Runaway bride and groom! Newlyweds leave their lavish Italian wedding dinner for 80 guests without footing the £7,000 bill – and flee the country
A bride and groom have started their new life together with heavy debts in Italy after going on their honeymoon – without paying their £7,000 restaurant bill.
The couple – a local 40-year-old construction contractor and his 25-year-old German wife – married in late September in Frosinone, southeast of Rome.
After tying the knot next to the venue’s pool, they hosted a banquet at the restaurant – described as a typical Ciociaria eatery – for their 80 guests.
But when the owner went to collect their bill, he was dismayed to discover that the couple had not only left town, but had fled the country – with their family in tow.
The police are now involved and are monitoring the couple’s movements.
The couple – a local 40-year-old construction contractor and his 25-year-old German wife – married in late September in Frosinone, southeast of Rome. After tying the knot next to the venue’s pool (pictured), they hosted a banquet at the restaurant – described as a typical Ciociaria eatery – for their 80 guests
When owner Enzo Fabrizi (pictured) went to collect the bill, he was dismayed to discover that the couple had not only left town, but had fled the country – with their family in tow
The wedding took place on September 24, according to Italian news media, and everything was organized months before the wedding day itself.
The bride and groom, along with the groom’s parents, had visited Ristorante La Rotonda seven months before the big day and sampled the various menus on offer.
They opted for the fish, paid a deposit of 3,300 euros and agreed to pay the final bill – which, including the deposit, totaled 8,800 euros – after the wedding, with a deadline of Wednesday, September 27.
Initially everything went according to plan at the location in the hills near Boville Ernica. The couple happily exchanged vows in front of their friends and family in a civil ceremony led by a priest who came from Germany, the owner said.
The 80 guests enjoyed the seafood menu and drinks, leaving Rotonda’s restaurateur no reason to believe he would not be paid for the service offered.
However, Italian media report that the groom did not pay the day after the wedding – as he had agreed with the owner – and when Wednesday’s official deadline arrived, the newlyweds were nowhere to be seen.
The owner, Enzo Fabrizi, waited until late in the evening for the groom to show up at the venue and even tried to call him but got no answer.
He was even able to track down the groom’s parents, who had attended the tasting earlier this year, but had received no response from them either.
After a visit to the couple’s address and a conversation with the neighbors, the owner discovered that the couple had not been heard from since the day after the wedding.
” class=”blkBorder img-share” style=”max-width:100%” />
After visiting the couple’s address and speaking to the neighbors, Enzo Fabrizi (left with his lawyer) discovered that the couple had not been heard from since the day after the wedding.
In the photo: Ristorante La Rotonda a Boville, in the Italian province of Frosinone
The bride and groom, together with the groom’s parents, had visited Ristorante La Rotonda seven months before the big day and sampled the different menus on offer
Mr Fabrizi said the banquet cost the couple about 90 euros per person, and that the total bill also included decorations – such as flowers – and other extras.
This prompted him to contact the local police, who were able to trace the couple’s movements from the wedding.
To his dismay, the owner was told that the couple had driven to Rome and flown to Frankfurt, Germany, after the party.
Officials suspect they were on their way to visit the bride’s family.
“It has never happened in many years of doing business that at most one person was late, but it has never happened that the spouses disappeared without paying the bill for the wedding banquet,” Mr. Fabrizi said. Corriere della Sera newspaper.
He told reporters that he was introduced to the groom by a friend he had known for 20 years, who often came to eat at the restaurant, and claimed that the 25-year-old was the groom’s third wife.
“I trusted because my friend always kept his word,” he said. ‘A serious person.
‘He reassured me by saying that the bride’s father works at a bank in Germany. In short, it’s a wealthy family.’
Mr Fabrizi said the banquet cost the couple about 90 euros per person, and that the total bill also included decorations, such as flowers, and other extras, which the owner said cost 400 euros alone.
“Immediately after (the ceremony) the guests, almost all from Ferentino and about a dozen Germans, sat down and lunch began,” he said. ‘They ate, danced and drank to their heart’s content. They left at ten o’clock at night, but almost all of them were drunk.’
The owner said he spoke to the groom and invited him to his office to discuss finances. “We did the calculations and he shook my hand and said he would come by the next day to pay,” he said.
‘The next day, however, he took a plane to Germany.’
Mr Fabrizi told Corriere Della Sera that he is determined to get back the money he owes for the lavish banquet.
The bride and groom, along with the groom’s parents, had visited Ristorante La Rotonda (pictured) seven months before the big day and sampled the various menus on offer. They paid a deposit and agreed to pay the rest of the bill in the days after the wedding
‘I will not give him peace until he pays every cent. “I have been a restaurateur for 40 years and I have never experienced such a setback,” he said.
‘My lawyer will ensure that he is blocked and I hope that as soon as he sets foot in Italy again, his passport will be revoked immediately.
“And to think he told me he would tip the waiters too.”
According to local reports, police are investigating the couple’s whereabouts and the groom is now wanted for fraudulent bankruptcy.