Disneyland Paris Wedding Involving Child Bride Ends in Police Intervention
Weddings at Disney parks are a magical affair for many couples, whether it’s a wedding in Magic Kingdom or a luxurious celebration at one of the resort’s beautiful venues. It’s a dream come true for many, and Disneyland Paris offers its own unique charm for those who choose to exchange vows in the iconic park.
Couples can book everything from grand ballroom receptions to intimate ceremonies by the castle. However, on one particular day, the fantasy took a dark turn.
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One such wedding was scheduled to take place in the early morning hours of June 21 at Disneyland Paris. The scene was set with a beautiful cake, a live musician serenading the guests, and rows of chairs set up for the ceremony.
According to reports, the groom, a 22-year-old man, awaited his bride, and guests eagerly anticipated the ceremony. What they didn’t know was that what was about to unfold was anything but a typical wedding.
The moment the young bride entered, confusion set in. The bride, instead of being a woman of legal age, was just nine years old. To make matters more shocking, the young girl was carried into the ceremony by her mother.
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Cast members were horrified and immediately halted the event, calling the police to investigate what was happening.
As more details emerged, the situation grew even stranger. The wedding, which seemed so real at first glance, was not a wedding at all. It was, in fact, an elaborate social media prank orchestrated by the man playing the groom, a 22-year-old British national.
The event, which had all the hallmarks of a real wedding, was nothing more than a staged spectacle involving 200 adults and 100 children—actors hired for the occasion. The prankster had spent nearly $150,000 to pull off the elaborate ruse.
According to reports from The Guardian, a deputy local prosecutor confirmed the staged nature of the wedding.
“The event turned out to have been staged, the guests themselves were all actors,” the deputy local prosecutor told Agence France-Presse. “So it wasn’t a wedding but the staging of a wedding, which was filmed with around 100 extras. They had privately hired Disneyland Paris claiming it was a real wedding.”
They included a man said to have been the fake groom, who is alleged to have organised the event. He is 22 and thought to be British, AFP reported. A 24-year-old Latvian woman was also being questioned.
The young girl, who is Ukrainian, was not found to have suffered any “violence or constraint”, the prosecutor’s office said. Her mother, aged 41, was released from questioning, as was a 55-year-old Latvian man.
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As the authorities began to investigate, they discovered more details about the players involved. The man who posed as the groom was identified as a 22-year-old British national, and the woman who played the bride’s mother was a 41-year-old Ukrainian. The young girl, who was thankfully not harmed during the event, was also Ukrainian. The groom, along with a 55-year-old Latvian man, were arrested and taken in for questioning.
Two individuals were later charged with fraud and breach of trust for their involvement in the staged event.
Despite the bizarre nature of the prank, it was crucial to the investigators to reassure the public that the child involved was not subjected to any harm. “The young girl, who is Ukrainian, was not found to have suffered any ‘violence or constraint,’” the prosecutor’s office assured.
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Interestingly, the young girl’s mother later explained that she had hoped to give her daughter a special experience at Disneyland Paris. She allegedly wanted her daughter to feel like a Disney princess, the mother revealed during questioning. To accommodate the young girl in her elaborate wedding gown, the mother had to physically carry her into the ceremony.
The orchestrator of the event allegedly paid hundreds of individuals to attend the faux wedding. The British man behind the prank is said to have paid 200 adults and 100 children £200 each to attend what they believed was a ‘chic and elegant’ wedding rehearsal.
Additionally, the man pretending to be the girl’s father was a Latvian national who claimed he was unaware that the child bride was only nine years old.
For many, the most shocking part of this elaborate prank was the amount of money involved. The orchestrator spent nearly $150,000 to carry out the entire stunt. While the majority of the extras were unaware of the prank’s true nature, they were equally taken aback when the mother carried the young girl down the aisle.
The cast members and security at Disneyland Paris acted swiftly to shut down the event, sparing no time in ensuring that the situation didn’t spiral further out of control.
What do you think should happen to those responsible for this bizarre event? Should the orchestrator be banned from all Disney parks, or should they face criminal charges for the elaborate prank? Should the young girl’s mother face any consequences for her involvement, or is this a case of misguided intentions? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
