It was a fairytale day fit for the pages of Vogue, with a side of Hollywood family drama.
But in addition to her wedding dress spat with mother-in-law Victoria Beckham, there was all sorts of trouble brewing behind the scenes of Nicola Peltz’s Palm Beach wedding to Brooklyn Beckham.
Nicola, the 28-year-old daughter of billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, went through three different sets of wedding planners, two of whom failed to meet the ‘scale’ of her plans.
There was a last-minute scramble to book musicians, and a ‘day of reckoning’ with one event designer who was reduced to tears and driven to tequila by the stress of the project.
Those new details emerged yesterday – along with terse texts written by Nicola to one of the planners – in a lawsuit filed by her father, a punchy and tenacious businessman who is vying for a seat on the board of Disney.
He is suing Nicole Braghin, the tearful party planner, and her partner, Arianna Grijalba, claiming they are refusing to refund him the $159,000 deposit he gave them.
Nicola Peltz with Brooklyn Beckham during their wedding weekend in Palm Beach in April. The family went through two wedding planners before finally settling on Michelle Ragos at the 11th hour. Now, Nicola’s father Nelson Peltz is suing some of the professionals who didn’t make the cut
Peltz and his wife Claudia made contact with Braghin and Grijalba through their firm, Plan Design Events, in March 2022, after getting rid of their first planner, celebrity-adored Preston Bailey.
It’s unclear why exactly Bailey wasn’t fit for the job.
In his legal filing, Peltz, 80, says Bailey encountered ‘challenges’ while planning the enormous event, which took place at the family estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 9 and reportedly cost around $3.5 million.
‘The guest list included more than five hundred people, including numerous celebrities, athletes, dignitaries and other influential individuals, who travelled from all around the globe to attend
Bailey, who planned Ivanka Trump’s wedding to Jared Kushner, did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s inquiries about why he stood down.
The Peltz family had grand plans for the three-day extravaganza for their daughter, who they describe as a ‘world-famous actress’.
‘Nicola is a world-famous actress who has starred in blockbuster movies and television shows, including, among others, Transformers: Age of Extension, Bates Motel and The Last Airbender.
‘The guest list included more than five hundred people, including numerous celebrities, athletes, dignitaries and other influential individuals, who travelled from all around the globe to attend,’ the lawsuit reads.
On March 1, 2022 – six weeks before the wedding – the Peltz family had hoped Braghin and Grijalba would be able to pick up where he left off.
Nine days later, after forking over a $159,000 deposit, they however decided not to move forward with the pair, who they deduced couldn’t handle the VIP guestlist.
‘Nicola is a world-famous actress who has starred in blockbuster movies and television shows, including, among others, Transformers: Age of Extension, Bates Motel and The Last Airbender.
‘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, coordinate and execute a wedding event of the expected caliber and complexity,’ Nelson’s lawyers say in the lawsuit.
The issue now at hand is the deposit, which Peltz sued for in Miami this week.
In the process of trying to get his money back, he has revealed some of the intimate details of the star-studded event.
He included screenshots of a group text between him, the planners and Nicola.
![Wedding planner #1: Preston Bailey, the designer to the stars who planned Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's wedding, stepped down in March 2022, six weeks before the wedding, in a 'mutual agreement' with Nelson and Nicola Peltz, according to the new court filings](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/19/67175597-11697565-image-m-9_1675192193848.jpg)
Wedding planner #1: Preston Bailey, the designer to the stars who planned Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s wedding, stepped down in March 2022, six weeks before the wedding, in a ‘mutual agreement’ with Nelson and Nicola Peltz, according to the new court filings
![Wedding planners #2: Arianna Grijalba and Nicole Braghin were contacted by the Peltz family in March 2022, six weeks before the wedding. They worked for the Peltz family for nine days before being told they weren't up to scratch](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/19/67174159-11697565-image-a-3_1675191850176.jpg)
Wedding planners #2: Arianna Grijalba and Nicole Braghin were contacted by the Peltz family in March 2022, six weeks before the wedding. They worked for the Peltz family for nine days before being told they weren’t up to scratch
![Wedding planner #3: Michelle Ragos got the job done in the end - but charged the Peltz family an escalated fee because of the tight turn around](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/19/67175523-11697565-image-a-10_1675192242589.jpg)
Wedding planner #3: Michelle Ragos got the job done in the end – but charged the Peltz family an escalated fee because of the tight turn around
In some, Nicola told the planners she was ‘tired of catching’ their repeated mistakes.
‘We spoke to him. He can’t come so explain why you said he rsvpd yes,’ she demanded in one text.
The wedding planner tried to explain that she wasn’t familiar with the virtual guest list and needed more time to get to grips with the technology.
