January 9, 2024
A Latte Nerve: Indianapolis Coffee Shop Bum-Rushed By ‘Pop-Up’ Wedding
Mansion Society noted that the bride offered a $200 donation to the establishment, which management rejected in an email reply to the bride.
Mansion Society, a two-year old coffee shop in Indianapolis run by a family of Mexican immigrants, recently described a strange sequence of events via its Instagram page.
According to Complex, on Dec. 31, the coffee shop experienced a pop-up wedding in the middle of serving its regular customers. While the shop is accustomed to serving wedding guests on weekends due to its location next to a wedding venue, an entire wedding party descending was not something it was prepared for.
Videos of the impromptu wedding ceremony made their way to Twitter/X alongside screenshots of the company’s response to the event, first posted to the company’s Instagram page.
Mansion Society wrote that the wedding party had no approval from the leasing manager of Central State (the building housing the coffee shop) or the 1899 building venue located next to the coffee shop, which has sent an invoice to the bride. Mansion Society does not expect payment or a response because the wedding party does not see themselves in the wrong.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Mansion Society wrote as part of a series of posts on Instagram addressing the incident, “Soon enough, there was a full bridal & groomsmen party, a wedding officiant, wedding photographers, and patrons leaving personal items including wedding gifts, coats, purses all throughout the coffee shop as they took over.”
The company continued, “We book for private events and are proud to host bridal and baby showers, engagement shoots, parties, and all sorts of private events. We are delighted to be considered beautiful enough to host any special events! The group of about 20-30 people continued to not only have a wedding ceremony but take pictures, videos, and block pathways for customers trying to enter Mansion Society. They were asking us to take costs, purses and watch personal items as if they had rented us out for a private event.”
Mansion Society had withheld video of the event out of respect for the bridal party, but since it saw no accountability from the wedding party, it released the footage via its Instagram account.
The establishment noted that the bride contacted the venue after the post and offered a $200 donation. Mansion Society in an email reply to the bride rejected the offer, informing her that the donation is insufficient to compensate them for the complete take over of their venue without prior warning.
The email reads in part, “Without asking, consideration and zero care to those patrons around you or us you proceeded to have a wedding at the coffee shop with at least 20 people. Moving sofas, chairs, end tables, cushions, etc. Leaving our staff returned everything to its place. We don’t need a donation of $200, we need you to pay the fee to use a place that you did not previously hire for a wedding ceremony or at least ask if it was okay for it to be held in our facilities. The normal rate for a weekend rental is $500 and we look forward to receiving the payment as soon as possible.”
According to the Mansion Society Instagram account, the bride had not responded to the email as of Jan. 5 and many users on Instagram sympathized with the business, describing the wedding party’s behavior as “tacky” and “disrespectful.”
In a separate post, the co-founder of the coffee shop, Zorayda Lezama thanked people for the support of her business and explained the circumstances of her team, writing, “Mansion Society is a family business where my daughter Barbie is a full time barista who welcomes and prepares coffee with love and respect for each of you. As a result of the ‘Pop Up’ wedding on December 31, two posts have been made, the first was created by the surprise and indignation of our team.”
Lezama continued, “Popular opinion has been supportive, positive & encouraging. There are some who accuse us of ruining a wedding days joy and memories. We decided to post an update because the bride offered a ‘donation of $200’ without an apology or accepting responsibility for the event without consent after the Central state building manager contacted her. As for an update, she responded ‘that’s unreasonable.’ She has not responded to our invoice.”