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A wedding venue in North Carolina is reportedly refusing to return a deposit after the groom died five months before his big day — sparking outrage online and calls for compassion.

Christopher Perry, a Durham resident, proposed to his fiancée, Kristen Seidel, in Italy in 2024. The couple booked The Cotton Room for Oct. 11, 2025, and paid over $18,000 in deposits for food, drinks and rental fees — about half the total contract, WRAL reported.

On May 12, 2025, a day before his 33rd birthday, Perry collapsed and died. Within two days, the family notified the venue, part of TC Hospitality Group.

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The company said the deposit was nonrefundabl

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