"I just really thought it was going to be perfect. And it was just a disaster. I thought this can't be happening." For Melissa DeCarlo, memories of her wedding day bring tears, but not of joy.
Last August, her lavish, late summer wedding started out picture perfect.
But just as Melissa and fiance Pete were saying their vows? The ceremony took a surprise, soggy turn.
Sprinklers, right next to the patio where the wedding was set up, suddenly went off, spraying everyone nearby.
"I was so happy until that point and everything was perfect," said the bride, fighting back tears.
One of the wedding guests covered the sprinkler head allowing the priest to rush through the ceremony. The blushing bride tried her best to grin and bear it. But now, months after her honeymoon, Melissa's smile is gone, and she and her husband have a tough time watching the video.
"Instead of Pete and I having, you know, a moment after (the ceremony), we spent it yelling at the staff and trying to figure out what happened."
The wedding hall, The Woodlands, called the sprinkler mishap a "mechanical malfunction." And said the problem was "beyond our control" because the sprinklers belonged to the neighboring golf course.
Plus the original contract states the Woodlands isn't responsible for "water" failure.
Still, the Woodlands offered the young couple a $500 dollar gift certificate. But Melissa says she would never go back to the hall.
"I mean it's a year of your life you're preparing for and planning for. So it is a big deal, it's a huge deal," says Melissa.
And after 7 On Your Side got involved the Woodlands agreed to compensate the couple. But Melissa and Pete would have to sign this agreement, asking them and their family and friends to "cease and desist" "defaming the Woodlands" reputation." In return, they would get refunded the $1,000 ceremony fee.
But the young couple thinks signing the agreement would be an admission they unfairly defamed the hall's reputation. So, in the end, the couple decided not to sign.
"I'm not making up a number to make me not upset anymore. No amount of money can do that," says the bride.
In the end, Melissa and Pete just hope this never happens to another couple.
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Story by: Tappy Phillips
Produced by: Steve Livingstone
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