NJ Couples Lose Thousands As Art Factory Wedding Venue Goes Bankrupt

BELFORD, NJ — An engaged couple with Belford and Matawan ties lost their deposit after the North Jersey wedding venue where they planned to be married next month unexpectedly filed for bankruptcy, according to this GoFundMe started for the soon-to-be newlyweds.

The venue is the Art Factory in Paterson, which is making headlines across the state after they aprubtly closed their doors and filed for bankruptcy this month.

The Art Factory is a rambling former factory located very close to the Great Falls of Paterson. A man named David Garsia was given a loan to turn the factory into an event space, and it has become popular across the state for weddings and other celebrations. According to their website, the factory has also been used for filming by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Disney, Alice in Chains, Bon Jovi, 50 Cent, Calvin Klein, Victoria's Secret and Cadillac.

On Sept. 22, the Art Factory put up this post on their Instagram page, blaming their lender for foreclosing on the building.

The lender who gave Garsia the money to open the Art Factory is the 100 Mile Fund, owned by Billy Procida.

"This is one of the saddest things I've witnessed in my 43-year career, I feel so bad for all of The Art Factory clients. It's a great venue and it was poorly managed," Procida told ABC News this week. "We are simply the lender, we have nothing to do with the decision by the Garsias to file bankruptcy."

A bankruptcy judge ordered Garsia to pay roughly $10 million to the 100 Mile Fund, NJ101.5 reports.

The Monmouth County couple reportedly put down a $14,000 deposit to have their wedding at the Art Factory in October, reported the Daily Voice. A bridesmaid for the couple started this GoFundMe account to help the women recoup some of their losses.

This has been the case for hundreds of engaged couples across New Jersey, with couples putting down deposits ranging from $12,000 and $14,000 to have their wedding at the Art Factory — only to be told the location is permanently closed and they will have to file a claim in small claims court to get their money back.

Six days ago, the Art Factory posted an email they received from Procida. They maintain that even during the COVID pandemic, when the state forced them to close and they had to postpone 167 weddings, Procida still charged them "insane interest."

"Covid had nothing to do with it," Procida wrote Garsia in an email. "Your (sic) a scumbag piece of s- lowlife. Pay me."

Read: Dream Weddings Wrecked: Popular NJ Venue Files For Bankruptcy, Blames Lender

Brides left without a wedding venue after popular event space in Paterson files for bankruptcy