For most people, their wedding day is considered to be the happiest day of their lives. For some, however, it’s a cringe-inducing disaster they’d rather scrub from their memory.
Sloppy drunken dancing, a risque line in the best man’s speech, or a guest knocking back a few too many drinks are to be expected on a typical wedding day but some of the wedding day horror stories shared to discussion forum Reddit by newlywed couples really do take the (three-tiered) cake.
Whether it be an overbearing mother-in-law, a drunk father of the bride, or a groom-to-be who curiously showed up to his wedding with no pants, these are the stories that made the happy couple’s special day unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.
It’s considered tradition for the father of the bride to give the bride away, however as this user recounted, the father of the bride in this case, had an entirely different idea of his role in proceedings.
“My brother’s third wedding. Everyone shows up except the bride’s father, who shows up almost an hour late in a t-shirt and jeans. Proceeds to loudly exclaim what he would do to the bridesmaids. Insults the groomsmen for dressing up.”
One groom shared how his wedding party was met with a booking nightmare moments before the ceremony was set to commence.
“On the day of our wedding, it was discovered that the venue had booked two outdoor weddings at the same time – ours, and another in a gazebo, not very far from ours. Somehow the father of the bride at the other wedding found out that our processions were going to be at the same time. He also found out that our procession included a bagpiper (myself and groomsmen all in kilts), while his daughter’s wedding procession was to have a harpist,” one user wrote.
“He approached me and very nicely asked if we would consider delaying our procession for about 20 minutes so our bagpipers would not drown out their harpist. After conferring with my soon-to-be wife, we agreed that a 20-minute delay was no big deal for us.
“Unfortunately, the father of the bride should have taken some other factors into consideration and instead delayed his daughter’s wedding. Because their procession went off without a hitch and everyone in their wedding heard their beautiful harpist, but the vows were pretty much inaudible once our bagpipers started at the requested 20 minutes later.”
This wedding, on the other hand, went off without a hitch. It was at the reception that things quickly took a troubling turn.
“My cousin recently got married to his long-term partner and the actual wedding itself went really well,” a user wrote.
“The reception however was marred somewhat by the bride’s parents announcing halfway through the night and completely out of the blue that they would be divorcing.”
One horror wedding story was blessed with a happy ending.
“Friends had a small wedding, with the reception in a private area of a restaurant, with about 30 people. After the meal, our server came through the doors with the 3-tier wedding cake in her arms. When she got front and center, she slipped and hit the floor like a rock – face-first into the cake,” shared one user.
“The initial laughter stopped quickly when it seemed she might be hurt because she wasn’t moving. She got up with help, obviously sore, but crying as hard as I’ve ever seen. Hysterically apologizing over and over. Fast forward a couple of hours, and thankfully she was physically okay. But even better, she was serving cashed-up New Yorkers who felt terrible for her and were now drunk.
“I don’t know what the hosting couple tipped her, but I’m certain she picked up another $5,000 from the guests on the side. She was crying again when we left, but for an entirely different reason.”