A heartbroken bride-to-be didn’t put “two and two” together after seeing flames and thick black smoke coming from her wedding venue.
The 99-year-old world heritage-listed event venue ‘The Lussh’ was destroyed after a massive fire spread from an abandoned warehouse in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Nurse Madison Sullivan, 33, and several of her colleagues had been closely monitoring the flames coming from Woolloongabba, in the city’s southern hinterland.
“It made sense, but I didn’t think it would be like that,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
She and her partner of more than five years, Nathan Crawford, 37, were set to welcome 105 guests for their wedding at the venue on October 26.
Ms Sullivan told Daily Mail Australia that after planning their perfect wedding for more than a year, she is now worried they won’t be able to afford a new supplier.
‘(I’m) very overwhelmed and hoping for the best. “It’s very fresh and in the early stages after the fire,” he said.
“I hope and pray that we have a supplier and financially we can make it happen.”
Brisbane couple Nathan Crawford, 37, and Madison Sullivan had been planning their perfect wedding for more than a year before their wedding venue caught fire on Wednesday.
The 99-year-old world heritage-listed event venue ‘The Lussh’ was destroyed after a massive fire ripped through the Brisbane warehouse on Wednesday afternoon (pictured)
Crawford said they knew of at least ten couples who had planned to celebrate their nuptials at The Lussh before it was destroyed this week.
Trying to find a replacement place in a time crunch is proving difficult despite help from friends.
“People book these things a year in advance, like we do, and trying to fit everyone into a new place… is like trying to squeeze blood out of a stone,” Mr. Crawford explained.
‘There are many guests who will only be able to arrive on October 26, there are many international and interstate flights.
‘They already have hotel bookings and flights booked, changes to dates around that time would be costly due to a number of high profile concerts in the city.
‘I got off work and saw some notifications on my phone, one came up in real time from my godfather’s partner and said ‘please call me’, we did a FaceTime. He saw my face and said, “Has anyone talked to you yet?”
‘He just said to me: “There’s no way to tell you this, my mate has just been driven by The Lussh… he’s on fire, he’s going to burn to the ground.”‘
The fire started in a warehouse before spreading to nearby buildings on Wednesday.
The couple is worried they won’t find a replacement supplier for their Oct. 26 wedding.
He quickly called his fiancée to give her the bad news, but couldn’t reach her because he works in a busy hospital ward.
‘I just told you that our wedding venue has caught fire. “She kept saying ‘no, no’, she was devastated,” Mr Crawford said.
The couple has yet to hear from The Lussh, but understands the team is working with clients who were scheduled to get married this weekend.
“Well this sucks,” the Lussh team wrote on social media.
“We are devastated by the events of this afternoon and very grateful that our team is safe. Our hearts go out to our Woolloongabba community and everyone affected by the fire that broke out today in a neighboring building.
“We appreciate your patience and understanding as we prioritize events booked in the coming days and weeks.”
The couple have yet to hear from The Lussh, but understand the team is working with clients who were scheduled to get married at the venue this weekend.
The fire at the abandoned warehouse was reportedly accelerated by several mattresses inside and one man suffered “significant smoke inhalation.”
The flames caused the roofs of the affected buildings to collapse and the police declared an exclusion zone for fear that chemicals were stored inside the warehouse.
Listed as “temporarily closed” online, Lussh is described as a “bespoke renovated warehouse wedding nestled on the cliffs of Woolloongabba”.