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Biltmore wedding jitters

Management continues to book weddings and other events, leaving guests to cross their fingers.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published May 15, 2005

LARGO - She bought a beaded-lace gown to match the Biltmore's Victorian elegance. She chose ivory calla lilies to coordinate with the hotel's classic ambience. And she selected a five-tier cake to capture the resort's opulent style.

But Crystal Hannahs and her fiance don't know if the landmark resort will still be standing on their wedding day, more than five months away.

"I'm just ready to break down with everything going on," Hannahs, 23, said.

Hannahs and Philip Krausman have a $14,000 contract with the hotel for a wedding ceremony and reception Oct. 29. They've been keeping up with the news.

They know that DeBartolo Development has had a contract on the Belleview Biltmore Resort & Spa for weeks, and the resort's owners, Urdang & Associates, filed an application to demolish the hotel in April.

The couple have already paid about $6,000 on the contract. "I have to pay. I can't take the chance of breaking contract," Krausman, 27, said.

But the longer they wait, the more money they stand to lose. And the more the ambiguity worries them.

"A lot of people aren't aware what goes into getting married," Hannahs said. "They don't really know what it does to people."

If the hotel pulls out of the contract in a few months, they'll have to scramble to find a new location.

If they decide to find a new venue for the same date, they could end up paying extra fees to book their wedding at the last minute. And if they change the date, they stand to lose thousands of dollars in deposits for the DJ, photographer and flowers.

Plus, Krausman has relatives in California and Hannahs has friends and family in Ohio and Texas who have purchased plane tickets and booked hotel rooms. Krausman has offered to pay their cancellation fees if they have to change the wedding date.

"My best scenario, I could lose $8,000," Krausman said.

Richard Wilhelm, chief executive officer of Trust Hotels and Resorts, which manages the daily operations of the Biltmore, said the hotel is continuing to book weddings and has events reserved through 2006.

"In the coming months, we're going to be fine and the weddings are going to be great," Wilhelm said. "Trust Hotels and Resorts would not allow otherwise."

He added that any couple with concerns can call him directly at the resort. "We would be absolutely fair and ethical with any customer," Wilhelm said.

But many families are still worried.

Tina Papavasilopoulos, who lives in Belleair, is in charge of wedding arrangements for her son, Sophocles, and his fiancee, who live in New York City. She's overwhelmed because she's planning to travel to Greece in June and won't be back until two weeks before the Oct. 15 wedding.

"The wedding coordinators, they've just been saying as far as they know things are fine and I shouldn't worry. Based on what I'm hearing and reading in the paper, I think I have reason to worry," she said.

Tom Buist, 26, who lives in Melbourne, drove 170 miles to Belleair for a town meeting on May 3 because he has a wedding booked at the hotel in December and wanted to know what's going on.

"I'm still feeling like we should be looking somewhere else because I don't feel we got any answers," he said a few days after the meeting.

Hannahs and Krausman said they don't blame their wedding planner, who initially told them the hotel wasn't going to change hands or be torn down. But in recent weeks, the planner has told them he knows little more than they do.

Still, they're holding out hope for a fantasy wedding at the Biltmore.

They love the staff. They love the food. They love the atmosphere.

They plan to get married on the back lawn, by the pool with the cascading waterfall, and hold their reception in the 2,400-square-foot Candlelight Ballroom.

Actually, getting married at the Biltmore was Krausman's dream before it was Hannahs'.

"It's my baby. This is what I wanted and convinced her of it," Krausman said.

"He made me fall in love with it," she said.

Krausman has stood by Hannahs' side through three knee surgeries, an allergic reaction to pain medication and severe hypoglycemic attacks. And a few years ago, he performed the Heimlich maneuver on her when she choked on a piece of steak.

"He's saved my life four times," Hannahs said. "I want to give him what he wants for the wedding. If it wasn't for him I don't know if I'd be here."

They've known each other for 61/2 years but were friends for almost two years before they started dating.

A month later, she told him she was moving in with him. Eight months later he proposed - the first time. He casually asked for her hand at a friend's home.

In January, he proposed again at Indian Rocks Beach, the site of their first date. This time he knelt on one knee and professed his love for her.

Krausman said they won't demand their money back unless a demolition permit is issued because they have their hearts set on getting married there.

"I'll stay hopeful it's going to be there," Krausman said.

"I hope so," Hannahs said.

"But I'm not going to count on it," Krausman added.

Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 15, 2005, 01:20:21]