EXCLUSIVE Couple's wedding nightmare as police called and four-star hotel cancels evening reception after 'breakfast brawl' hours before the nuptials
A couple had their dream wedding turn into a nightmare when a 'brawl' broke out at breakfast, police were called and their evening reception at a plush hotel was cancelled.
Bride Mica Morrison and groom Rob Leah, both 29, were said to have been 'heartbroken' after officers tried to halt the ceremony with nearly 100 guests and ordered everyone to leave.
Desperate family members held crisis talks with the hotel manager and it was finally agreed that the noon service could go ahead followed by a buffet lunch in a decked out marquee.
However, a ban on alcohol was imposed at the meal and, apart from guests raising a single glass of bubbly or beer to the couple after they had tied the knot, it was strictly bottled water only on each table.
The distraught newlyweds had to cut short a professional photo shoot to frantically try to find an alternative place for their evening party, for which a further 50 guests had been invited.
One guest at Ringwood Hall Hotel - a popular 4-star wedding venue and spa in Brimington, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire - told the Daily Mail that 'all mayhem broke out' after a row at breakfast.
Three police cars and two vans raced to the scene after a member of the wedding party started rowing with other hotel guests on Thursday last week.
Officers are still investigating the incident.
The burly man, in his early 30s, had asked other guests to move, claiming they were blocking the way as he was pushing a disabled woman, thought to be his mother, in a wheelchair, witnesses said.
One guest, who saw the drama unfold, said: 'The man started shouting and gesticulating.
'He was a big fella and he looked quite intimidating. When a couple from the group he was rowing with grabbed his arms to calm him down, he kept shaking them off and in the scuffle a woman ended up on the floor.
'Staff looked horrified and it was shocking for other guests to see, as we were trying to enjoy a peaceful breakfast.
'You don't expect behaviour like that at a decent hotel. It was all going off at the breakfast buffet. It was mayhem.
'Shortly afterwards, police arrived and started talking to those involved as well as searching the place as if a murder had been committed.
'Someone said the bride and groom had been upstairs at the time and not at breakfast but were furious police had turned up and ruined their wedding.
'They were saying staff and police overreacted, that they had mis-read the situation and acted too impulsively.
'The person who had started the row wasn't arrested but was banned from the premises.'
People using the hotel's spa were advised to stay within the facility and not leave until the drama was over.
One spa guest added: 'The bride and groom were overheard pleading with staff to let them go ahead with their wedding.
'The bride in her white gown was overheard saying: 'This was meant to be one day for we would always remember and now we will for all the wrong reasons.'
The guest went on: 'All sorts of rumours were going around, that food was being thrown across the room and a woman had been flung over a table which were slightly exaggerated.'
It is understood Ms Morrison, a teaching assistant at a special needs school, and her partner of seven years, who is an assistant manager at a windscreen removals firm, finally tied the knot in a low key service at the 'idyllic' hotel.
They had ironically won their booking at the bespoke venue for free in a competition but paid nearly £6,000 in other wedding related costs.
The party was banned from holding a planned evening reception in the stunning 29-acre woodland grounds but fortunately found another location at the eleventh hour, it was said.
The night bash was held at Heanor Town Football Club in Derbyshire - a 30-minute drive from the hotel, which meant costly taxi journeys.
Some of the guests due to stay a second night at Ringwood simply cancelled and are understood to have been given room refunds.
A DJ booked for the original reception was cancelled and the newlyweds ended up with no live entertainment at the impromptu reception, instead dancing to music played on a mobile phone.
The wedding party feasted on takeaway pizza.
Disc jockey Jonathan Jono Hotchkiss - booked through JC Events in Stourbridge for £870 - had posted: 'Well what a day! Turned up at Ringwood Hotel, two-hour drive to set up and was told the gig's been cancelled due to a big fight at breakfast.
'Police attended and advised the hotel to cancel the wedding.
'We turned the van around and now we get a message as we're half way back to say they have moved venue.'
But it was too late for the DJ to make the new venue.
Ringwood Hall Hotel boasts it helps create a 'perfect wedding', stating in its brochure: 'Hosting your wedding day, from the ceremony through to evening reception and overnight stay, means you and your love ones can relax from the very beginning of the day, knowing that your ceremony and celebrations are in very safe hands.'
A hotel source said: 'What happened was an upsetting experience for the wedding party, other guests and our staff.
'Police wanted the wedding to be cancelled but we spoke to them and it was agreed it could go ahead with restrictions - a ban on alcohol and cancellation of the evening reception.
'Also, the wedding guest involved in the fight in the breakfast room was ordered to leave the hotel.
The source said the hotel had clamped down on bad guest behaviour following an incident last year during another wedding, saying: 'After that the hotel issued a new policy - any trouble and ask them to leave.'
She added: 'It's not fair for staff or other hotel and spa guests to have to tolerate any offensive behaviour.'
Ms Morrison and Mr Leah, parents of two young children, who live in Derby, did not wish to comment.
Ringwood Hotel's management was approached for comment.
A Derbyshire Police spokesperson said: 'Officers were called to reports of an altercation at Ringwood Hall Hotel in Brimington, Chesterfield, at about 8.45am on 29 May.
'No arrests have been made and enquiries into the incident are ongoing.'
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