Bride and groom left ‘vomiting and with diarrhoea’ from swanky £30,000 wedding ceremony meal
The guests were said to be left sick after eating charcuterie, croquettes and a “seasonal” dessert while at the luxury event at a trendy boutique hotel hosting the wedding reception.
The Box Hotel has been hit with a lawsuit(Image: GOOGLE MAPS)
A bride and groom – and nearly half their guests – were left with dodgy tummies after falling ill from the food served at a plush wedding venue.
The guests were said to be left sick after eating charcuterie, croquettes and a “seasonal” dessert while at the luxury event at a trendy boutique hotel hosting the wedding reception.
The bride and groom are now suing the hotel after claiming that a huge number of their guests, and them themselves, were left battling norovirus after the big day.
In his complaint, husband and attorney Michael Ahern says he and his wife contracted norovirus during the November 2024, event, thanks to food contaminated by a kitchen staffer at The Box House Hotel in Brooklyn, New York.
He claims a staffer was suffering with the highly contagious bug and passed it on at The Box House hotel, who they had paid $30,000, around £22,000 for the big day.
They say they endured “repeated episodes of vomiting and diarrhea,” in addition to “chills, abdominal cramps, and fatigue,” and were bedridden for “several days” after their wedding.
Guests were hit with norovirus(Image: BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“Instead of beginning their marriage by celebrating with family and friends, Plaintiff and his spouse spent the days following their wedding suffering from the debilitating effects of the norovirus outbreak caused by food served at their reception,” it contends.
Stool samples submitted to local authorities by the Aherns both tested positive for norovirus, and more than 30 of the 112 guests who attended the reception also fell ill with norovirus-type symptoms, according to the complaint.
A subsequent New York City Department of Health investigation found that all of them had eaten three specific menu items at the event: prosciutto, macaroni-and-cheese croquettes, and a “seasonal crumble” dessert.
The report, which was filed as an exhibit in court, identified “multiple deficiencies in [the hotel restaurant’s] food-safety and sanitation practices,” such as not having any hand soap in the kitchen. Norovirus is usually transmitted through the “ fecal-oral route,” according to the American Medical Association.
“On the evening of December 1, 2024, Plaintiff and his spouse began experiencing nausea and vomiting,” the complaint continues.”On Monday, December 2, 2024, Plaintiff and his spouse were bedridden due to their illness and experienced repeated episodes of vomiting and diarrhea, as well as chills, abdominal cramps, and fatigue. Plaintiff missed work due to his illness that day. Plaintiff’s symptoms continued for several days.”
The food at the event was blamed(Image: Getty Images)
Over the next day or two, 31 others who were at the reception developed “acute gastrointestinal symptoms,” according to the complaint.
At the same time, the New York City Department of Health dispatched an inspector to the Brooklyn Lantern for an environmental review, and distributed stool sample kits to six food handlers who had worked the wedding reception.
“We’re sorry that guests got sick after this wedding,” a spokesperson for The Box House Hotel said in response.
“It was meant to be one of the best nights of their lives and it wasn’t, and we understand why that still stings.”
But they added that the hotel and restaurant cooperated fully with the Health Department, giving them access to their kitchen, access to their records and staff, and followed all of the follow-up guidance provided.
“We retrained our people on handwashing and on reporting illness, we tightened how we check food temperatures, and we had the restaurant and the event spaces fully disinfected, which was requested by the Department of Health and we happily obliged,” the spokesperson said.
They said the hotel’s restaurant scored an A on its next inspection, and retains that rating today. They also argued that norovirus was “everywhere in New York that winter,” and that restaurants, hotels, schools and offices “across the five boroughs were all dealing with it.”
“A wedding weekend runs over several days and several venues, with food from more than one kitchen, and people moving through a city where the virus was already widespread,” the spokesperson said. “It could have started in any of those places, to attribute it to merely one space is not appropriate given the Norovirus’ rampant spread throughout all of New York City at the time. Further, the client brought in their own food from after-party pizzas as well as cakes and other items for their guests to enjoy for their wedding.”
The spokesperson said the hotel takes this issue “very seriously,” and that they have “made changes because of it.”
They added that the property has hosted nearly 1,000 weddings and events over the past 15 years, had never had an outbreak before, and has not had one since.
In September 2025, the Department of Health issued its findings.
“The outbreak was likely due to consumption of food contaminated by a norovirus-positive food handler,” the report said.
A trial is set to start on the matter in September.
