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Bride says she gets duped on wedding day

Posted at 9:32 PM, Feb 09, 2015
and last updated 2015-02-09 22:38:42-05

ZEELAND, Mich.-- Most brides can agree planning a wedding is stressful and expensive. One family felt they were duped out of one of the most important part: the transportation to her big day.

A company named Royal Party bus never arrived to pick up a West Michigan bride on her big day, and the owner never returned her deposit. Then he vanished completely, cutting off all communication and the family unable to locate him.

Jenny Smith wanted the wedding of her dreams, but there was one thing standing in her way: a tight budget.

“You can plan it and you can plan it 100 times over until your blue in the face. You're still going to have unexpected expenses come up,” said Jenny Smith.

Smith did her best to make sure that didn’t happen.


Her dress was $800 at David’s Bridal. We went to Goodwill in Holland. They had the exact dress she wanted for $25.99,” said Smith’s mom, Kara Hillard.


They got her wedding cake from Wal-Mart, and even managed to cut costs from accessories.


“We made all of our bouquets by flowers we got at dollar tree,” said Smith.


Even her retired father decided to pull his weight to make it work.


“He went back to work and he transferred money every week into an account,” said Hillard.


As the wedding got closer, Smith wanted one thing to make the day perfect. She wanted to show up in style, of course.
“She wanted the party bus and I would be like ‘Jenny we are already strapped,’” said Hillard.

As Jenny was about to give up, she found Royal Party Bus, and the company was in her price range. She went to go check it out with her family. They all went for a ride in the bus, and checked it out for themselves.


“It was beautiful. It was very clean,” said Hillard.
It had all the features they needed plus a hint of royalty.
“He is actually from Jordan and he said he is actually from a royal family, and that is how he came up with the name of the party bus,” said Hillard.

That sealed the deal for them, and they put down a deposit, signed a contract, and left satisfied.
 
It wasn’t until an hour before the wedding when they were supposed to get picked up they realized they had a sour deal. They got a call from the owner, Said Ghannam, who went by Sam, telling them the bus had broken down.

“I was very surprised, because he returned calls and he returned text. It was downright disheartening,” said Hillard.
 
Smith and her mom realize accidents happen, but when they tried to meet up with the driver to get their deposit back after countless calls, texts, and meet up locations, they started to get the feeling Ghannam was dodging them.
 
Fox 17 news tried to get in touch with Ghannam. We call his company number but it was disconnected, we messaged him through Facebook, and went to his prior residence. We even when to the location where he would park the bus occasionally, but Royal Party Bus was nowhere to be found.
 
Royal Party Bus might have disappeared, but Smith and her mom say it’s not about the money, but about the principle.

“I don't want some bride to come up with the same situation, because he claimed to be running a business and he doesn't want to give the monies back when I have texts from him saying he will,” said Hillard.


Kara and Jenny wanted to send out a message for brides everywhere to beware, and look for reliable transportation they can trust.