Groom of ‘wedding of the century’ faces prison for shooting at police

If Jacob LaGrone and Madelaine Brockway were going to get married, then their wedding would be unforgettable and impossible to match.

The five-day celebration in Paris for the Texas couple featured an overnight stay at the Palace of Versailles, a rehearsal dinner at the Paris Opera House and a reception performance by Maroon 5. The November union went viral on TikTok, as millions watched clips of the multimillion-dollar spectacle and dubbed the extravagant nuptials “the wedding of the century.”

But the storybook wedding celebrating a lifetime of happiness that captured the internet’s heart unfolded as LaGrone is facing a possible life sentence for allegedly shooting at North Texas police officers in an incident eight months earlier.

LaGrone, 29, was indicted in March on three counts of aggravated assault on a public servant, a first-degree felony in the state. City officials in Westworth Village, Tex., said in a Thursday news release that the charges stem from a March 14 incident in which officers responded to multiple disturbance calls of a gun being discharged at a home. When three officers from Westworth Village and Westover Hills, Tex., arrived at the scene, “they were fired upon” by LaGrone, according to city officials.

An indictment obtained by The Washington Post says that LaGrone “did intentionally and knowingly threaten imminent bodily injury” to the officers and “did use or exhibit a deadly weapon during the commission of the assault, namely, a firearm.” The indictment does not say where the incident took place, and no other details were given regarding either the disturbance calls that led to the police response or the shots being fired at the officers.

If convicted, LaGrone could face either life in prison or a sentence of not more than 99 years or less than five, according to state law. He was offered a plea bargain deal of 25 years in prison by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office in August, according to court documents.

LaGrone was in court on Thursday for a motion hearing related to the charges, just days after his wedding was the talk of TikTok.

Rhett Parham, LaGrone’s attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Friday. A spokesperson for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment, saying that prosecutors would not talk about a pending case.

The Daily Mail and WFAA, an ABC affiliate in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, previously reported the story.

LaGrone and Brockway had been seeing each other for years before they tied the knot on Nov. 18. Brockway, 27, is the daughter of Bob Brockway, who owns a group of Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Florida and lives in the Fort Worth area. Madelaine Brockway, a graduate of Texas Christian University, is a self-employed entrepreneur based in Fort Worth, according to her LinkedIn page. Less is known about LaGrone, a University of Mississippi alum whose last job listed on his LinkedIn page was production assistant for country star Jason Aldean in 2018.

After a five-night celebration that included a stay at the Versailles palace, the wedding took place at the Chateau de Villette, a historical landmark since 1942 that’s located about 40 minutes outside the Paris city center. Featuring two lakes, a magnificent cascade fountain and incredibly lavish interiors, “Chateau de Villette epitomizes elegance, luxury and the famous French expression ‘art de vivre,’” meaning “the art of living,” according to the château’s website. The chateau known as “the Little Versailles” has welcomed guests ranging from Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine to John Travolta, Tom Cruise and Lenny Kravitz. It was also a source of inspiration for “The Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown, and the chateau was used as a location for the film adaptation.

HMR Designs, a luxury wedding planning service based in Chicago, wrote on TikTok that it took three months to build the area used for the LaGrone-Brockway wedding.

“The Wedding of the Century,” the company wrote. “It was a complete privilege and honor to ‘build this village.’”

Wedding festivities included a private lunch at the Chanel Haute Couture Suite, which came after a bachelorette week at a five-star luxury resort in Utah, according to videos that Madelaine Brockway posted to TikTok. Days before the wedding, Brockway said in a TikTok video how excited she was to marry LaGrone, but that she had yet to write her vows.

“I’m just gonna speak from my heart,” she said.

The rehearsal dinner at Palais Garnier had one of the most famous opera houses in the world covered in pink flowers, videos show. The wedding registry was as lavish as the celebration: a gravy boat for $860, a biscuit box for $1,500, a four-piece tea and coffee set for $2,950 and, of course, a 19-inch butterfly house for $12,500.

The wedding planners shared a one-minute video of the wedding on TikTok that showed the chateau covered in vines of white flowers, guests drinking champagne and the happy newlyweds basking in the moment as they danced the night away. Adam Levine, the frontman of Maroon 5, is seen singing during the couple’s first dance. A drone show that flew over the chateau made images of a man and woman kissing next to the Eiffel Tower. The drones later made an interlocking M and J.

“Our biggest heartfelt congrats to Madelaine + Jacob!!” HMR Designs wrote in a caption accompanying the video. “We love you!!”

As videos of the celebration spread on the platform, many commented how the LaGrone-Brockway wedding was their favorite.

“The most stunning wedding in the world is happening right now,” TikTok user and event planner Lauren Zigman said in a video. She added in a caption that while she didn’t know who Brockway was, “she is now my idol.”

“This is now my royal wedding,” Zigman added.

“Paris opera house, gardens, stunning decor AND Maroon 5,” a TikTok user wrote. “WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?” Another person joked, “Why is no one talking about how Maroon 5 is just casually their wedding band?”

The buzz garnered headlines such as the one from the New York Post that asked, “Is this the ‘wedding of the century?’”

It was a different scene about 5,000 miles away at the Tarrant County Courthouse on Thursday, where LaGrone appeared for a hearing about the charges. LaGrone had been previously released on a $20,000 bond after his arrest.

When he was approached at the courthouse by a cameraman with WFAA, LaGrone did not comment on the indictment. A bodyguard accompanying him pushed the camera away before taking the newlywed behind closed doors, according to video from the outlet. His wife was not in attendance.