Katelyn Stalboerger and Isaac Nelson had everything planned for their upcoming May 4 wedding.
Following their 2 p.m. ceremony at the Church of St. Paul in Ham Lake, their 185 guests would make their way north to Circle B Weddings and Event Venue in Isanti for a reception, dinner and dance.
But, according to a tearful TikTok video posted by Stalboerger on Monday, the couple got an email Sunday saying that Circle B would be “closing effective immediately.”
The subject line read: “Circle B Permanently Closed.”
“It is no longer possible to maintain the business in the current economic environment, the change in the economy, proliferation of new wedding venues in the market and most importantly increased costs have forced the management to make the difficult decision to close this historic venue,” the email states.
The owners of the venue, Wayne and Angela Butt, who also own the Historic John P. Furber Farm wedding venue in Cottage Grove, could not be reached for comment.
“For those of you that have upcoming weddings, we are truly sorry, but unfortunately we will be unable to accommodate your special event,” the email states. “We understand that this news will not only be disheartening to many of you and your families, but for many of you this will be devastating for your plans, for that we are truly sorry.”
The email ends with this note: “Nobody is available to take calls or emails.”
In her TikTok video, Stalboerger asked for help finding another venue with less than two weeks of notice.
“We have nowhere to go, and we are not getting our money back,” she said. “If anyone knows of anything in the Isanti, Minnesota, in that area — because our church is in Ham Lake — please let us know. We are just trying to figure out what to do.”
In a follow-up TikTok posted on Monday, Stalboerger said attempts to reach Circle B staff have been unsuccessful because the venue’s phone number has been disconnected.
“They deleted their website. It’s completely gone,” she said. “Their social media has been deleted, so there’s no trace of them anymore.”
Stalboerger said she learned that other couples who had planned to celebrate their wedding day at Circle B never received an email informing them of the closure. They found out, they told Stalboerger, from her TikTok post.
Wayne and Angela Butt, doing business as Lakeside Events, were named in 2022 as the defendants in a civil lawsuit filed in Washington County over the cutting of trees at a different property in Cottage Grove, according to court documents.
Their attorney in that matter, Ryan Kaess, said he could not comment.