One devious wedding guest was looking for far more than merely catching a bouquet.
Natalie Green, 41, has been ordered to repay thousands of pounds that she allegedly misappropriated while claiming she was arranging travel and accommodations for other guests traveling to Thailand for a friend's wedding.
The scam came to light ahead of the 2022 wedding of Elaine and Marc Walker of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, forcing the bride's mother to compensate by paying roughly £11,000 for the 19 guests who had their travel money stolen from Green.
Green was given a two-year supervision order by Peterhead Sheriff Court.
Despite paying back £1650, she was also ordered to pay back the remaining £5,697 due in compensation, according to People Magazine.
Elaine described the moment she learned about the scam when her bridesmaid called her in tears.
"I couldn't make out what she was saying because she was hysterically crying," she told the BBC.
"My other friend Chevonne then said, 'Natalie has taken all the money, and we have not been able to get anything booked.'
"I was just absolutely gobsmacked."
Chevonne Millar, who had been friends with Green for nearly a decade, told the outlet,
"The plans began in 2021, giving us all plenty of time to save money for flights and accommodations."
"There were three of us who were single and traveling alone, so Natalie said, 'I am a student; you guys all work full time; I will help organize flights and accommodation; then you are only paying one person', she added.
"So we just started paying in installments, bank transfers. The first was about £800 for the flights."
Green confessed her fraudulent activities after accepting payments amounting to £7,547 between January 2021 and August 2022.
On her behalf, Green's lawyer said she was "remorseful and embarrassed" about her actions, revealing she was in debt and suffering from health challenges at the time.
