Spilling red wine on your wedding dress during the reception dinner might be a bride's worst nightmare.

Well, that's what we thought until we read that a New Jersey woman is claiming an American Airlines flight attendant 'egregiously' stained her wedding dress with red wine on purpose during a flight to her wedding in Jamaica.

News of the incident was first reported in the Courier Post, which reported that a Philadelphia International Airport ticket agent allegedly told bride-to-be Yewande Oteh she would be able to hang her wedding dress in a closet on the plane during her flight to Montego Bay in August 2015.

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On boarding the flight, Oteh tried to hang her dress up before an American Airlines flight attendant, named Melanie Masters, allegedly became 'indignant and agitated'.

Masters allegedly refused to allow Oteh to hang the garment bag containing her dress in the employee-only closet, and told her to put it in an overhead bin in first-class, instead.

According to the lawsuit, Masters told Oteh to return to her seat in the economy cabin. However, during the flight Oteh and her now-husband Chidi allegedly saw Masters and another flight attendant open the over-head compartment containing the wedding dress, while chatting with a third attendant.

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'It was her [Oteh's] belief that the flight attendants were placing something in the bin and making fun of [Oteh] and her wedding gown,' the lawsuit claims.

On landing, Oteh found her dress was covered in what was later determined to be red wine, one week before her wedding.

The lawsuit says Oteh could not look at her 'absolutely unwearable and unfixable' dress 'without crying, getting emotionally distraught and severely saddened'.

Unfortunately for the bride, she was allegedly unable to find a replacement dress in Jamaica for her nuptials.

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As a result, Oteh seeks damages from the airline of more than $75,000 each for herself and four family members on the flight, including a son who was then nine months old, totalling a whopping $3.4 million (£2.6 million).

The bride claims the incident ruined her big day and 'caused a lifetime of damage'.

However, Masters denies Oteh's account of what happened.

'It really didn't go like that at all,' she said. American Airlines released a statement last Tuesday saying that they 'are reviewing the lawsuit'.

The case continues.

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Katie O'Malley
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Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.