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Frank Catania has postponed his November 9 wedding to his fiancée, Brittany Mattessich.
Just weeks before they were set to say, “I do,” on Captiva Island in Florida, the 59-year-old Real Housewives of New Jersey star has confirmed that they are unable to move forward with their nuptials due to storm damage sustained by the venue after Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
“Hurricane Helene first came through and brought so much sand onto the island that the pools were filled with sand and the golf course and areas where the ceremony and the reception were to be held were also damaged by water,” Frank explained to PEOPLE on October 21 of the September storm. “Even though there was a possibility that the venue could have possibly been repaired for our wedding on Nov. 9, no work commenced because Hurricane Milton was coming the following week.”
After Milton hit Florida on October 9, he and Brittany decided it “was better off for us to reschedule for March 29, 2025, which gives the resort ample time to repair the resort back to perfect condition.” However, Frank, who was previously married to Dolores Catania, 53, from 1994 to 2002, noted that it was hard telling Brittany, 34.
“I held off telling Brittany for like a day after I found out because I did not want to see her reaction. So I finally told her the night after I received the news and, although saddened and disappointed, Brittany took it much better than I expected,” he admitted. “She would much rather reschedule for another date that was not in the hurricane season and would also give the resort enough time to repair the resort back to perfect.”
“Also we did not want to see our family and guests be inconvenienced in any way because of the damage. We wanted it to be a happy and fun time for everyone without anxiety or worrying,” he added.
Once they began looking into rescheduling their nuptials, Frank said it was “much smoother” than he expected.
“All of our vendors worked with us incredibly,” he shared. “They were all available for the new date and allowed us to change our contract to the new date without any additional charges and inconveniences.”
After Frank and Brittany got engaged in October 2023, she celebrated her bridal shower in April.
Continuing on to PEOPLE, Frank said Captiva Island has a “very special meaning” to him and his future wife.
“We had vacationed there before because Captiva Island was my mother, Dr. Lorraine Catania’s favorite place to vacation in the world. She passed away in 2007 and made us spread her ashes in the water off Captiva, so it would only be appropriate for us to celebrate such a happy and joyous occasion there so that my mother could be there,” he revealed.
As for their wedding, Frank said he hoped it would be like a “vacation” for their guests.
“Our intention is always for everyone to have a great and relaxed time without any stress,” Frank stated. “We want our guests to feel like they are on vacation having a good time and it just so happens that Brittany and Frank are getting married while they are there.”
“We are putting no pressure on our guests to have to be anywhere other than the ceremony and reception,” he added. “The rest of the time they are free to enjoy themselves as they want.”
During their wedding week, Frank shared that his guests would be staying at three separate homes booked by him, Dolores, and another one of their friends.
“They are all on the beach and have pools, so we hope that all our guests just come and hang with all of us on the beach or by the pools,” Frank explained.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 15 is expected to begin filming sometime in 2025.
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