Chicago groom countersues letigious bride

Remember this story about the bride who called the wedding off via lawsuit? Vito Salerno, the groom, is countersuing for the cost of the $45,500, 3-carat engagement ring that he says she refuses to return.

From the article (it reads more like a trashy joke novel):
Dominique Buttitta, the former bride, an attorney who works in Hoffman Estates, filed a breach of promise suit Dec. 11 in Cook County. She claimed Vito Salerno, of Barrington, left her holding the bag for a $30,000 banquet hall, $10,000 in live music, a $5,000 wedding gown and $11,000 for flowers, lighting and other expenses.

Salerno’s suit, filed Thursday, claims he kicked in $15,000 for the wedding. Salerno also paid toward pre-Cana Catholic wedding counseling [worked like a charm!], flower girls’ dresses, the honeymoon and other expenses, his suit says. Salerno’s filing claims he was "intentionally" kept in the dark about other wedding expenses and that interference from the bride’s family contributed to the breakup.

The Bride that wasn't. She looks intense!

Buttitta’s father allegedly turned thumbs down on his request that the couple’s first dance be to “Never Gonna Be Alone” by Nickelback [oh, the irony]. “You don’t want that song . . . that is a song played at a VFW hall,” her father said, according to the suit. The bride’s aunt also allegedly chimed in that the song was not “classy” enough.

The suit also claimed Salerno felt pressured to buy the pricey ring, believing that “Dominique expected a large ring because Dominique’s mother has an 8-carat ring which Dominique’s family refers to as ‘Rocky.’ ”

Buttitta’s family pressured Salerno to sign a prenuptial agreement and repeatedly brought up the matter even after he refused, according to the suit. After one refusal, the suit claims his bride-to-be hit him and stated, “You are f------ me over right now.”

A few days before the wedding, Buttitta allegedly told Salerno she would have nothing to do with his family after the wedding.

Another blow to the relationship, according to Salerno’s suit, occurred when his bride allegedly told him she had been treated for severe depression at the Mayo Clinic and was on medication. Earlier, Salerno claimed, Buttitta had told him she got a clean bill of health.

Salerno also claimed that Buttitta pressured him to provide details of who was present and what happened at the bachelor party at the Pink Monkey. When Salerno relented and told her about lap dances and that her brother and her sister’s boyfriend were present, “she spent more than a half-hour screaming and berating [Salerno].’’

Neither the bride nor groom, nor their attorneys, could be reached late Friday.

WOW. Just...wow.

xo,

Kay Banks

$9000 family heirloom lost during proposal

This is all over the news, and I can't believe that everyone is focusing on the cost rather than the meaning. Rings can be replaced, but imagine losing a family treasure! Here's the story:

Cawley's plan was to surprise Scanlon with the ring during a romantic walk along Lighthouse Jetty in South Yarmouth on Monday morning.

He tied it to a big sand dollar with some string, slipped it onto a rock when she wasn't looking, and then slyly called her attention to it. She grabbed the sand dollar, but the ring tumbled into the rocky nooks of the jetty -- and vanished.



"You could just hear it go -- click, click, click -- down through the rocks," said Cawley, a 30-year-old from Dedham who works in his family's restaurant. "I knew it was gone." "It was just a freak accident," lamented Scanlon, a 31-year-old schoolteacher from Needham. "I don't understand why it happened to us. It's one of those things 'Why us?'"

The panicky couple summoned beachgoers, lifeguards -- even Tom Flynn with his metal detector. But four hours of searching proved fruitless.

The couple's relatives -- waiting back at the house to throw an engagement party -- were left to wonder. [It's rather presumptuous to throw a party, but it's a thoughtful idea] "They were worried because we were gone so long," said Cawley with a laugh. "Either thought she said 'No!' or they thought we got a room."

Cawley just shakes his head [over the incident]. "I asked her 'Did you at least see the ring?' And she said 'No!'"

But Cawley still uttered the key question as they made their way back from the beach -- ringless -- and Stacey said "Yes!"

Now Cawley knows why his Mom scolded him so often as a kid about climbing on those rocks.

"And now 30 years later she's saying 'I always told you to stay off those rocks!' So listen to your mother." Good idea. Because last Friday, Matt's mother, unbeknownst to him, went ahead and insured the ring -- just in case.

My cynical opinion - insurance scam. Or this guy is hopeless at predicting the future. Jewelry and beaches to not mix!

-KB