An intoxicated wedding guest allegedly created a brawl that lasted an hour. Photo / 123rf
A wedding ended in chaos after a guest allegedly urinated on the floor, slammed the groom on to a table and choked a bridesmaid.
But after a one-day, judge-alone trial, he’s been acquitted of most charges, except punching a man in the head, with a judge ruling most of the witnesses were unreliable, besides the sober driver.
Jack Vallings appeared recently in the Whangārei District Court before Judge Evangelos Thomas.
He faced three assault charges stemming from a 2025 wedding in Maungakaramea, south of Whangārei, that descended into an hour-long altercation.
Vallings had attended the wedding as his partner’s plus‑one and witnesses gave evidence he appeared fine throughout the day until the night took a dramatic turn.
As the reception wound down about 11pm and the DJ played the final songs, the couple were inside a toilet cubicle.
Vallings later told the court he had urinated on the floor and his partner, Anna Tarr, told him to clean it up.
A bridesmaid and friend of Tarr, Jessica Skelton, went to use the bathroom.
When she opened the cubicle door, she said she allegedly found Vallings towering over Tarr who was backed against a wall.
“It seemed they were having a fight, an argument, and he was towering over her quite aggressively. She was just shaking and scared. He was using foul language at her, telling her to shut up,” Skelton said in her evidence.
Skelton said she told Vallings not to behave like that and tried to get Tarr out of the toilets.
“He was drunk and swaying and pushing her when she tried to walk past to get out,” she said.
Skelton said Vallings then allegedly told her to shut up, which drew the attention of her husband, Brad Skelton.
He came to the bathroom and tried to get everyone to leave, but Jessica Skelton said Vallings pushed her up against the wall.
“He grabbed me and pulled me against the wall and my feet were struggling to touch [the floor]. I couldn’t breathe – it was that much force.”
Brad Skelton gave evidence but his description of the alleged assault was different and did not mention his wife being lifted off the ground.
The commotion drew the attention of wedding guests and what followed was an hour of brawls.
The Skeltons both gave evidence Vallings had to be restrained multiple times and each time he calmed down, would launch himself at whoever was nearby.
On one occasion, Jessica Skelton said he allegedly punched her in the back while trying to reach her husband.
However, she confirmed in evidence her back was turned so was not able to verify the hit came from Vallings.
Another guest was punched in the head by Vallings for no apparent reason.
Several witnesses confirmed the guest suffered a significant injury after falling and striking his head on a table as a result.
The bride, Monica Rudsdale, also gave evidence.
She said she saw Vallings from across the room pinning Jessica Skelton against the wall and observed him “try to fight anyone who was there”.
A sober driver for the wedding said she arrived at 11pm and saw Vallings shirtless and “throwing hands”.
She gave similar evidence as others that Vallings was repeatedly restrained, would settle briefly, then erupt again.
“I thought it was all finished but then he stood up and threw the groom on the table,” she said.
“The groom got up and threw a punch – it connected with Jack’s face.”
She said the crowd grew as the situation escalated.
“He punched the bridesmaid in the face, and in retaliation she struck back. He fell to the floor – her punch landed on his face as well.”
When Vallings’ brother arrived to collect him as the designated sober driver, she said she watched Vallings refusing to get in the car.
The witness said the pair physically fought before the brother managed to restrain him with his hands behind his back.
Police arrived shortly after and arrested Vallings.
Officers said he was coherent but “clearly intoxicated”.
Vallings maintained his defence that the incident began because he “went for a wee and missed the toilet”.
“She [Tarr] began to say to me, ‘You’re being a bit grubby, this isn’t your house, get it in the toilet’. I said, ‘Lighten up, it’s just a little bit of wee.’ She told me to clean it up. I said I couldn’t because my blood sugar was low.”
He said Tarr cleaned it up and insisted there was no physical violence between them.
He said when Jessica Skelton opened the door, their privacy was invaded and she immediately accused him of being a woman‑beater.
“What I remember next is being moved by a bunch of people into the marquee – four or five of them. I got sat down and told, ‘We’re gonna sort this out’. People were irate, spitting in my face, forcing me back on the seat.”
Vallings said Jessica Skelton pushed him over, straddled him and “rained down punches” on his head.
He claimed several men held him down and he feared for his life.
“I was throttled to the point I was nearly unconscious. I felt my senses leave my body. The only way I could control my own safety was to run or defend myself.”
Tarr gave similar evidence as her partner and disputed he was being aggressive.
She said she saw people spear-tackling Vallings and putting him in a chokehold.
“People were grabbing and restraining him from behind in a choke hold for 20 seconds maybe and I could see Jack’s face getting very blue.”
She also said many partygoers turned on her, yelling and calling her a “f***ing stupid b****”.
“I felt my privacy was being invaded. Things had gotten blown out of proportion. People thought I was being abused – and I wasn’t.”
In summing up his decision, Judge Thomas said given alcohol was involved it was difficult to be sure whose evidence was reliable.
“Alcohol affects memory and the ability to recall and accurately describe events,” the judge said.
“How people felt by the end of it might be the way they colour it when they describe all of it.”
Judge Thomas said Vallings and Tarr’s evidence was unreliable and there had been no previous mention of the urination incident.
“You claimed to not know what happened in the bathroom yet you testified in great detail about that. These were big omissions,” the judge said.
“Until the end of your partner’s evidence, both of you had deliberately played that down. It’s understandable, but it makes you both unreliable as witnesses.”
The judge found although Vallings “likely did it” that was not enough to prove the charges, noting the Skeltons gave differing evidence and the bride was some distance away.
Judge Thomas did find police had proved the charge of injuring with intent to injure against the other wedding guest.
“You have formally admitted punching him to the face and there’s no dispute about the injury. You were intending something that would hurt.”
The judge called for a pre-sentence report as he wants to see “what’s happening off the pitch” for Vallings, who will be sentenced at a later date.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.