Real-life wedding crasher steals couple's gifts

updated 7:08 p.m. ET Aug. 28, 2007

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Anthony and Jennifer Smith left for their Florida honeymoon earlier this month thinking they’d have plenty of cash gifts to tally up after their trip.

But when the newlyweds returned, some bad news was waiting: Most of their wedding money was stolen by an envelope-snatching thief who crashed their reception without anybody noticing.

“You never think it’s going to happen, you know, to you,” Anthony Smith said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “You’re celebrating, having a good time, and then you go on your honeymoon and you find out some guy just decides he needs to take everything.”

The well-dressed man is believed to have made off with as much as $1,500 in cash gifts, police said.

He was recorded on a surveillance tape approaching a box containing gift envelopes at the Smiths’ Aug. 17 wedding reception. He first approached the box with an envelope of his own, but rather than put it in, he walked away. Then he returned and grabbed the box’s envelopes.

“He just went straight for the money,” Jennifer Smith said.

The thief even knew to wear a blue and burgundy outfit — just like the clothes worn by members of the wedding party, she said.

“Maybe he found out from a guest?” she said. “We’re not exactly sure.”

More from msnbc.com World Blog: Anger and hatred on Urumqi streets Local governments face painful budget choices Family turns to Facebook in hunt for missing son World Blog: Ghana gets set for Obama’s visit  No-kill shelter nation? Maybe in 5 years  Irresistible! 9 gadgets we covet

MORE FROM WEIRD NEWS

Weird news Section Front

Tot plays hide-and-seek much too well It's not slang! Nev. court permits ‘HOE’ license Iowans rethink Jackson butter statue Cops: Man went naked to dental appointment Turtles on runway delay flights in New York Drunken man shocks Spain with his generosity Drunken badger disrupts traffic in Germany Half-naked motorist to cops: I lost my pants Teacher sorry for mock wedding to 4th grader Pit-spitting championship is all in the family Weird news Section Front   Add Weird news headlines to your news reader: