Skunk Anansie singer Skin and her partner are suing their wedding planners for more than £100,000 after they were left with a string of unpaid bills.
Skin — real name Deborah Dyer — and billionaire’s daughter Christina Wyly had a lavish civil partnership celebration in a secluded Italian venue with a live orchestra, flowers and cocktails.
However, the musician claimed her big day was unforgettable for all the wrong reasons, thanks to unpaid demands from the caterers, musicians, florists and the children’s entertainer.
The British rock star and the Texan heiress are suing women-only “lifestyle management” firm Besos Concierge, of Hampton, claiming they paid an all-inclusive fee for it to plan the event and cover the costs of the ceremony and party.
The couple have issued a High Court writ against Besos and its boss Michelle Candice David, 28, demanding their money back. It is understood the firm and Ms David, of Hounslow, will contest the claim.
According to the writ, Ms Dyer, 45, and Ms Wyly, of Petersfield, Hampshire, had a three-day celebration near Verona at the home of a family friend. Guests had brunch at the historic Villa di Campo hotel, danced to a live orchestra and dined in marquees. Up to £10,000 went on flowers and cocktails and £25,000 on food. However, the couple’s barrister, Abra Bompas, stated that about a month later “several of the wedding suppliers began to contact the couple requesting payment.
“As of February this year, Ms Dyer and Ms Wyly have been contacted by a total of nine suppliers to whom approximately £62,000 was owed.” The barrister alleged that Ms David initially admitted Besos Concierge was “liable for these outstanding payments” and “expressly represented that Besos intended to and would arrange for all the suppliers to be paid in full”. But requests for payment to Ms David and Besos have not been agreed.
Apart from the £62,000, the couple are also claiming £30,000 they say they were required to pay Besos as a “membership fee”, plus £8,687 they allege they paid Besos, and £15,423.80 of their cash they say the company still holds.
The writ states that Besos has denied in writing that it left the bills unpaid. Through its solicitors, the company denied any obligation to make any outstanding payments to suppliers and claimed Ms Dyer and Ms Wyly “had failed to provide sufficient sums to Besos”. The couple deny those claims.
Besos and Ms David’s defence to the action was not available from the court, and the claims in the writ have yet to be tested in evidence before a judge.
