Courtney Wilson and Shenita Jones had finally found the perfect setting for their weekend-long wedding celebration. So, they invited family and friends to their “dream home and estate” – a 16,300 square foot mansion – for a Saturday ceremony and Sunday brunch. There was just one problem: they didn’t own the property and no one had given them permission to use it.
The $5.7 million estate had every amenity imaginable – bowling alley, swimming pool, hot tub, tennis courts, gazebo and bar, among other things. All in all, it was an ideal setting for a wedding. However, the actual owner, Nathan Finkel, never gave the couple permission to use it.
Instead, Wilson showed up the morning of the ceremony, expecting to set up. That’s when Finkel called the authorities, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“I have people trespassing on my property,” Nathan Finkel reportedly 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.”
Police responded and told Wilson he had to leave. Wilson was not charged with a crime.
Before the intended ceremony date, Wilson had toured the property posing as a potential buyer. He later asked Finkel for permission to use the mansion’s backyard for his wedding ceremony. But, Finkel did not grant him his request, according to Southwest Ranches attorney Keith Poliakoff.
“The guy figured it was a vacant house and didn’t realize Nathan lived on the property in a different home,” Poliakoff told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “This guy had no idea he lived there. You know the shock that must have been on his face when he showed up at the gate and the owner was home?”
(PHOTO: Getty Images)