A well-known Clearwater, Florida couple was banned from attending a close family friend's wedding reception last weekend by the Church of Scientology.
Jack Vasilaros secured the Crystal Ballroom at the church's Fort Harrison Hotel in downtown Clearwater for his daughter Marina's wedding reception, but was told he had to submit a guest list in advance.
Last Thursday, Mr Vasilaros was informed by the church that friends Voncele and Denis deVlaming could not attend.Since it was just two days before the wedding, he did not object. 'They're great people,' Mr Vasilaros told the Tampa Bay Times.
'I love them. But it is what it is.' Mr deVlaming, a local attorney, says he was shut out of the reception because of his work representing opponents of the church over the years.
But he believes it's unfair that the church also banned his wife, who had nothing to do with his legal affairs.
'We were both very heartbroken,' Mrs Voncele said of not being able to attend the wedding. She says she has known Marina since she was just a baby, and was there when the bride went wedding dress shopping and to subsequent fittings.
In a last ditch effort, Mr deVlaming tried petitioning the church to let his wife attend the reception by contacting a fellow lawyer, F. William Pope Jr, who has represented the Scientologists for years.
But on Friday, Pope phoned back with bad news, leaving a voicemail saying:
"Denis, I'm sorry. I've done everything I can. They will not budge for you or your wife."
Mrs deVlaming instead attended the wedding ceremony Saturday afternoon at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.
At the end of the service, she was forced to explain to friends why she wouldn't be seeing them for dinner at the hotel.'
'They were just appalled,' she said. Her husband decided to opt out of the ceremony so as not to cause any tension.
Mr deVlaming has represented opponents of the church since the 1990s, when he took on New Hampshire millionaire Robert Minton as a client - then the church's number one enemy.
Mrs deVlaming attending the wedding ceremony at a local Greek Orthodox church, but had to explain to friends after the service why she was not allowed to continue on to the reception.
Minton moved to Clearwater, bought a building downtown and helped fund a group of church protesters.
When Minton got into a fight with a church member outside the Fort Harrison Hotel, deVlaming represented him in court on misdemeanor batter charges.
He also represented two other members of Minton's group who clashed with church operatives.
'I won all three,' Mr deVlaming said. 'And they (church leaders) don't like that.'
Neither the bride, groom or their families are members of the church.
Other than the deVlaming snub at the reception, the rest of the wedding went fine, Mr Vasilaros said.
He said the venue staff 'did a wonderful job' and were 'very professional' and 'classy'.
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