A new lawsuit in the US — issued by the American actress’s own father — paints a picture of her as a “bridezilla” who burned through three wedding planners in the run-up to their big day, as well as allegedly snapping at staff.
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The news may come as little surprise to Brooklyn’s parents David and Victoria.
While they were the picture of support at the £5million bash last April, it later emerged that Nicola had clashed with fashion designer Victoria over whether the former Spice Girl would create her bridal gown.
There were ructions at the wedding too, with Nicola said to be “in tears” after US singer Marc Anthony dedicated a song to Brooklyn and Victoria, rather than her.
While the feud between Victoria and 28-year-old Nicola about the dress was well reported at the time, now fresh allegations have come to light about Nicola’s antics ahead of her wedding, thanks to her billionaire father, fast food tycoon Nelson Peltz.
He is suing Nicola’s second wedding planners, Nicole Braghin and Arianna Grijalba, for allegedly not returning his £129,000 deposit after their involvement with the project ended.
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They had been hired after celebrity wedding planner Preston Bailey stepped down in “mutual agreement” six weeks before the wedding, with the court documents revealing he had faced “challenges” with the party at the Peltzes’ £76million estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
It is not known why Bailey pulled out, but the “scale” of Brooklyn and Nicola’s wedding appeared to be a major issue.
In his lawsuit, 80-year-old Nelson makes it clear he expected the duo to pick up where Bailey left off.
However, the arrangement failed to work, and in the legal case Nelson lays out a series of allegations about their alleged shortcomings.
The documents hugely talk up Nicola and her achievements.
One line reads: “Nicola is a world-famous actress who has starred in blockbuster movies and television shows, including, among others, Transformers: Age Of Extinction, Bates Motel and The Last AiRbender.”
Of the wedding, Nelson’s lawyers continue: “The guest list included more than 500 people, including numerous celebrities, athletes, dignitaries and other influential individuals who travelled from all around the globe to attend.
“The celebrity of the wedding couple combined with the anticipated attendance of many high-profile guests required that the wedding planner have the expertise and staffing to plan, co-ordinate and execute a wedding event of the expected calibre and complexity.”
However, Nelson claims nine days after hiring Nicole and Arianna they parted ways with them because they could not handle the VIP guest list.
As part of his lawsuit, he uses texts between Nicole, Arianna and Nicola to spell out their disagreements, including a seemingly ongoing row over the guest list.
The texts show Nicola appearing to rant at the pair, with one exasperated message telling Nicole and Arianna she was “tired of catching their mistakes” on the RSVP list.
The row appeared to have been triggered after British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton appeared on the “confirmed” list despite being unable to attend.
The messages — in a group labelled “The real planners” — show Nicola saying: “Lewis Hamilton did NOT RSVP. So explain why his name’s on the list please.
“We spoke to him. He can’t come so explain why you said he RSVPd yes.”
Arianna replies: “I need time to do this.
“I’m going to take a moment to learn the app and send you the information, I hate looking like a fool but I hate the most not giving you what you need ASAP.
“I will be back soon.”
Nicola then hits back: “That’s not true. He didn’t RSVP AT ALL.”
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The lawsuit Nelson also accuses the planners of “drinking” on the job.
One line reads: “References to alcohol use and possible abuse were not unusual.”
In messages between Nicola and Arianna, the latter texts: “Now I’m going for a tequila, my head is about to explode.
“But I’m here if you need me.”
Nicola then replies: “Yes queen!!!!!!”
In the lawsuit Nelson alleges the planners oversold their abilities and that the pair had “missed out”.
His lawyer says: “Peltz had presented them with the opportunity of a lifetime, to have their names associated with the wedding of two world-famous celebrities, which would undoubtedly propel (their firm) PDE into wedding planning stardom.
“In reality, however, it later became clear that PDE viewed this as an opportunity to take advantage of Peltz by making material misrepresentations on both their website and in person regarding their experience, expertise and capability of planning the wedding.”
The text messages also reveal that Nicola and Brooklyn invited 670 people, asked them all to show a “proof of vaccine” and declared that “12 guests were deleted because they were not supposed to be invited”.
The row between Nicola, her family and the planners reached a head on March 4, with just weeks to go to the big day.
Ominously, the filing refers to the date as “the day of reckoning”.
It adds: “During their nine days of negotiations, PDE failed to book a single new wedding vendor, failed to finalize the terms of any agreements with any of the vendors that had previously been selected by Peltz and his family and failed to attend previously scheduled meetings with Peltz.
“Admitting that they lacked the skills to perform as promised, PDE recommended hiring an additional wedding planner.”
Nelson and his wife Claudia then hired event planner Michelle Rago, who they claim charged them more because of the event’s tight deadline.
The big day itself — with celeb guests including chef Gordon Ramsay, Spice Girl Mel B and tennis champion sisters Venus and Serena Williams — was splashed across the cover of British Vogue magazine, with Brooklyn and Nicola calling it “blissful”.
Yet Nicola’s bust-up with her organisers was not the only sore point.
While it became clear in the months before the wedding that designer Victoria would not be in charge of the dress — the job going to Italian fashion house Valentino — next to nothing was said about the decision.
However, four months after they wed, Nicola claimed Victoria had seemingly snubbed her.
She said in an interview: “I was planning on wearing Victoria’s wedding dress.
“I was truly so excited to be able to wear a design that my future mother-in-law created.
“We connected to start designing the dress, and then a few days went by and I didn’t hear anything.
“Victoria called my mum and said her atelier couldn’t make it.
“So I spoke to my mum and Leslie (Nicola’s friend, stylist Leslie Fremar), and I was like, ‘Well, unfortunately, this can’t happen, so what’s the next step?’
“When I read things that say I was never planning on wearing a (Victoria Beckham) dress or things like that, it does hurt my feelings.
“I try not to let it, but it’s just not the truth. It’s just a bit of a bummer when you’re like, ‘Oh, people think that’, but it’s just not true.”
At the time, insiders told The Sun that Victoria was “seething” and a pal said of Nicola: “She can, well, be a bit of a cow when the mood strikes.”
They continued: “There appears to be this baffling false narrative being peddled out by Nicola about this bloody dress.
“Victoria is bemused as to why she keeps stoking the rumours of a feud instead of shutting them down.
“David and Victoria have both reached out to her to try and make peace, and find a way to get along.”
The Beckhams’ olive branch seemed to bear fruit when Nicola appeared at Victoria’s debut fashion show in Paris in September.
But while she and Brooklyn were both at the event, they failed to join the family for a meal afterwards.
The legal battle between Nelson and the wedding organisers is ongoing, yet his actions have been called “embarrassing” for Nicola, whose antics do not appear to paint her in the best light.
A source added: “Like Victoria wanted the feud to disappear, Nicola will no doubt be hoping this all dies down as quickly as possible.
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