Police storm wedding after bride sparks mass brawl by telling groom’s cousin to leave as he’d had too much champagne

Police stormed a wedding amid a mass brawl after a bride asked one of the guests to leave after drinking too much champagne.

NHS manager Jade Topping is said to have told her husband’s cousin Daniel Williams that ‘the cavalry’ were on their way after he ignored requests for water.

However, things quickly turned sour when the 29-year-old refused to go peacefully, punched security guard Craig Brown and broke his glasses.

The altercation escalated further when his father John Williams, 54, threw a punch at the venue owner’s cousin, Luke Maxwell, who tried to quell the brawl.

Eyewitnesses who saw the fight break out in the wedding barn at Alcumlow Hall Farm near Congleton, Cheshire, described it as ‘absolute chaos’.

The brawl broke out on August 6, 2023, after Williams and his father, along with other family members, watched Jade and her husband tie the knot in a lavish ceremony.

When police arrived on the scene, they found the guard with a cut on his cheek, while Williams had a black eye and was turning red on his face.

Luke Maxwell, whose uncle Todd runs the venue, suffered a sore face and head after falling asleep.

Williams’ mother Deborah, 58, recalled the chaos breaking out shortly after the newlyweds took the floor for their first dance, Crewe Magistrates Court heard.

“I remember Daniel saying to me, ‘I’m just going to have to sit here all night drinking water,’ but he seemed happy,” she told the court.

‘He didn’t seem drunk at all and I thought he was behaving and obeying. Then I remember Jade coming to Daniel.

‘She came from the side and behind Daniel over his shoulder, she leaned over his shoulder and said something to him.

‘I heard Daniel say, “I didn’t do anything wrong.” Jade then looked at me and nodded.

“I thought she was nodding to me, but the security staff must have been behind me,” Deborah told the court.

The mother then claimed that a security guard pushed Williams to the ground in “a split second” and restrained him.

“I saw a lot of men gathering and before I knew it they got him up and he was through an emergency exit,” the court heard.

Recounting the incident, she recalled there being “a lot of noise,” “chaos” and “panic” as her son was held on the ground.

‘I saw him covered in blood. He was shocked and bewildered. He looked terrible,” the court heard.

‘He was covered in blood and his clothes were torn. My husband was clearly very upset. He had tried to help my son who was being beaten up.”

Another relative, Ruth Bostock, 51, told the court: ‘When I got to the table I discovered that someone had asked Daniel to leave.

‘They say he drank too much. My aunt wasn’t feeling well so I went to the toilet with her and as I left the table the bride came over.

‘I assume she asked him to leave, but when I came out Daniel was on the ground with some men in black on top of him.

‘Two people held him down and one man held his legs.

‘They eventually went out through the side door, but once outside it was total chaos.

“The bouncers put him on the floor and there was a wedding guest, my husband and another cousin trying to get him.

‘Daniel was at fault for not wanting to leave, but he is not accused of not leaving the room.

‘He is accused of assault. From what I saw, they attacked Daniel. Daniel didn’t attack anyone. John tried to intervene.”

Mrs Bostock’s husband Gary, 57, told the court: ‘Daniel’s behavior that evening was fine. He was a bit rowdy and cheerful, but I never saw him irritate anyone.’

Defending, Mr Steven Nikolich said: ‘This was a family affair at a specialist wedding venue in rural Cheshire.

‘Jade had warned Daniel that the cavalry was on its way when she approached him at the table – and that’s what happened.

“They asked no questions and instead launched a sustained attack on Daniel Williams.

‘Police said he was covered in blood from his nose when he was taken into custody. He is very disheveled and bloody in the face. It was self-defense.”

He continued, “John Williams actually came in to try to free his son from a fight.

“Luke Maxwell comes running and Mr. Williams thought it was another person coming into the fight so unfortunately he hit him with a pre-emptive punch to the face.

‘John cares deeply about his son Daniel and he tried to help him all night at the wedding.

“That’s why he got involved and tried to free Daniel a few times from whatever he got involved in.”

Prosecutor Vincent Yip said: “For whatever reason, Daniel is asked to go out on the water.

‘He seems to calm down and then goes back to alcohol and then it gets to the point where either Jade or Mr Brown has asked Daniel to leave.

‘Daniel refused this. He got up and punched Mr Brown in the face, causing his glasses to fall off and a cut.

“Luke Maxwell realized something was going on and he goes to get involved and gets punched into the side of the temple by John Williams.

‘There was a very confusing battle on the floor, both inside and outside the room.’

Groundsman Daniel and John, who live together in the village of Harriseahead, near Stoke-on-Trent, were found guilty of assault.

Sentencing, JP Anita Davies said: ‘We have listened to what has been said – the main problem appears to be alcohol.’

Daniel was ordered to carry out a 12-month community order, undergo 120 days of alcohol monitoring and was told to pay £150 in compensation, including £439 in costs. John was fined £750 and ordered to pay £125 compensation and £625 costs. Both denied the crime.