People rally around cafe owner after a big wedding party takes over their venue without permission

Wedding venues are something that people usually pick out in the early stages of planning for a marriage ceremony. But it seems one couple decided to hold their not-so-elaborate wedding at an Indianapolis-based coffee shop without providing prior information to the shop owners. The cafe called Mansion Society experienced an unusual day at their shop in 2024 when around 20 to 30 people showed up as guests at the wedding party that was held there. 

The Mansion Society shared about the chaotic day on their social media, where people extended their supportive comments, pointing out how the wedding party should have booked the shop before they started their surprise celebration. Their Instagram post mentioned that a hoard of wedding guests, which included an officiate, photographer and musicians, started to stream into their shop and it was like some "pop-up wedding" event that disrupted the usual services during the business hours of the shop that day. Mansion Society had no idea about the number of guests who would crowd the place.

In the first Instagram update, the shop wrote about how they take bookings for bridal and baby showers and a range of other private events. However, since the wedding party had not informed the owners of the Mansion Society about their surprise wedding celebration, the whole event proved to be a lot more chaotic for the shop and the workers. Not only the wedding guests were blocking the pathways for other customers to come in and place their orders, but the guests were also treating the staff as if they had booked the whole place for themselves.

At the end of the post, they requested future patrons to be considerate before booking their location for any private events and make prior monetary arrangements. The Mansion Society shared a second Instagram post where they elaborated on the event and what happened after their first post reached the bride, who had her wedding ceremony at the coffee shop. The bride offered an extra $200 to the shop as a donation, but the shop cleared that the so-called donation did not even meet the minimum consumption requirements or tips for the staff who had to work for the wedding event.

According to the Indianapolis Star, the shop is owned by 31-year-old Ana Lezama and her mother since 2021. Lezama said that she expected a small group to come and sign the necessary wedding documents, but soon the whole place was packed. The outlet tried to reach out to the bride too, but instead of giving an interview, she posted an anonymous blog post. The author claimed that the lease manager for Mansion Society only requested that the wedding party consist of all paying customers. They also claimed to have offered the $200 in good faith because of the overwhelming guest count.

"We stopped communicating when it came to our attention that Mansion Society had taken to social media before even initiating private conversations with us," the blog post further read. "It was clear that the private discussions were not being held in good faith to come to an amicable resolution. Unfortunately, such an important moment in our lives has been colored and scarred by this social media rampage when it could have been easily resolved in private," they wrote in conclusion. "As advised by our legal counsel and our hope to move on from this, we will refrain from participating in any additional discussions regarding this story. Thanks!"

In the third update on Mansion Society's Instagram, Zorayda, the shop's co-owner, wrote how people need to support "small local businesses that are trying to stay open and provide jobs and service to the city for the better." Folks on Instagram left positive comments to cheer the mother-daughter duo of Mansion Society. @ivy.mxo wrote, "For the rest of her life, I hope she remembers THIS is how she got married. By practically forcing her way into an unrented venue and refusing to pay the bare minimum."

@rolidz remarked, "You didn't ruin anything. The couple ruined their day by not booking a venue. This is and will always be 100% on them. You were far too accommodating, in my opinion." @fish_outofwater90 added, "As a wedding photographer, I cannot imagine showing up to an event like this and shooting after knowing they never booked the venue. I will be adding another clause to my contract. This is completely classless on the part of the couple and whoever else was involved in planning the event. $500 is the bare minimum. $200 is a slap in the face. Way to handle the situation with class! I wish I lived close enough to come grab a coffee."

Editor's note: This article was originally published on February 14, 2024. It has since been updated.