Kiss the bride, go to jail

From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune-

BRADENTON -- Jonathan Franklin Hunter's wedding at the courthouse here was a quick, no-frills affair Friday. He exchanged vows. He kissed his bride.

But the Hunters' plan for a romantic evening on the beach was ruined within minutes.

Several Manatee County sheriff's deputies confronted the bridegroom with a warrant. They arrested Hunter, 21, on suspicion of violating a domestic violence injunction his sister filed in 2005.

Hunter left the courthouse in a patrol car and wearing handcuffs. Bailiffs would not let his bride kiss or hug him goodbye.

Hunter's family was angry, saying deputies could have arrested Hunter outside the courthouse.

Folks get married at the courthouse every day, drawing oohs and aahs from courthouse employees admiring dressed-up couples. But the weddings rarely generate as much buzz as Hunter's hitch.

"It was embarrassing. I was shocked. Everyone was looking at us. I wanted to run out of there," Hunter's wife, Whitney Hunter, 19, said Saturday.

She and her husband both cried. Whitney spent Friday night with her mother.

The wedding was spur-of-the-moment. The couple dated for a year. Hunter proposed twice just weeks ago at a beach house. The first time, he did not have a ring, which he offered the second time he dropped to a knee.

The Hunters planned to spend Friday evening on Anna Maria Island -- dinner, a beach house, pictures.

Jonathan Hunter was released Saturday from jail on $5,000 bail. His new wife said she was glad to have him back.

Hunter's sister, Tabatha Miller, 27, filed domestic violence court papers in 2005, barring her brother from contact with her. But he and Miller have seen each other regularly since then, Jonathan Hunter said.

Miller said she has no sympathy for her brother. Her father-in-law alerted authorities that they could find Hunter at the courthouse.

Something tells me there is alot of bad blood in the Hunter family. Having your brother arrested at the time of his nuptials doesn't fall under the category of proper wedding gifts.

Linked to- DragonLady, Jo, Third World County,