By Mike Jaccarino and Dave Goldiner
Daily News
Copyright 2008 Daily News
NEW YORK — Smiles of George Quenneville and bride Sharon Strack didn’t last long after couple and wedding guests were sickened Sunday by carbon monoxide fumes at Dante Caterers hall in East Elmhurst, Queens.
Strack, who received oxygen at wedding (above), was recovering at home Monday (below).
Bad-luck bride Sharon Strack says she was “heartbroken” that poisonous fumes forced her to spend her wedding night in the hospital instead of celebrating with her new hubby.
“I always wanted a fairy tale wedding,” Strack, 22, of Albertson, L.I., told the Daily News Monday.
“I didn’t expect to end up in the hospital, let me tell you that. It scared the life out of me.”
Strack was sickened along with her husband, George Quenneville, 28, and about 45 guests when fumes seeped through the Dante Caterers hall in East Elmhurst, Queens, on Sunday night.
“I’m very concerned about everyone,” she said. “They came to my wedding and ended up in the hospital. It’s crazy.”
At least two relatives were still hospitalized yesterday, and Strack spent several hours getting oxygen treatments. None of the injuries was serious.
“If there’s any positive out of this, it seems like everyone’s going to be okay,” said the bride’s father, Robert Strack, 52.
The fumes uproar started when Quenneville’s mother felt ill as the wedding cake was being cut and the music started playing.
“People were dancing and all of a sudden his mom went down,” Sharon Strack recalled.
Carbon monoxide, which is odorless, continued to spew into the hall undetected from a malfunctioning boiler in the basement.
Within minutes, Strack’s sister passed out in the bathroom and dozens of guests were stumbling and gasping for breath.
The couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Madison, was rushed to a hospital and given oxygen for three hours.
“It was a real catastrophe,” her dad said.
City officials cited the catering hall for the faulty boiler, and management said it would not reopen until it had fixed the problem.
Even though carbon monoxide detectors are not required in banquet halls, Dante Caterers owner John Russo vowed to install them.
A 2004 law mandates the detectors in houses, apartments, hotels and even rectories. But commercial businesses such as catering halls, movie theaters and concert halls are exempt.
Russo apologized to the family and offered to refund the $15,000 cost of the event and throw a new party free.
Sharon Strack says she’s not interested in a sequel.
“I will not redo the wedding,” she said. “One time is enough. ... I’m glad no one died.”
The new bride has some advice for other brides-to-be: Don’t sweat the details of your nuptials and just enjoy the moment.
“They say everything’s going to go wrong on your wedding day,” Strack said.
“But don’t worry about the little things because it could be a lot worse. My whole wedding party was in the hospital.”