Iconic Calif. Glass Wedding Chapel Abruptly Closes Due to Mudslide Risk, Leaving Devastated Couples Scrambling

The Wayfarers Chapel announced its closure last week "due to the accelerated land movement in our local area"

A popular glass wedding chapel in California announced its closure last week in response to "accelerated land movement" in the area, leaving those who planned to wed at the popular venue "devastated."

On Feb. 15, Wayfarers Chapel shared an update to its website, noting that the grounds and chapel itself had been closed following recent storms in Southern California.

"Effective immediately, we are extremely devastated to announce the closure of Wayfarers Chapel and its surrounding property due to the accelerated land movement in our local area," the chapel noted at the time. "For those who have confirmed reservations at Wayfarers Chapel, please know refunds will be issued, and our Weddings and Events Office will be in contact with you soon."

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Wayfarers Chapel did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for additional comment on Thursday.

While reimbursements have been promised to couples who planned to wed inside the Rancho Palos Verdes chapel, multiple couples opened up to the Los Angeles Times this week about what the closure meant for their upcoming big days.

“We’re devastated,” said Ryan D. Harbage, who had planned to marry fiancée Jazmine Robinson at the location on March 24. “We’ve been imagining this dream ceremony at a place that is singular. It’s such a beautiful blend of nature and spirit, and we’ve been planning for a year to get married there, and it’s really, really hard to let go of that vision.”

The couple has since decided to have their ceremony at the same place as their reception, Long Beach Museum of Art, with the husband-to-be telling the Times that "the ceremony just won’t be as special as it would have been there."

“It’s a total drag and climate change is real. This is what it looks like,” he said, noting that the chapel reached out to him immediately and refunded him. “What else can you do? Listen, I’d much rather get married in an art museum than die in a mudslide. It’s really not a contest.”

A Wayfarers Chapel fundraiser has since been launched by its Director of Ministry, Rev. Dr. David Brown, who noted that donations will go toward "disaster recovery" following an "unprecedented landslide" in the area.

"The Chapel is honoring a goodwill commitment to refund all wedding reservations," he wrote. "The cost is enormous, and the cost of repairing the Chapel to a degree where it can reopen is even greater."

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Other soon-to-be newlyweds, like Sam Ng, found out about the closure with little time to reschedule their wedding dates. With most of her 60 guests flying internationally and the wedding having been 10 days away when she learned of the closure, Ng told the Times that she luckily made a new plan at the Santa Anita Church in Arcadia.

Another chapel booker, Howard Newman, told theTimes that he and his fianceé Dawn Sicard had booked the venue for March 9 and that his soon-to-be wife "really had her mind set on getting married there."

“The initial shock and all that stuff, it’s dissipated,” he said, noting that the couple also found alternative plans. “It is what it is. We move on.”

Speaking to the Times, Naomi White also said she booked her wedding at Wayfarers less than two weeks before the closure announcement when an employee warned her of the accelerated land movement, which she considered a "precaution." She added that she now hopes to postpone her July wedding, hoping the chapel will eventually reopen.

“I’m sort of just recalibrating,” said White, who planned to marry fiancé Pete Lorenz at the church. “My family’s from San Pedro and I grew up going to that chapel, so all my life I’ve always pictured getting married there.”

Amanda Temple, who planned to wed fiancé Zach Smith in May 2025 after booking on Monday, added that the chapel's closure doesn’t come as a surprise.

“We’re considering canceling our reception and taking a loss just because there aren’t a lot of options in the area,” said the 29-year-old, who planned a separate reception in San Pedro. “He’s like, ‘Let’s just go to Vegas, I can’t do this anymore.’”

The chapel's GoFundMe fundraiser has since raised over $31,000 of its $250,000 goal. Donations will be used to "stabilize and restore" the chapel, which "will take years and must be done in stages," per the post.

"Your donation is not just a donation to the Chapel, but a donation to the tens of thousands of people who have been married, baptized, or memorialized here and to the people who call Palos Verdes home. It’s also a commitment to the future of the community. It starts here and we are so grateful for your participation in it."

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