penizotto and Rufo were left with no wedding venue for their upcoming nuptials.

“We had our dream wedding planned, and now it’s kind of changing,” Penizotto said.

The couple wasn’t even informed of the news personally.

“There hasn’t really been a formal letter or anything,” Rufo told the outlet. “It’s really just been the news stories that have been official correspondence.”

Related: N.C. Couple Has 'Even More Memorable' Wedding After Tropical Storm Ophelia Makes Landfall Near Venue

Luckily, the couple’s wedding planner, who works at the Sheraton, has helped them pivot.

“She had just found out Wednesday, the day we found out the Sheraton was closing,” Penizotto explained. “She gave all of her couples' names to many places throughout Syracuse just to check their availability.”

However, NewsChannel 9 reported that several venues in the area have been contacted in light of the hotel’s impending closure as there are multiple couples who have been left scrambling.

The couple acknowledged that they are lucky to have an added bit of cushion since their wedding is not until July. “We are local, and we are here. We have those two months of breathing room,” Rufo said.

He added that he “can only imagine” how the people who have their ceremony planned for closer to May are feeling. “That would be terrible.”

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Brett Padgett, senior vice president and chief financial officer of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees, told the news outlet that the hotel presents an "ideal opportunity" to expand their campus housing offerings.

Some students have already been living in the hotel as of this year. The university's plan is for the hotel to close in May 2024 and reopen as a residence hall for the fall 2024 semester.

In a statement, the university said it had found an interest among undergraduate students who "wanted more options for living in university housing" near the hotel's location.

All of the current employees of the Sheraton hotel are to be offered jobs at the university, per the outlet.

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