A Florida couple wanted to hold an extravagant celebration for their wedding, so they invited guests to a $6M mansion in Fort Lauderdale fully equipped with a swimming pool, bowling alley, hot tub, tennis courts and more. The only problem was they didn't own the property nor did they have permission to use it.
The couple, Courtney Wilson and Shenita Jones claimed it was "God's plan" that they be married at the property.
The owner of the house, Nathan Finkel, was shocked when Wilson showed up to set up for the wedding on Saturday morning.
“I have people trespassing on my property,” Finkel told a 911 dispatcher. “And they keep harassing me, calling me. They say they’re having a wedding here and it’s God’s message. I don’t know what’s going on. All I want is (for) it to stop. And they’re sitting at my property right at the front gate right now.”
Two police officers responded and told Wilson he had to leave. He did so without any incident.
Finkel had apparently been trying to sell the house for about two years and Wilson had apparently taken a tour of it posing as a potential buyer. Shortly after, Wilson allegedly asked Finkel if he could use the backyard to host a wedding, but Finkel told Wilson no.
Despite this, Wilson and Jones decided to send out elaborate wedding invitations to guests, detailing their love story: reconnecting 30 years after high school and how he proposed over pizza on Christmas Eve.
The Saturday afternoon ceremony would be followed by a red carpet cocktail hour and a reception lasting past midnight. Sunday brunch would be from noon to 4.
An attorney for the neighborhood of the property says he thinks the couple figured the property was vacant. What they didn't realize though was Finkel was still there, just in another home on his property.
Source: NBC San Diego