Bride blasts hotel for ruining wedding day

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A bride blames a College Park hotel for ruining what was supposed to be one of the most special days of her life.

Shalita Harris said she and her bridesmaids were getting ready for the ceremony when they were deluged in a black oily substance after their room's sprinkler system kicked on at the Westin Hotel near the airport.

Video from just after the incident shows several women covered in black soot. Clayton County paramedics, along with College Park firefighters, were called to the scene.

 Harris said five members of the wedding party had to go to the hospital, mainly because of breathing problems. One child reportedly had a tooth knocked out.

"Before we got ready to leave the room, we heard a big boom." Harris said. "I felt like my life was going to end right then and there."

Bridesmaid Jasmine Robinson was also in the eighth floor bridal suite Saturday night.

"The sprinkler just came on and out of the sprinkler came black stuff," Robinson said.

Robinson still wore her dress, which had black stains on it.

"How we got out is we just grabbed the blanket off of the bed and we all hovered underneath it in a line and we got out of the room." Robinson said.

Despite the chaos, the wedding ceremony continued, although only two of the eight bridesmaids attended. The others were at the hospital.

"They went out with a bang, a big bang, not necessarily a good bang, but a big one," Robinson said of the couple.

The Westin Hotel's general manager told a Channel 2 Action News crew off camera only one room was affected and the cause was not known.

No one from either College Park Fire Department or Clayton County Fire Department could be reached for comment.

WSBTV