Although wedding bells may have been ringing over the weekend, the guests were throwing punches instead of rice.

Police were called in to break up two violent incidents - one in Hampstead and the other in Salem - after post-wedding celebrations spiraled out of control.

Sunday morning, just after midnight, Hampstead police received a 911 call reporting a possible stabbing at Granite Rose function hall on Garland Drive. When they arrived, police found between 50 and 100 people involved in a fight in the front parking lot.

Police called for backup, and 22 units arrived from 11 other departments - Sandown, Danville, Fremont, Kingston, Newton, Brentwood, Plaistow, Atkinson, Salem, Derry and state police.

Once all of the backup was in place, Hampstead Detective Sgt. Ken Owen said police went in and broke up the free-for-all, which involved two wedding parties. He said no one had been stabbed, but numerous people suffered cuts, bruises and black eyes in the fight.

Only one person was injured seriously enough to require medical attention, Owen said, and that person was taken to Parkland Medical Center in Derry. He declined to release the person's name, saying the incident is under investigation.

"I want to stress that no one was stabbed," Owen said. "However, we do have reports of an individual or individuals waving a knife around in a threatening manner during the melee. We are looking into these allegations and it is still under investigation, but an arrest in the case is imminent."

No arrests were made Sunday, and police cleared the scene by 2:50 a.m. Neither Kieley nor police had any information on what might have caused the fight.

Richard Kieley, who owns Granite Rose, said that in 40 years in the business, this is the first time he has seen anything like Sunday's brawl.

Oddly enough, it wasn't the only fight involving a member of a wedding party over the weekend.

Salem police said they arrested a Yarmouth, Maine, man at a local restaurant who was angry that a bartender refused to serve him alcohol.

Employees at Margarita's Restaurant at 1 Keewaydin Drive called police after Terry Eaton, 34, had become abusive toward a bartender, according to Salem Deputy Chief William Ganley.

Ganley said others in the wedding party were becoming confrontational because they were not allowed inside the restaurant because it had already reached capacity.

Salem called area police agencies for help. Four state police troopers, two Windham officers and one from Pelham also responded to the restaurant to deal with the unruly crowd, Ganley said.

Salem police Officer Jim Fox had to use a Taser to subdue Eaton. During the arrest, another woman jumped on Fox's back but was able to escape in the crowd of people, Ganley said.

Eaton is accused of kicking Fox while he was being booked, police said. He was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and two counts of simple assault on a police officer. Eaton posted $5,000 cash bail yesterday following his arraignment.

As police were dealing with that altercation, a bus with one of the wedding parties from Hampstead dropped them off at a neighboring hotel. Salem police responded to the area in response to a noise complaint, but no one was arrested.

Staff writer James A. Kimble contributed to this report.