Wedding Crasher Steals Thousands in Cash From Newlyweds, Now They Have to Make a Sequel

Don’t you love it when the plot thickens? When an adorable rom-com suddenly turns into a heist thriller with a hint of personal tragedy? Especially when it’s your wedding day and the plot thickening involves your gift money being stolen by a wedding crasher posing as your uncle’s second cousin.

Middle-aged divorcee Landon Earl Rankin might not look like Vince Vaughan but the man was getting rich playing the wedding crasher game up and down Maricopa County. Rankin had hit roughly 10 weddings over the past few months (allegedly we shall say for legal reasons) when he showed up at a ceremony in the dusky town of Chandler and his luck ran out.

Aggrieved groom Michael O’Donnell recalled meeting Rankin during his reception: “He came looking like the perfect wedding guest – dressed, button-down, tie, slacks. As we were all seated for the wedding, he picked up the box with every single present and walked out.”

Talk about a wedding fail. (As if free shrimp cocktail and boxed wine aren’t enough to satisfy any man’s urge for on-the-house shenanigans.) Thankfully, in a delicious extra scoop of comeuppance, Rankin was caught on security cam performing the old crash and dash, giving the Chandler PD everything they needed to crash his crime spree.

According to Rankin’s police statement, the poor guy just wanted to hear the happy couple speak their wedding vows aloud. Aww. He’s just a romantic craving the buds of young love “because he was going through a divorce,” and the heartfelt nuptials reminded him of better days. But also, he was super high on meth. So there’s that.

Despite Rankin’s thieving ways, we don’t hate the idea of wedding crashers. After all, those pesky bridesmaids aren’t going to dance the funky chicken in front of grandpa, then vomit into a rosebush by themselves. They need the kindness of strangers disguising their disastrous emotional state in the comfort of a mid-priced beige suit.

Cover Photo: New Line Cinema