The wedding was on a Michigan beach, the reception was in an art gallery -- but a former Chicago couple's wedding night was spent in separate jail cells after both bride and groom got shocked by a police Taser and arrested at their raucous reception.
Andy Somora and Anna Pastuszwska's July 19 wedding reception in tiny Lakeside, Mich., is still the talk of the town after officers from 14 police departments swarmed the art gallery to quell a melee. The groom's father, uncle, aunt and cousin -- several of whom hail from Villa Park and La Grange Park -- also got arrested.
"The short version of the story is they didn't want to quit their partying," said Mike Sepic, Berrien County, Mich., chief assistant prosecutor. "If you put this in the class of wedding receptions gone bad, I guess this would take the cake."
And the story didn't end after the reception. Two nights later, the bride and groom were again arrested in Michigan -- and again shocked by a stun gun -- after struggling with police investigating a noise complaint, Sepic said. The groom was charged with pushing his new wife down during that incident, but the charge was later dropped as part of a plea bargain, Sepic said.
It all played out across the Michigan border in Harbor Country, a sleepy summer vacation area known for its antiques, dune-filled beaches and sun-burned Chicagoans.
The wedding couple had moved to Colorado from Chicago in recent years, but they chose Lakeside for their wedding because of past times spent there, a friend said. It rained during their beachside ceremony, but the 100 or more guests huddled under umbrellas before heading to Burnison Galleries on the Red Arrow Highway for the reception.
Wedding photographer Kacper Skowron, a friend of the bride, said the party was "civilized" and "top-notch," with guests from around the country.
Gallery co-owner Tom Burnison, however, said that, fueled by alcohol, it got out of control and potentially dangerous, including when a guest heaved a metal lamp into a plate glass window. "Calling the police was a last resort," Burnison said.
When the only local police officer on duty that night arrived, Burnison and his wife asked him to help break up the party because it had gotten "out of hand," with booze, water and broken glass on the floor, Chikaming Township police said. One guest was seen drinking straight out of a vodka bottle, Sepic said.
The officer called for backup and told everyone the party was over. Many guests left, but some refused and began cursing at officers, police said.
"Andy got angry and started yelling, 'What are you doing? This is my wedding! You're making my wife cry!' " Skowron said.
"The crowd was trying to hold back the groom from mouthing off more, but finally he broke free, and they had to take him down," Sepic said of police. "He was heading for the officers. . . . Then the bride moved in and tried to interfere."
As the newlyweds struggled on the ground, a police officer used a Taser on Somora, 29, police said. Pastuszwska, 28, was holding her new husband tight, and was shocked as well, Skowron and authorities said.
"Imagine the kids and grandma seeing the bride and groom getting Tasered on the floor," said Skowron. "In my opinion, the police totally overreacted."
The couple ended up spending the night with strangers in separate holding cells about 50 feet apart.
The groom was hit with charges of resisting and obstructing police, a felony, and with disturbing the peace. He pleaded guilty to the felony July 30 and could face jail time when sentenced Sept. 15, Sepic said.
The bride was charged with resisting and obstructing, and she pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, Sepic said. She was fined $600.
Members of the groom's family were arrested on resisting and obstructing charges, but they pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were each fined $450. One person was ordered to pay $75 for the broken lamp.
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