We discovered that our wedding planner had cheated on us just three days before our big day

A couple cheated out of more than £2,000 have revealed the moment they realized their “nasty and twisted” wedding planner had disappeared – just three days before their wedding.

Jason and Nicky Asquith-Thorpe, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, paid Dana Twidale, 44, to provide the marquee, tables, chairs and food for 100 guests at their wedding reception on July 27, 2019.

But just three days before their wedding, they discovered it was all a scam – the scam vanished and plans for their big day were in shambles.

Between 2017 and 2019, Twidale, from Hull, “spoiled” the weddings of 24 couples when she took payment for services she failed to provide, Hull Crown Court has learned. In July 2021, she was sentenced to five years in prison.

Jason and Nicky have now opened up about their ordeal in the third episode of Quest Red’s series The Big Swindle. The episode airs tomorrow and tells the stories of the most brazen and ruthless scammers and the victims who exploited them.

Jason and Nicky Asquith-Thorpe, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, paid Dana Twidale, 44, to provide the marquee, tables, chairs and food for 100 guests at their wedding reception on July 27, 2019

Twidale – who also lied about being a victim of domestic violence, that her mother died and that her brother tried to commit suicide to cheat on people she knew – used the money to settle a gambling problem and a month-long holiday in finance Spain.

In a clip from The Big Swindle, Jason and Nicky explain how they found out they were the wedding planner He was considered a “friend” and hadn’t managed to meet her at the venue as planned – just three days before the wedding.

Nicky recalls, “We all went to the venue together, so my mom, my aunt, me, Jason, my kids.”

“We were hoping that Dana would already be there with her van to set up the tent, chairs and tables.”

Jason continues, “When we got to the venue, there was no van, no marquee, nothing.”

“There was a car with a couple in it that we had never seen before. We assumed one of them was Dana.”

“These were the people she hired to fill the marquee — to make it extra special for us.” And they still didn’t know about it, they assumed she’d show up too.’

Nicky continues, “That’s the worst part – Dana texted me, ‘We’re late, don’t worry, we’ll be there.’ And that was the last text I got from her.’

But just three days before their wedding, they discovered it was all a scam – the impostor (pictured) disappeared and plans for their big day were in shambles

Jason and Nicky have been cheated out of more than £2,000 by ‘sneaky’ wedding planner Dana Twidale

Still convinced there must be a logical explanation, Jason says, “She hadn’t shown up at lunchtime.” We kept ringing and it just rang. Then we thought it might be a problem with the phones so I rang and then someone else rang.

“The couple who were there to set up the marquee called, but there was no answer.” It was surreal because there was someone from Hull who was there to put all the decorations together.

“I think it was about 2 p.m. — we had to go to church to do our rehearsals … when we come back she’ll set everything up.” “We didn’t know what happened, we didn’t know if something happened to her true.”

Speaking about the scammer in June 2021, Jason said she was initially thought to be very “approachable” after finding her on Facebook.

His wife traveled to Hull to meet Twidale and said she found the planner “really good” after showing her pictures of venues and marquees.

But after Twidale failed to show up to their venue and disappeared days before the wedding, Jason slammed the “sneaky” wedding planner for “ruining” their wedding day.

Mr Asquith-Thorpe admitted his wife (both pictured) found it difficult to trust people again after the incident and that she still blames much of the blame for what happened on herself

He said, “Emotionally it was going to be one of the happiest days of our lives, but it was one of the worst.” “It was frustrating, annoying and just heartbreaking.”

Luckily the couple were able to use a church hall and bar at Harrogate Town Football Club to host their wedding but had to spend an extra £3,000 to do so.

They reported Twidale to the police and nearly two years after the nightmarish ordeal she pleaded guilty to cheating Nicky out of £2,247.

Jason continued: “We kept talking about it for the next few days, wondering why she did this to us.”

After escaping and disappearing without a trace, Twidale was eventually spotted sunbathing in Benidorm, Spain, and reportedly in Tenerife as well.

However, in May 2020 she was back in the UK and spotted working in takeaways in the Humberside area. The law eventually caught up with the scammer, and she was sentenced to five years in prison in 2021.

Jason said, “It was amazing to find out how many people were victims and how sneaky she had been.”

After escaping and disappearing without a trace, Twidale (Image) was eventually spotted sunbathing in Benidorm, Spain and reportedly in Tenerife as well

Police and reporting agency Action Fraud began investigating Twidale after complaints from engaged couples, catering and event rental companies and DJs.

Several men in love also said the mother-of-four cheated them out of large sums.

A 45-year-old man said he lost £4,000 to her. And another suitor, who met her through dating app Tinder, claimed he gave her £10,000 for her mum’s funeral – only to find out her mum was still alive.

The news of her guilt came as a relief to many – especially her estranged husband Carl Twidale, who struggled to clear his name after he was accused of knowing about her evil behavior.

When the allegations broke out two years ago, Carl said, “It was deafening to read about all the scams and I can’t believe she did it.”

“When I first met her, she was adorable, vivacious and just wanted to be around her.” Everyone would say the same thing, but it seems it was all part of the act.

‘There are no words for that. She’s just evil and it’s twisted — you can’t do the things she did.”

Carl from Hull has been separated from Twidale for at least four years. He said he wanted to divorce her for good so they were no longer linked by name and he could start fresh with his new girlfriend.

Carl says he has been contacted by other men who claim to have been in a relationship with Twidale in recent years.

Carl hasn’t heard from Twidale since she moved out of his apartment. They have been estranged for years and he faced threats when she was first accused of cheating in 2019.

The Big Swindle will air Saturday, May 27 at 10 p.m. on Quest Red and Discovery+