If you’re in Ohio and hire Gillian Kresila to officiate your wedding, you’d better not disobey her no-alcohol rule or you’ll be sorry. Kresila discovered that the 23-year-old bride, Erin Kuhns, had toasted her magic day with a glass of wine, and she walked out on the wedding a few minutes before it was scheduled to start.

Kuhns said Kresila saw one of her bridesmaids with an alcoholic beverage and asked Kuhns if she had been drinking. Kuhns told her yes, she had a glass of wine to toast the wedding, and Kresila told her she was told not to drink before the wedding and would not perform the ceremony because of it.

Kuhns said that while Kresila never told them not to drink, the rehearsal coordinator who works with Kresila mentioned at the rehearsal dinner the day before the wedding not to drink alcohol and also to drink plenty of water and eat, so no one would get got sick. They didn’t meet the reverend until the day of the wedding.

Kresila, who works for a company that provides non-denominational ministers for events, told the press that it’s against the law in Ohio to marry people under the influence, so to keep things simple she has a zero-tolerance policy. Which is sort of understandable if the law really said that, but it doesn’t:

Ohio law only refers to not providing a marriage license to someone under the influence.

The couple found a replacement minister through a relative and got married anyway, drunk or not, and although Kresila hasn’t refunded their $50 deposit, they haven’t paid her the rest of the $100 fee either. They also say they aren’t planning on suing her, which surely is a first for a wedding screw-up.

“Bride and groom say their pastor ditched them at the beach” [Chronicle-Telegram] (Thanks to David!)
(Photo: bastique)

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