A Belle Vale couple say they have been left around £2,000 out of pocket after their wedding singer cancelled just 10 minutes before the bride was due to walk down the aisle. Shannon Jones, 25, had booked former X Factor contestant Gary Barker to perform at her wedding to husband Ethan Jones, also 25, at The Bentley in Liverpool on July 25.
The couple paid the singer £1,400 in advance, but Shannon claims that as she was preparing to walk down the aisle with her mum, the registrar passed on a message from the singer saying he would not be attending. According to Shannon, the singer later told her via WhatsApp that he had been taken seriously ill and was being treated at hospital.
Last-Minute Cancellation
The cancellation left the couple scrambling to find alternative entertainment. Although the venue managed to provide music, Shannon says they also had to arrange a replacement singer at an additional cost of £500. One of her bridesmaids, who is also a singer, stepped in to perform for around two hours while they waited for the replacement to arrive.
The couple also claim that three months on, they have yet to receive their £1,400 refund. Speaking to the ECHO, Shannon said: “I was literally about to walk down the aisle with my mum. I was panicking a little bit because he was supposed to sing for us going down the aisle and then the rest of the day.
Payment and Promises
The couple claim they paid a £700 deposit on July 17, 2025, before transferring the remaining £700 on June 7, 2026 upon Gary's request. Shannon, who is studying to become a chartered accountant, said she had initially been reassured by her dealings with the singer, who she described as "friendly" and "enthusiastic" about performing at their wedding.
She said they had even held FaceTime calls with him before the big day and that he had contacted her shortly before the wedding to say he was looking forward to performing. Shannon added: "He called me a couple of days before the wedding and said he couldn't wait to come and sing for us. He was in such high spirits."
Refund Attempts and Legal Action
Shannon said she accepted the explanation that the singer had experienced a medical emergency and was concerned about his wellbeing. However, she said her concerns grew when she struggled to get a refund for the cancellation after her big day. She says she phoned Gary on July 27, two days after the ceremony, but received no answer. On July 31, she said he called her unexpectedly and apologised, explaining he had been in hospital and had only returned home that day.
Shannon said: "He was basically just apologising to me. I thought it was awful and I felt sorry for him. I told him I really appreciated him letting me know. I asked him to send the money over before our honeymoon in Crete, because we really needed it back. He said he would get it back to us straight away."
According to Shannon, Gary subsequently told her the refund had been sent, but no money arrived in the couple's account. She said she continued to send messages via WhatsApp asking for an update and was later contacted from an unfamiliar number by someone claiming to be Gary, who said he had lost his phone and would arrange the refund when he got home. Shannon alleges her sister subsequently contacted the singer via an Instagram message and then phoned him using the number he had claimed to have lost, posing as a potential customer making an enquiry about booking entertainment. She said he responded to her sister the same day.
Shannon said she later received another message from Gary stating his bank could not make same-day payments and that the money would reach her account that day. She said the refund never arrived and that he has not responded to her calls or messages since August 15.
The couple eventually decided to take formal action to recover the money. They sent a Letter Before Action on August 5, giving the singer until August 19 to pay. When the deadline passed without payment, they pursued a claim through the Money Claims service. Shannon said a default County Court Judgment was issued in their favour on September 19 after the claim went unanswered. However, she says they have still not recovered the money.
The couple also paid an £80 court fee and spent a further £500 on alternative entertainment, taking their total outlay to around £2,000. She said: "We're so upset about it. It's not spare money we had lying around - it was money we'd spent a whole year saving so hard for.
"We had to deal with the disappointment of him not turning up to one of the most important days of our lives, and then we've had to spend weeks chasing money he said would be returned. It's been awful. It was in the back of our minds the whole honeymoon. It's left a dark cloud over our wedding."
She added: "If it was a genuine medical emergency, it's completely understandable as these things happen. But we've been promised multiple times that we'll get our money back and it hasn't happened. He didn't provide the service, and he took the money from us in advance. The least he can do is give us our money back and we can move on."
The ECHO contacted Gary by phone, email and social media for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
