San Marcos, Texas: Bride sues venue Posey Meadows for refund after groom’s sudden death ahead of wedding

A woman whose husband-to-be died before their scheduled wedding has sued their ceremony venue for failing to refund her more than $20,000.

Diego Hernandez and Zoe Vandeloo were scheduled to be married on November 20 of this year.

The loved-up couple locked in their venue at Posey Meadows in San Marcos, Texas, signing a contract in March, 2025.

Since then, they have paid $US15,909.28 ($A22,777) to the venue, People reported.

Tragedy struck on April 25 this year, when Hernandez died unexpectedly at the age of 25.

In the following days, the sister of heartbroken Vandeloo contacted the venue’s owner and wedding coordinator about the death.

According to court documents, the coordinator replied saying that the couple would “be getting 100% refund on my part”.

But the owner had a different response, according to the filing.

Despite saying she was “so incredibly sorry” for the loss of the groom-to-be, she said the venue was “not in a position to issue a refund”.

People said she cited the cancellation policy in the contract signed by the couple but conceded that a “partial refund” could be offered, should the date be booked by another couple.

This was described as a “discretionary courtesy, not a contractual obligation”.

Vandeloo is now in a court battle with the venue operator, attempting to get the money back.

“Diego’s death did not simply change the couple’s wedding plans,” the complaint read.

“It ended them.”

In documents filed with the court, Hernandez’s mother also contacted the venue.

On May 7, the owner wrote that should “hostile communication and personal attacks” from the family continue, Posey Meadows would “rectract (its) courtesy entirely”.

It prompted a reply from bride Vandeloo.

“I am not asking for the impossible — I am simply asking for humanity during the worst time of my life,” she said.

The reply was followed up in June by the bride, who requested a full refund, writing that “retention of the money would be an unjust and ghoulish windfall built on a young man’s death”.

Vandeloo issued an ultimatum; if the funds had not been received in two weeks, she would sue the venue.

On July 24, she did just that.

“She asks this Court to declare what should never have needed to be said in a courtroom: that a business cannot keep nearly close to $16,000 paid by a young couple for a wedding, after one of them has died, by hiding behind a clause written for people who simply changed their minds,” the complaint read.

Posey Meadows told PEOPLE they were “heartbroken” to learn of the “private and tragic situation”.

“Since opening, we have sadly walked alongside other families through shocking losses like this. In each unique situation, Posey Meadows worked together with grieving survivors to offer them a full refund of payments, despite any contractual agreements,” a spokesperson said.

“Our company was already working through the refund process with this family when we were served with a lawsuit.

“The decision for litigation has complicated this process.

“Because this is now a pending legal matter, and out of respect for the family’s privacy, we will not comment further.”

The venue counter-sued Vandeloo for breaching the signed contract.

Vandeloo’s attorney Manuel Pelaez-Prada told the outlet the situation was “entirely avoidable”.

“Losing Diego was a catastrophe for them and their journey to healing will be long and difficult,” he said.

“I still can’t believe that they’re having to deal with the added pain of defending Zoe against this counterclaim.”

“The company and its lawyer might think that their countersuit was nothing more than a technical or procedural manoeuvre — they couldn’t be more wrong.

“That counterclaim is doing a lot of damage to whatever little bit of healing Zoe and Diego’s parents can point to.”