It was the standout event that should have been a happy career highlight for even the most famous of luxury wedding planners.
But although the world watched in rapturous fascination when Brooklyn Beckham wed Nicola Peltz last year, the whole celebration turned irretrievably sour for two women who helped plan but were fired at 11am.
Last week, the bride’s father, billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, filed a lawsuit seeking back his $159,000 (£132,000) bail from wedding planners Nicole Braghin and Arianna Grijalba over alleged “mistakes”.
But last night, in a world-exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, the pair hit back at an allegedly “frivolous” lawsuit.
Speaking from their Florida homes, they claimed they worked around the clock to ensure the $3.5million (£2.9million) wedding went smoothly last April.
Brooklyn Beckham (left) married actress Nicola Peltz (right) in Palm Beach, Florida in 2022.
The women have spent 17 years building their business, Plan Design Events, and say they have never filed a single complaint against themselves before. According to the wedding planner:
- Bride Nicola texted them effusively the day before they were fired, saying, “You’re killing it!”
- They worked 17-hour days and claim they are owed more than $159,000 for work done.
- Brooklyn Beckham was “cute” and “a gentleman,” sending them a message that read, “Thank you for everything you do.”
Nicole, a 42-year-old mother of two who was born in Brazil and came to the United States when she was 10, said, “We love what we do and we’re good at it,” adding, “Never “times” have they ever felt “bullied or disrespected by one of our customers”.
“My daughter gives the best job description when she says, ‘My mom makes dreams come true’. If Mr. Peltz’s mission was to damage our reputation, harm our business, and hurt our families—then mission accomplished.”
The women were approached by Mr Peltz, 80, and his third wife Claudia, 67, a former model, on February 23 last year.
Wedding planners Nicole Braghin (right) and Arianna Grijalba (left) blasted the $159,000 lawsuit brought by the bride’s father, billionaire Nelson Peltz
The Peltzes had big plans for a three-day wedding extravaganza at the family’s £75million estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Five hundred guests flew in from around the world as the groom’s parents, David and Victoria Beckham, were joined by Eva Longoria, Gordon Ramsay, Serena and Venus Williams and many other celebrity friends. In the lawsuit, Mr. Peltz describes his daughter as an international star, saying, ‘Nicola is a world-renowned actress who has starred in blockbuster films and television shows including Transformers: Age of Extinction, Bates Motel and The Last Airbender .’
The Peltzes have been working with wedding planner Preston Bailey, an industry icon who arranged the weddings of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, for almost a year.
Mr Peltz claims the two women “misrepresented themselves” and proved unable to pull off such a complex event.
The lawsuit includes emails in which Nicola tells the planners that she is “tired of exposing her mistakes”.
Nicole and Arianna are unable to comment on the details of the case for legal reasons.
But her lawyer, David Rosemberg, told the MoS the lawsuit doesn’t paint a complete picture: “My clients have an impeccable reputation in the events industry and with their high-end clientele worldwide. They conduct their business with the utmost integrity and discretion.
“The lawsuit filed by Nelson Peltz is frivolous and unremarkable. Relevant and complete emails and text messages addressing the misleading statements contained in the Complaint will be disclosed as part of my clients’ response to the Complaint, including in support of the counterclaim they intend to file.’
The aspiring chef, 23, and the actress, 27, had a three-day wedding extravaganza
In his lawsuit, Mr Peltz alleges the women were overwhelmed: “During their nine-day negotiations …[they]failed to book a single new wedding vendor, failed to meet the terms of agreements with any of the vendors that had done so.” , had been previously selected by Peltz and his family and had not attended previously scheduled meetings with Peltz.’
Mr Rosemberg said: “Nobody saw all the texts or emails.”
The MoS understands that the wedding planners will publish texts showing that their work has been praised. In a March 3 text by Nicola Peltz, she writes, “You’re killing it!” In another, Brooklyn writes, “Thank you for everything you do.”
Arianna says, “Brooklyn is a very sweet person. He treated us with respect and courtesy. He’s a gentleman. We have nothing but respect for the Beckhams.’ A text message from Nicola’s assistant, sent after the planners were sacked, praises them for “getting s*** done”.
The women claim Mr Peltz called Arianna after the women were fired.
She says: “Two days after we were fired, Nelson called me and said, ‘Arianna, are you crying?’ And I said, ‘No, why should I cry?’
‘And he said, ‘Okay, are you laughing now?’ and I said, “No.”
“Then he stayed calm and I stayed calm and he said, ‘I don’t know why I called you,’ and then he hung up.”
The Peltz family hired a third wedding planner, Michelle Rago, who Peltz says ended up charging him extra for being hired on such short notice.
Additional reporting: Daniel Bates in New York