Man accused of stealing $16,000 from wedding functions
A man has been accused of allegedly gatecrashing eight weddings and stealing a total of $16,000 and other gifts.
The 24-year-old Melbourne man pretended to be a wedding guest at eight events from between April 2 and May 22.
He allegedly stole $16,000 cash, jewellery and gift cards from at least three of the events.
Bride Kellee Pace said she felt violated when she found out that the man had allegedly stolen some of her and her husband’s gifts and even wrote in their guest book.
"It was the best wedding he'd apparently ever attended and he was feeling awesome and lucky on the night, three quarters of our wishing well was missing," she told Nine News.
"We definitely felt really violated, we were mingling with people and he was downstairs drinking in the bar and we had no idea he was even there."
The wedding industry shared his photo around before he was spotted at a Macedonian wedding by wedding planner Jasmine Arapovic.
"My dad then put him in a bit of a headlock to make sure he didn't try and escape before I could have a chat with the venue manager to get them to put him in a room."
Police arrested the man and he was slapped with 27 charges, including aggravated burglary, burglary, theft and going equipped to steal.
Police will allege they found jewellery and gift cards when they searched a property on Tuesday.
He has been granted bail and will appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on October 18.
Images: Nine News