A MARRIED couple whose wedding day was ruined by a disastrous booking mix-up have today slammed the "pitiful" compensation offered by the register office.

A MARRIED couple whose wedding day was ruined by a disastrous booking mix-up have today slammed the "pitiful" compensation offered by the register office.

Neil and Paula Jolly, nee Leggett, were left stranded on their wedding day in August after turning up at Stowmarket Registry Office only to be told they had got the wrong day.

After a week-long honeymoon in Hemsby, Norfolk, the couple have returned to find an offer of £97.50 compensation waiting on their doorstep.

Mrs Jolly, said: "Apparently it's our registration fees back as a goodwill gesture.

"They obviously think it is good enough but we certainly don't.

"They are still saying they've done nothing wrong so we are really peeved off.

"We didn't spend loads on the wedding because we don't have much money but it was certainly more than £1,000 so £100 back is quite pitiful."

The couple, from Norfolk, were due to get married earlier in the day but accepted a later appointment offered by the register office months before. They were told written confirmation was not necessary.

The wedding party waited outside the register office for three hours on the day of the planned wedding before giving up and going onto a hotel where a two-hour-old meal waited for them.

The pair exchanged date-inscribed wedding rings at the reception and got married in plain clothes the next day – with Neil's parents the only guests.

Mrs Jolly said: "I was heartbroken.

"You dream for your whole life about having a perfect wedding day and for it all to go wrong was such a shock.

"No amount of money will ever put things right but we had asked for our wedding rings to be re-engraved because they say the wrong date.

"I don't think that was too unrealistic.

"A lot of the guests were out of pocket as well because they bought new outfits especially."

A spokesperson for Suffolk County Council said: "We carried out a full investigation into the incident which has confirmed, unfortunately, there seems to have been a misunderstanding over the time of the wedding.

"However, as a gesture of goodwill we have offered to waive the wedding fee.

"We regret any distress caused and we wish Mr and Mrs Jolly all the best for the future."

Mr and Mrs Jolly now have a meeting set up with the Citizens' Advice Bureau to see if the case can be taken to the small claims court.

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