Three months after an overnight fire destroyed the West Carleton Meeting Centre at 2075 Richardson Side Rd., at least seven couples are still waiting for their wedding deposits back.

More than two-dozen couples were forced to find new wedding venues after the May 27 blaze, some of them at the last minute.

The owner of the wedding and banquet centre, Saeed Hadjifaradji, took part in one media interview after the fire.

Speaking to a West Carleton community newspaper, he said every couple would have their money back by the end of June.

Months later, many couples are still waiting.

Couple postpones honeymoon

Mathieu Bedirian and his wife have postponed their honeymoon while they wait for a refund on their wedding deposit. (Kristy Nease/CBC)

Mathieu Bedirian and his wife managed to find somewhere else to hold their June 14 wedding, though it cost them more than their original plan.

But they're still waiting for the $7,000 dollars they paid in advance to the destroyed wedding hall's owner.

"We postponed our honeymoon because we're buying a house, and what's more important? We can take the honeymoon after, but we want to move sooner rather than later, so we're going to postpone the honeymoon for maybe until next year," Bedirian said. "We don't know."

Bedirian said he's confident he'll get his money back eventually.

But Chris Parent and his fiancée have found five other couples via Facebook in the same situation, and Parent said he's worried the money won't come.

Owner declines comment

Chris Parent said he's thinking about using small claims court to get his money back. (Kristy Nease/CBC)

Parent, who is owed about $8,000 dollars, said none of them is getting answers.

"I'm starting to look at going to small claims [court] to try and get it back, and go that route, because really, I don't see when it's going to show up," he said.

Reached by phone on Friday, Hadjifaradji said he has no idea when the money will be paid out, and that he has no other comment to make.

On July 9, the couples received an email from an insurance adjusting company based in Toronto.

"We can appreciate that all patrons who provided deposits to West Carleton Inn and Meeting Centre Inc. are seeking full recovery of those deposits as soon is practical," the email reads. "To this end we are hopeful that settlement can be reached with the insurers in the immediate future. However, by stating this we cannot establish a specific settlement date."

A call to the company was not returned Friday.

The Office of the Fire Marshal of Ontario, meanwhile, continues to investigate the cause of the fire.