Joni Watson Direct

A: Please state your name, spelling your last name for the record.

A: Please state your name, spelling your last name for the record.

• Joni Watson, W-A-T-S-O-N

A: What’s your connection to this case?

• My partner Parker Stevenson and I planned a wedding we have yet to celebrate

A: How did you start planning your wedding?

• Wanted to find a planner who aligned with our vision

• In early 2019 we found Molly Hooper

• Molly helped us plan everything from attire to venue to food

• We also decided wedding date, guest count, and budget

A: When was your wedding supposed to be?

• July 4, 2020

• 5th anniversary of the day Parker and I met

A: Where did you plan for the ceremony to take place?

• Knew GLC’s Sherlock Holmes Ballroom was perfect since it overlooked Gillette Castle, where Parker and I met

• Signed contract with Mycroft Holmes

• Paid booking fee of around $6500 to secure July 4th spot

(After entering Exhibit 2 into evidence)

A: What was your budget for the wedding?

• $150 thousand budget for whole wedding

• Parents and in-laws willing to pay 2/3 of cost

A: Looking at the top of the first page, could you please read out the total of your deposit?

• Paid $69,478 at the time of signing

A: What did this fee include?

• Down payments for venue rental, food and beverage, and additional special orders

A: Based on the contract, what other decisions did you make regarding the wedding?

• Had to decide on food

• Selected Gold Package for dinner and appetizers

• Also ordered fancy black truffles from France

• Truffles were recommended by the catering manager, Conan Doyle

A: And how many guests were agreed upon for the wedding per the contract?

• 250 guests

A: How was the communication with Gillette Lodge during the planning process?

• At first, Mycroft communicated with us a lot

• Mycroft sent us 27 emails during year leading up to wedding

• Also had several meetings with Holmes

A: How did all your planning work out?

• Everything changed when COVID-19 pandemic hit

A: How did things change?

• By late March 2020, 3 months before the wedding, a stay-at-home order was issued in CT

• We were stressed since if was so close to wedding day'

• Things started looking up in June

A: How did things change in June?

• Businesses started reopening by June, with some restrictions

• Wedding was back on but not how we envisioned it because of changes and restrictions

A: What, specifically, would be different because of these guidelines?

• Cut down guest count from 250 to 125 since state regulations said 25% of max capacity allowed

• Another big change was guests would have to stay seated except for Parker and me

(After Exhibit 5b and 5k entered into evidence)

A: Looking at email 5b, could you tell us who sent this email?

• Sent from Mycroft to me

A: Could you read out loud from the second paragraph, starting with “We are only allowing…” to “…scheduled outdoors”

• “We are only allowing 75 guests at a time per each wedding. Also, all weddings and receptions will need to be scheduled outdoors.”

A: What was your response to this, going forward with the planning?

• Upsetting that we’d have to limit guest list to 75 guests, especially since 75 is a lot lower than the state regulations

• Wedding had to be moved outdoors with no view of the castle

• We felt uncomfortable proceeding with the wedding on our original date with so many restrictions

• Forwarded email to Molly Hooper to help come up with alternative dates

• I also tried coming up with alternatives to save our wedding

A: What kinds of alternatives did you suggest?

• We asked to have over 75 guests if wedding was outdoors

• State guidelines say outdoor events can have up to 175 guests

• Willing to let go of castle view even though it was so important to us

A: How did Mr./Ms. Holmes respond?

• GLC ignored alternatives and maintained unconfirmed 75 guest limit

• Only offered one reschedule date of Friday, October 23, 2020

• GLC would charge a rescheduling fee of $3750

A: And why did you think this?

• New date was a random day in fall, not high in demand, so we shouldn’t have to pay an extra fee

• Contract never mentions rescheduling fees

A: Did you address this issue?

• Ms. Hooper and I tried to settle the rescheduling fee with GLC and get an exact guest count for the outdoor wedding

• Mycroft mentioned the possibility of having over 75 guests outdoors

(Direct attention to 5k)

A: When did Mr./Ms. Holmes respond to this email?

• GLC took almost 3 months to respond

• No communication with us during that time period

A: What was specified in the email / Did anything change, based on Mr. Holmes’ response?

• Finally given an update on September, 2, 2020

• Found out we would be limited to 100 guests for the outdoor wedding, still below 175

A: How did you respond to this information?

• I was enraged

• Mycroft hadn’t contacted us for months

• When he finally did he made drastic changes to the original plan

• We had enough and decided to cancel

A: Were you ever refunded for the money you put down for the wedding during cancellation?

• No

• GLC offered partial refund of $4500

• Nothing compared to the $69,000 already spent

• Money spent marked as “non-refundable” by GLC

• It’s like they profited off us during the pandemic