PLANNING a dream overseas wedding turned into a nightmare for a Worcester couple after they were hit with hidden charges that cost more than they initially budgeted for the entire trip.

Tim Cross and Charlotte Hencher, of Warndon Villages, Worcester, are due to leave to tie the knot in a romantic ceremony in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday but have had their preparations disrupted by mounting costs.

They say they were not made aware of £2,000 of hidden fees by their travel agent when they booked the holiday and wedding at Thomson in Chapel Walk, Worcester.

They have already paid about £2,000 in fees alone to get documents processed before their wedding.

These fees involve the cost of translating documents, including two declarations of marriage, their birth certificates and change-of-name deed and decree absolute for a previous marriage, having them signed off by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and stamped by the Dominican Embassy.

The fees will cost more than the holiday itself (£1,279) and the wedding (£1,155) and have forced the couple to raid savings for a deposit on a house.

The company has offered to refund the couple about £90 after saying contracts signed contained an “error”, but the couple are still asking for compensation from Thomson for ‘the emotional stress and upset” caused.

Mr Cross, aged 29, a self-employed courier who works in a pub to cover extra costs, said the couple had booked the holiday for themselves and 12 others last July, also paying for a wedding package for the once-in-a-lifetime trip to the country on the idyllic island in the Caribbean. “As things progressed on through the stages of legal signing and other jargon, we started to find out there were never-ending fees that we were never informed about at the stage of booking,” he said.

“The assistance we have received has been insufficient and disappointing.”

At one point, the experience was so stressful that Mr Cross said his 28-year-old partner reached breaking point and was in floods of tears. The couple have also had to take time off work to sort out the problems over paperwork before they leave ahead of the ceremony on May 15.

He said: “Thomson’s have had over £25,000 from our family and friends, all of which are happy to spend this money only if they get to see our wedding. Instead, we have more than £2,000 in hidden legal fees we had no knowledge of and a bride and groom left very disappointed, very broke and with very little hope of becoming husband and wife.”

Thomson said a refund over an error in a contract for one document had been offered to Mr Cross.

“Thomson is sorry to hear that Mr Cross is unhappy with his booking experience,” a spokesman said.

“As outlined in our contract, it is the responsibility of the customer to cover legal fees during the wedding organisation process. These costs are charged by third party suppliers and vary depending on the country the wedding is due to take place in.

“Mr Cross signed a contract accepting these terms and conditions.

“We do acknowledge and apologise for an error that was made in the wording of one document and as a result a full refund of the cost of purchasing this document was offered to Mr Cross, which he has accepted.

“Thomson organise thousands of weddings each year and the majority of our customers are extremely happy with the service we provide.”