EXCLUSIVE: Party planner Mindy Weiss sues D.C. couple for $340,500, claiming they failed to pay for their daughter's extravagant wedding ceremony
- Wedding planner Mindy Weiss has sued a wealthy couple for not paying their daughter's wedding bills, court papers claim
- Socialites Bernard and Joan Carl - owners of the French luxury linens company D. Porthault - celebrated their daughter Alex's marriage to Peter Campbell in 2015 with a lavish wedding
- The wedding ceremony took place at the bride's sprawling family estate in the Hamptons
- Weiss's event planning company, MWPC, said it arranged everything from décor, meals, puppy watchers, piano deliveries and performers
- But when it came time to pay for her services, Weiss says the Carls only paid a portion of the bill
- She is now accusing them of owing $340,500, which is being disputed
Wedding dress and outfits, ceremonies and an endless stream of parties later, Alex Campbell, the daughter of socialites Bernard and Joan Carl, tied the knot with her husband Peter in 2015.
Despite the elegant, no-expense-spared celebration, one party involved in the nuptials was left feeling less than blissful.
Event-planning company MWPC, owned by high-profile wedding planner Mindy Weiss, is suing the Carls for allegedly failing to pay the final bill for the elaborate wedding.
Weiss, who counts Ellen DeGeneres, Jessica Simpson and Tori Spelling as clients, is suing the Carls for breach of contract, although only Bernard Carl signed the contract.
A year and a half after the event, Weiss claims her company is still owed $340,500 for its professional services and the vendors it paid on behalf of the Carls alone.
'The wedding was attended by hundreds of guests, cost several million dollars to create, and, in the words of Defendant Joan Carl, was a “magical” event at which “everyone had a great time.” It was magical for everyone, that is, except MWPC,' court documents obtained by DailyMail.com stated.
Mindy Weiss, owner of event-planning company MWPC, , is suing a wealthy couple for failing to pay the final bill for their daughter's extravagant wedding
Alex Campbell, the daughter of socialites Bernard and Joan Carl, tied the knot with her husband Peter in 2015
'This is a case about Bernard and Joan Carl (pictured in Scotland), two wealthy socialites...taking advantage of vendors and consultants they hired for their daughter’s wedding,' court documents stated. The Carls own French luxury linens company D. Porthault
MWPC claims it is still owed $340,500 for its professional services and the vendors it paid on behalf of the Carls. Alex's father Bernard is pictured on the left, and her mother Joan is on the right
Alex wore an Oscar de la Renta gown with lace detail and the first garden-inspired ceremony the couple hosted was held in the Hamptons
Alex and Peter Campbell held their wedding ceremony in the summer of 2015 at the bride's sprawling family estate in the Hamptons after a rehearsal dinner on the beach.
The ceremony was garden-inspired, with a display of 3,500 white roses studded into the ground to look like wildflowers.
Alex's mother Joan, who co-owns the Paris-based luxury linens company D. Porthault with her husband, even helped create a custom fabric (given the name 'Mariage') for the wedding that was used for table linens, favors, and the flower girl's dress. Alex wore an Oscar de la Renta gown with lace detail and a sweetheart neckline.
After the ceremony, guests were treated to a raw bar, a South African food station and a slew of hot and cold appetizers. A five-course meal was served in a tent in the garden under massive chandeliers made of greenery.
Hank Lane Band, along with close family friend Paz, who has previously toured with Tim McGraw, serenaded the couple for their first dance.
That followed a 'sparkler ceremony,' two after-parties and a poolside brunch the next morning.
The Hamptons ceremony was held at the bride's sprawling family estate after a rehearsal dinner on the beach the night before
Alex's mother Joan, who owns the Paris-based company D. Porthault, helped create a custom fabric (given the name 'Mariage') for the wedding that was used for table linens, favors, and the flower girl's dress (the print is featured here on napkins and seat cushions)
A five-course meal was served in a tent in the garden under massive chandeliers made of greenery, and a massive cake dotted with flowers was presented afterwards. On the right, bouquets decorate the rehearsal dinner table on the beach at the Hamptons
MWPC said that it worked around the clock to plan the event and arranged everything from décor, meals, puppy watchers, piano deliveries and performers.
Reality finally began to kick in, however, when the Carls were sent the bill.
Though Weiss said the family never used the word 'budget' in conversations about the affair and asked for extravagance, only portions of their final owed payment were made.
'[W]e know this is not in full but the best we can do right now. We would love to pay more but it seems somewhere along the line a bank messed up and sent the money to the wrong place. More to come as soon as money becomes available,' groom Peter Campbell wrote to Weiss in an email.
Weiss responded, requesting to be paid in full and seeking clarification. She added that it would be difficult for MWPC to continue to foot the bills from vendors that were piling up.
'I cannot lay out this money, I don’t have it...[t]here are always ways to work things out but without any communication and the silence we just cannot move forward...something is not feeling right here,' she said, according to court documents.
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Campbell then reaffirmed that the 'money got messed up by the bank.'
He added: '[Y]ou should know by now that Bernie [Carl] does not respond well to this sort of thing so I hope for everyone’s sake that your email doesn’t blow up.'
After a debt collector attempted to collect the remaining balance from the family, Carl responded with a 20-page letter citing his reasons for not paying the debt, including 'MWPC’s lack of financial discipline,' the fact that the wedding band 'got no "play list" or direction as to what music should be played and when,' and that the heel protectors on certain women's clothing fell off and that MWPC only arranged for the bride and the wedding party serial, instead of contiguous, pre-wedding salon appointments.
For Weiss, the reason behind the subsequent lawsuit is simple.
'This is a case about Bernard and Joan Carl, two wealthy socialites...taking advantage of vendors and consultants they hired for their daughter’s wedding,' she says in the court documents
MWPC is seeking compensatory, incidental and consequential damages resulting from lost opportunity and financial distress. Mr & Mrs Carl dispute the amounts owed and are expected to defend the court proceedings strenuously.
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