Couple disrupts coffee shop with pop-up wedding on New Year’s Eve, owners say

INDIANAPOLIS — The bride wore white. The owner of a coffee shop who said their business was hijacked by the surprise wedding is seeing red.

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A couple hosted a “pop-up wedding” at Mansion Society in Indianapolis on Dec. 31, WXIN-TV reported. The owners said the wedding party, officiant, photographers, and guests came in on New Year’s Eve and “(proceeded) to have a wedding ceremony with zero knowledge to us.”

According to a Facebook post, Mansion Society’s team wrote that it planned to open on New Year’s Eve.

Writing on Instagram, the business noted that “The group of about 20-30 people continued to not only have a wedding ceremony but take pictures, videos and block pathways for customers trying to enter Mansion Society.”

In another Facebook post, the Mansion Society wrote that they initially did not attempt to stop the wedding because their business is located next door to 1899, a wedding venue, WISH-TV reported.

Employees believed the wedding party was stopping in for coffee before moving to the wedding venue, according to the television station.

“We figured they were waiting for their entire group before getting up to order,” the post said. “The bride walked in and the ceremony immediately began. We were taking orders, slinging drinks, and we couldn’t stop a wedding ceremony midway. The social media backlash could have been cancel-worthy if spun the right way. Our shock froze us in the moment.”

The bride later emailed the coffee shop and offered a $200 donation, WXIN reported. The owners declined and asked for $500, which was its normal weekend rate for private events and rentals, according to the television station reported.

“We don’t need a donation of $200, we need you to pay the fee to use a place that you did not previously hire for a wedding ceremony, or at least ask if it is OK for it to be held in our facilities,” the coffee shop’s return email said, according to WISH. “The normal rate for a weekend rental is $500, and we look forward to receiving the payment as soon as possible.”

The owner of the shop said the bride emailed back and called the request “unreasonable.”

Efforts to reach the bride by WXIN and WISH have been unsuccessful.

A GoFundMe page has been launched to help support Mansion Society and cover the costs and loss of business.

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