Bride and groom plan wedding at stranger’s mansion without permission

Published Thursday, Apr. 29th, 2021

A South Florida couple tried to have their wedding ceremony at a stranger's mansion estate without permission, leading to disaster when authorities were called to the fantasy venue to keep them from trespassing.

Cover photo via Zillow listing for the Southwest Ranches home. Image has been cropped.

A South Florida couple tried to have their ‘dream’ wedding at a stranger’s mansion without permission this month, but things didn't work out the way they’d hoped. The couple’s fantasy quickly fell apart when reality -- and the property’s owner -- intervened.

Courtney Wilson and Shenita Jones decided to have their wedding at the 16,300-square-foot estate after Wilson toured the property during an open house, calling it their “dream home and estate.”

The couple told others that God told them that the almost 5 million dollar house was destined to be their wedding venue. But when the couple contacted the property’s owner, Nathan Finkel, to ask for permission, Finkel turned them down.

Undeterred, the couple went about planning their wedding at the estate, even sending out invitations to friends and family with the mansion’s address. They assumed that because the property was for sale it would be vacant, and that no one would discover their plan.

Nathan Finkel did in fact live on the estate. When the couple and the guests began arriving, asking to be let in to set up for the ceremony, he called local authorities.

“I have people trespassing on my property,” Finkel told the 911 dispatcher, the AP reported. “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.”

Read the full scoop in this Associated Press article.

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