A marital mishap at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art in 2010 cost the university more than $11,000 in donor funds.

Instead of using the money to buy equipment or fund scholarships, MSU ended up paying to host a wedding.

The foul-up, uncovered through state Open Records statutes, shows that ongoing construction at the museum nearly derailed the fall wedding of Elizabeth Gipson, daughter of Nick Gipson, academic adviser and internship coordinator in the Dillard College of Business Administration.

Museum officials said they had expected renovation of the main gallery and removal of asbestos to be complete when Gipson and his wife, Linda, booked the October venue for their daughter, putting up a $192 deposit.

But as the wedding date approached, it was obvious the work wasn’t going to be finished. By then, about 300 wedding invitations had been mailed out.

Complaints were lodged with the university, according to documents, forcing administrators to scramble for an alternative. MSU ended up renting a 40-by-100 foot tent from Taylor’s Rental Equipment Company in Fort Worth, pitching it in the museum parking lot.

Broken down, the rental included:

$2,500 for the tent

$60 for sidewalls

$400 for eight lights

$5,400 for flooring

$1,800 for turf

$362 for tables

$45 for extension cords

$400 for other supplies

Mary Helen Maskill, events coordinator at the museum, said the reception party used a gallery inside the museum.

The museum ended up compensating the family with $11,092 in supplies, along with some of its own tables, chairs and personnel.

“It was clear the contractors weren’t going to finish,” said President Dr. Jesse Rogers. “I felt like it was our responsibility to make good. I could not imagine a family having a wedding planned and finding out the place they had it planned for was not available to them.”

The flub, according to Juan Sandoval, vice president of business affairs and finance, may have been caused by a change in leadership at the museum near that time period. That year, Director Cohn Drennan stepped down and was replaced by Professor of Art Richard Ash.

A voucher submitted to MSU for payment by the Fort Worth business carried the notation by Sandoval: “Museum was not able to host this event and the customer submitted a complaint to the president for the cost they incurred by changing the venue. MSU is liable.”

Rogers said Gipson’s status as a faculty member had nothing to do with the decision.

“That was not done because he had any relationship with the university at all. If it had been someone I’d never heard of we would have handled it the same way,” he said.

However, had the Gipsons not made a fuss, they may never have gotten the money to change the reception venue.

“If you’re a customer and you don’t complain, you think I’m going to give you anything?” Sandoval said, adding that without the complaint, “We would not offer anything.”

Rogers denied meeting with the family on the issue but both Gipson and Maskill said the situation was resolved in Rogers’ office.

This story shouldn’t discourage other families from booking receptions at the museum, Rogers said.

“Wedding receptions are going to be a big part of the income of that museum.”

Museum officials were unable to come up with records showing how much it would have charged the Gipsons for the rental.