‘I need time to do this. I’m going to take a moment to learn the app and send you the information, | hate looking like a fool but | hate the most not giving you what you need ASAP. I will be back soon,’ she said.
![Texts between Nicola, Nelson and the wedding planners reveal Nicola's frustration that they couldn't manage the RVSP list. In one, she said: 'I'm tired of catching mistakes, honestly'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/19/67176291-11697565-image-a-30_1675194385158.jpg)
Texts between Nicola, Nelson and the wedding planners reveal Nicola’s frustration that they couldn’t manage the RVSP list. In one, she said: ‘I’m tired of catching mistakes, honestly’
![In others, the planners were asked briskly to explain why they'd marked one VIP guest as an RSVP yes when the couple 'knew' the person wasn't attending](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/19/67176293-11697565-image-a-27_1675194358272.jpg)
In others, the planners were asked briskly to explain why they’d marked one VIP guest as an RSVP yes when the couple ‘knew’ the person wasn’t attending
![Nicola, angry with the planners, shot back that their confused claims over the list were 'not true'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/19/67176295-11697565-image-a-26_1675194356621.jpg)
Nicola, angry with the planners, shot back that their confused claims over the list were ‘not true’
![The wedding planners talked about needing 'a tequila'. Nicola, at the time, encouraged them: 'Yes queen!'. Now, her father claims in a lawsuit their repeated references to alcohol suggested abuse](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/19/67176297-11697565-image-m-29_1675194372107.jpg)
The wedding planners talked about needing ‘a tequila’. Nicola, at the time, encouraged them: ‘Yes queen!’. Now, her father claims in a lawsuit their repeated references to alcohol suggested abuse
Nicola, 28, shot back: ‘That’s not true. He didn’t rsvp AT ALL.’
In his lawsuit, Peltz also makes the suggestion that the wedding planners were abusing alcohol.
‘References to alcohol use and possible abuse were not unusual,’ his attorneys wrote in their lawsuit.
In one message where she told Arianna she was ‘going for a tequila before her head exploded’, Nicola replied: ‘Yes queen!!!!’
The Peltz family say the pair of wedding planners oversold their abilities, promising them they could handle the event – which was the ‘opportunity of a lifetime’.
‘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 PDE into wedding planning stardom.
‘In reality, however, it later became clear that PDE viewed this is 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,’ his attorneys wrote.
On March 4 – what Peltz’s attorneys describe as the ‘day of reckoning’, he called the pair to let them know they’d lost the gig.
!['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 PDE into wedding planning stardom' the lawsuit reads, referring to Nicola as a 'world famous actress'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/20/67174843-11697565-image-a-40_1675196174678.jpg)
‘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 PDE into wedding planning stardom’ the lawsuit reads, referring to Nicola as a ‘world famous actress’
![David and Victoria Beckham at Brooklyn and Nicola's wedding in April](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/19/67175559-11697565-image-a-7_1675192087796.jpg)
David and Victoria Beckham at Brooklyn and Nicola’s wedding in April
![Gordon Ramsay and his family at the star-studded event](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/19/67174699-11697565-image-a-6_1675191974022.jpg)
Gordon Ramsay and his family at the star-studded event
‘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.
![Nelson Peltz with son-in-law Brooklyn. Nelson, who wants a seat on the board of Disney, wants his $159,000 deposit back](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/31/19/67174577-11697565-Nelson_Peltz_with_son_in_law_Brooklyn_Nelson_who_wants_a_seat_on-a-34_1675194616172.jpg)
Nelson Peltz with son-in-law Brooklyn. Nelson, who wants a seat on the board of Disney, wants his $159,000 deposit back
‘Admitting that they lacked the skills to perform as promised, PDE recommended hiring an additional wedding planner.’
Two days later, they begged Nelson and his wife Claudia not to spread negative gossip about them, writing in an email: ‘In order to avoid negative gossip, we would appreciate that in the case you are asked to comment on our departure, that your answer reflects the work and good attitude we put into the process, and no professional reason for our detachment.
‘We will say: we are under NDA and cannot comment. This keeps us both in a very good place.
‘We really wish you and the family a fantastic event… we are sure as you even said that our paths will cross in the future as I truly feel we had a great connection with you and Claudia.’
The family ended up hiring Michelle Rago of Michelle Rago Destinations, who pulled the event off seamlessly.
But because of the tight time frame, Peltz claims he had to pay Rago a ‘substantially higher fee than what the Rago Destinations would have charged under normal circumstances.’
He says he asked for his deposit back from Planned Design Events multiple times in the following weeks, but that they refused to return it.
Peltz is also suing the pair for legal fees.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk