Couple Getting Better Reception Gifts Pour In For Newlyweds Locked Out Of Wedding Hall

After Jose and Adriana Lopez exchanged wedding vows, they and their 175 guests headed to a planned reception at a hall operated by the Seattle Parks Department - only to find the door locked.

The crowd of guests waited for hours Saturday in the parking lot - a relative even called police - but no one was ever found to let them in.

Now offers are pouring in to try to compensate the couple for the snafu.

The Victoria Clipper has offered them a honeymoon package to Victoria, British Columbia, complete with champagne breakfast en route, a room at the Empress Hotel and a horse-drawn carriage ride around downtown Victoria.

City Councilman Sue Donaldson, who calls the mix-up “very tragic,” said the couple accepted the Victoria trip late Wednesday afternoon.

The Four Seasons Hotel has offered dinner for the whole family and Mayor Norm Rice has chipped in with dinner for two at the Space Needle.

Ken Bounds, Seattle Parks and Recreation superintendent, said that in addition to reimbursing the Federal Way couple their $700 rental deposit, the city will help them file a claim to recover other expenses from the reception disaster.

Bounds said miscommunication between a vacationing city staff member and another employee who was supposed to open the community center was to blame.

While the gifts help, the bad memories linger.

“There’s nothing they can do to make up for that special night,” Jose Lopez, 19, told KIRO-TV on Wednesday.