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48 Of The Worst Wedding Moments That Guests Can’t Believe Actually Happened
A funny man once said, "First comes the engagement ring, then comes the wedding ring and then comes the suffering." But what would life (and love) be without a few plot twists?
In true unpredictable fashion, some people prefer to switch things up a bit, and shower everyone with some suffering at the actual wedding. For every beautiful ceremony that goes off without a hitch is a nuptial disaster waiting in the aisles. Someone asked, "What's the worst thing you've experienced that happened at a wedding?" and some of the responses were worthy of their own Netflix drama series.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the craziest tales... Among them, the bride who cried her eyes out because her crush didn't pitch, the groom who split his pants while breakdancing and proceeded to give everyone a show they never asked for, and the guy who was arrested for driving over his best man. Sit back, buckle up and prepare yourself for a rather rocky scroll through the depths of wedding drama hell.
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#1
I am a Church of England Priest and I had the privilege of conducting my Son's wedding.
At the end, I conclude after the blessing with a line like "The service is over, the Marriage has begun" but because of the emotion of the moment and a certain degree of relief that I'd got to the end of a really nice service, I said instead "The marriage is ended..." and everyone just looks at me.
I had to correct myself and have another run at it, but Son and DiL mention it often to take the mickey out of me. Even their Wedding Photo book has the legend at the end "The marriage has ended".
What's a wedding without some drama? From flowers wilting to people being arrested, nothing is off-limits. But as a guest, you can do your part to minimize the amount of chaos that happens at someone else's nuptials. Besides the obvious things, like not getting drunk and falling all over, there are a few other important etiquette rules guests should follow.
Th first might come as a surprise to some, but wedding planning experts say it's actually rude to arrive too early. By too early, we mean earlier than 30 minutes before the ceremony. That's because everything might not yet be in place, and interrupting the final touches can cause uneccessary stress.
"It's better to wait in your car than go into the venue and risk stressing out the bride by seeing her before the ceremony," says Holly Patton Olsen, the founder of Perfectly Posh Events.
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#2
My friends grandma had a major medical emergency in the front row during the ceremony. Her mum and uncles all left for the hospital and she had no one from her side of the family was there for the rest of the wedding. She ended the night very drunk and in the bath in her wedding dress sobbing, poor gal.
#3
The bride cried her eyes out for the whole evening because the man she had a crush on (not the groom) hadn't turned up as a guest, so hadn't seen her in her pretty dress.
It was awful. She was just sobbing "Mike's not here! He didn't come! I did all this for him!" Fortunately the groom was partying with the guests, so a small circle of friends enclosed the bride and said "oh, she's just tired" a lot.
The marriage limped on for four years, including having a baby. When they split up, Mike left his wife to shack up with bride. That lasted about three weeks, and Mike begged his wife's forgiveness and went home.
(Mike was her boss at work throughout all this, which made matters even more awkward.).
StumblingThroughLife 1 hour ago
Wow! Poor Groom dealing with this shizz. At least he eventually escaped.
The same applies to arriving too late. According to Brand Hamerstone, the owner of All Events Planned, the general rule of thumb is that 10 minutes before the ceremony is due to begin. "Walking in as the bride (or groom) is walking down the aisle in incredibly rude and ruins video and photos that are being taken," explains Hamerstone.
If you do happen to arrive a bit late, you should try to be an invisible as possible and not make a scene. Slip in quietly from the back and remain standing near the entrance until there is a natural pause. Or, if you can, take an empty seat in the very back row.
#4
Traveller wedding - groom and best man (brothers) get into a fight at the ceremony. Punches exchanged.
Family pile in and pull them apart - of course neither could leave it alone. The vows actually take place, but directly after the groom takes best man outside, lays him out in the car park and then drives over him With his car (whilst he’s unconscious). Also tries to reverse over him.
Emergency services called - best man in a bad way. Groom arrested and the rest of the family start fighting the police, whilst ambulance are trying to save best man. Ends in Multiple arrests.
Surprisingly the Best man lived!
Crystalwitch60 58 minutes ago
About right for a traveller wedding lol ,if there isn’t a fight a few arrests ,then they ain’t considered married !
#5
This isn’t the worst but was quite funny. The vicar at my sister’s wedding was very nervous and also a bad speaker. He kept using the expressions “kind of” and “for some reason” all the time.
He said things like “today you’re declaring you’re kind of in love and want to get married for some reason”. The whole congregation was trying soooo hard not to laugh, it was very noticeable.
Then, at the reception, my sister’s best friend played a piano version of Nothing Else Matters, only it was so slow and sad and emotional it actually became funny - especially since my sister and new husband tried so very hard to make an appropriately serene face.
