A prominent Utah landmark was ‘destroyed’ when a technology entrepreneur and his former Miss Ireland bride allegedly left the area covered in rubbish after their wedding, a local councilor has claimed.
Silicon Valley investor Andrew Chen and his new wife Emma Waldron, a former beauty queen who now runs an AI startup, are accused of leaving the mess after their wedding at Utah’s picturesque Castleton Tower landmark in Septemberaccording to SFGate.
The outlet said the California couple has since tried to erase evidence of the wedding from the internet.
Images of the aftermath of the wedding show piles of furniture and garbage bags strewn across the base of the monument, while tire tracks can also be seen in the destroyed vegetation.
Images of the aftermath of the wedding showed the scenic spot covered in wedding decorations, furniture and trash
Officials reportedly cleared the event as long as it was just a “simple ceremony with one small white tent” — but footage of the event appears to show it was much larger, according to SFGate
The bride, Emma Waldron, won Miss Ireland in 2010 and has since launched a successful tech career and currently runs an artificial intelligence startup
Tech entrepreneur Andrew Chen headed Uber’s Rider Growth division and now works as a venture capital investor in video games and the metaverse
The day after the wedding on September 3, Castle Valley councilor Pamela Griffin reportedly came across the mess while walking out of her cabin, which made her so angry she was shaking.
She said she saw movers from a California-based rental company boxing up some furniture and wedding supplies, adding that the moving van also left deep tire tracks.
When she returned the next day, Gibson told the outlet that there were still trash bags filled with broken glass and food in the area, and she was reportedly the one who shared the footage of the aftermath.
It was reportedly left to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rangers to clear the area later.
The couple appears to have since changed their social media settings to private. But a now-deleted tweet that Chen allegedly sent to his 273,000 followers read: “During the ceremony, we took longing vows, had a delicious meal, and then danced!”
He added that the couple then headed to Japan for their honeymoon.
In a since-deleted social media post, Chen said his wedding featured a “beautiful dinner and then some dancing” before he and Waldron left for Japan.
The couple’s wedding, dubbed the “Waldron/Chen extravaganza” by officials, has led to an effort to ban events at the Utah monument.
After her success as a beauty queen, Waldron now heads ‘Spuddie’, an AI company that aims to release a digital ‘best buddy’ to ‘take care of your emotional and intellectual nourishment’ with artificial intelligence
Chen is a video game and metaverse investor for venture capital firm Andeessen Horowitz, and his company’s author page describes him as a “prolific writer and leading voice in mobile, metrics and user growth.”
Prior to his time at the venture capital firm, Chen led the Rider Growth division at Uber.
His new bride won Miss Ireland in 2010 and has since entered the world of Silicon Valley, as well as becoming the head of AI startup ‘Spuddie’.
The company is about to release a digital “best buddy” to “take care of your emotional and intellectual nourishment” with artificial intelligence.
She was also the founder of platform WiLDE, which was reportedly backed by several billionaires and business heavyweights, including John Sculley and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Apple.
Attempts to reach Chen or Waldron for comment were unsuccessful.
According to an email sent by a BLM official to Gibson, seen by SFGatethe couple was allowed to hold the event at the foot of the monument, as long as it was a “simple ceremony with one small white tent.”
Video purportedly of the wedding shared on social media shows the event appeared larger, with at least two tents and long tables. It is unclear how many people were present.
Waldron pictured at the VIP Style Awards at The Marker Hotel in Dublin, Ireland in April 2014
A Castle Valley council meeting on September 20 resulted in Gibson and Castle Valley Mayor Jazmine Duncan writing a letter to the Bureau of Land Management to complain about the couple’s permission to hold the wedding.
The letter claims that when the couple received permission, they declined to mention that they would use a generator, hire a catering service with tables and chairs and build a 23-foot cabana.
The letter added that they had lined the road with glass candles and used a toilet facility, which reportedly remained in place for days after the service.
Officials used the wedding as an example to argue against the BLM chapter to ban all future events at the base of Castleton Tower, warning that another wedding could “easily expand” into the “Waldron/Chen extravaganza” .
“It was a commercial event – small by LA standards, I’m sure, but still it shouldn’t have happened,” Gibson said later. ‘And they are not responsible for it, which I find really annoying.’
She continued, “It was basically four days where the public couldn’t enjoy what they should be able to enjoy because of these people who have no qualms about misrepresenting anything just so they can celebrate their beautiful little wedding. ‘
The councilor said two months later she is still finding rubbish and broken glass at the site, ruining the landscape popular with hikers and photographers.
The BLM chapter added that it would follow up with the couple “in coordination with BLM law enforcement,” but did not immediately respond to a request for further details when contacted by DailyMail.com.