Couple Sues Hotel After Sprinkler Ruins Ceremony

When Brookyln couple Svetlana and Yuriy Orishchenko wed on August 9th 2008, their outdoor wedding at Staten Island's Hilton Garden Inn took a turn for the worst when the property's sprinkler system suddenly turned on and rained out their ceremony. Everyone, except the bridal party, was soaked within minutes. Now, still haunted by how fast their special day became a nightmare, the couple is suing the hotel for more than 30 times what they paid for the wedding.

"I was the princess and this was everything I could have wanted," the bride, a hospital assistant, told The Daily News. "We made sure of everything, I even asked them if there were generators in case the power went out. But the sprinklers?"

It took staff members almost 40 minutes to completely shut off the sprinklers. The hotel's owner, Richard Nicotra believes the control box was struck by lightning, and says he offered to compensate the couple for their trouble and to pick up the dry cleaning bill for anyone who attended. The wedding cost the couple close to $20,000, but the lawsuit they filed in New York on Wednesday asks for $300,000 in damages.

"They were yelling and screaming, complete craziness," the groom said. "I had to hold my mother to keep her from fainting."

Worried the same thing could happen to you? This one may have been unavoidable, but read our list of classic wedding disasters to watch out for so you can be proactive about other potential wedding nightmares!

photo: Daily News