So they booked an October date for their special day.

The first they heard of The Bended Elbow's future being under a cloud was when they read about it in The Courier.

In December the hotel's owners decided to close the hotel indefinitely after problems were identified during a routine fire safety inspection by the Country Fire Authority.

As a result of the inspection the City of Ballarat issued the hotel with a building notice outlining work that was required to improve the venue.

At first Ms Wallman said she had been reluctant to book another venue because it could mean possibly losing a deposit in the event that The Bended Elbow reopened.

However on Monday, Mr Crowley received a call from someone called Sarah at the Cornerstone Hotels group in Melbourne. Sarah advised the couple their reception at the hotel was to be cancelled because

negotiations between the hotel and Ballarat City Council had not yet resolved problems at the hotel.

But when contacted by The Courier, Sarah said she had "no comment" to make about The Bended Elbow's future and was "not sure" whether Cornerstone Hotels, which owns several historic hotels in

Melbourne, owned The Bended Elbow.

The closure of the hotel has resulted in the loss of 30 jobs.