I was three champagnes in and laughing in front of every one. I had to lean against my mum’s shoulder and pretend I was crying.
#6
I wasn't there, but when my parents were waiting for their turn at the registry office, a load of police ran in and arrested the groom from the wedding ahead of them, for bigamy.
The photographer had already been paid, so he said he'd shoot my folks' wedding for free.
We've seen our fair share of stories about guests wearing white to a wedding, or even worse, wearing their old wedding gown. That's an obvious no-no. But so is dressing like the bridesmaids. Obviously, you might not know that the bridal party will be wearing. So if you rock up in a similar outfit, then you can't really be blamed.
However, if you are privy to the bridesmaids' color palette, you should steer clear of it. Basically, avoid looking like you're a member of the wedding party. And no, wearing the same dress as the bridesmaids but in a different color is also not okay.
#7
I was at a wedding where someone objected during the "If anyone knows of any lawful impediment..." bit of the ceremony. The registrar took the objector aside for a chat, then spoke privately with the bride and groom, then apologised to everyone and abandoned the ceremony.
We had the (very awkward) reception anyway. The couple got married a few months later in a small registry office ceremony with just them and a couple of witnesses.
I later found out the reason for the objection was that the bride and groom were double cousins, and step-siblings. Presumably the registrar had to go away and do some research to work out if they were too closely related to get married.
Ana Ferreira 1 hour ago
Everyone is focusing on the double cousins and ignoring the step-siblings part. Parents got divorced, and then at least one of the men then married his brother's ex-wife, who was also his ex-wife's sister. No wonder the officiant had to step aside.
#8
Bride was so hammered she couldn’t say her vows, then she fell asleep so wasn’t in any of the photos. Brides mum was pissed off and got in a fight with bride’s sister who punched her in the face in front of everyone. Bride comes back and all seems ok then she gets caught in a hotel room shagging the best man. They are no longer married you’ll be shocked to hear.
#9
Groom split his suit pants breakdancing. Didn't stop dancing.
Aparently had no underwear on.
No matter how eager you are to be the next in line to get married, control yourself during the bridal bouquet toss. Remember, you're a polite guest, not a star athlete.
"You don't want to appear overly eager, nor do you want to come across as if you are catching a pass on the football field," warns etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, the founder of The Protocol School of Texas. "Allow the bouquet to land naturally in the direction which it is tossed, without any pushing or shoving — for the sake of appearance and civility."
#10
Bride was MIA before the first dance. A few people including the groom went to look for her. She was eventually found in the gents getting it on with the Bestman. Who was also the grooms identical twin.
Groom and Bestman start fighting, then very quickly the whole lot went up and everyone was fighting.
#11
I once sang at a wedding where the bride fainted the moment she got to the altar. She was terribly thin and cleary very nervous and I imagine hadn't eaten for a while. It was touch and go whether the wedding would go ahead at all but eventually they got her a chair and the groom just said his vows kneeling down in front of her. It turned out to be the most romantic wedding I've sung at.
#12
My cousin got so drunk (nerves) before the ceremony she had to be helped down the aisle and kept up at the alter by the groom. In the end the vicar refused to marry them. But the reception was held anyway whilst she slept if off.
The actual marriage ceremony was held the following day.
If things go wrong at a wedding, which they often inevitably do, it's not your job to go running to the bride or groom. They have enough on their plate as it is. If something's really bothering you, or is a major issue, rather inform the wedding planner or venue staff.
"If something's gone wrong during the wedding, do not point it out to the couple or their immediate family members. You don't want to add any stress or frustration during the big day," says Josh Spiegel, Creative Director and President of Birch Event Design.
#13
The bride and groom were supposed to be leaving for their honeymoon directly after the ceremony.
The father of the bride had kept their suitcases, airline tickets and passports in his car as he was going to drive them to the airport afterwards.
Only he parked it in a dodgy area near the church, the car got broken into and their suitcases, airline tickets and passports were all stolen.
They couldn't tell the happy couple end of the night as they didn't want to ruin the rest of their big day.
#14
I once arrived at a wedding reception just after the police, they were getting out of their vehicles outside the venue as we arrived. Turns out there had been a robbery at a jewellers nearby and they were chasing the suspect. When we were having drinks and nibbles on the terrace the suspect came running through the grounds with the police after him. They caught up, handcuffed him and led him back to their cars in front of all the wedding guests. Great entertainment!
Janissary35680 1 hour ago
Recovering his poise, the MC said "Thanks everyone for watching our Staged Incident Experiment. Now, how many cops were there and what color hoodie was the suspect wearing?"
#15
I was the MC at a wedding where the grooms parents had separated acrimoniously 18 months or so before.
I had the father of the groom on my speech sheet, he made a heartfelt and funny speech about his son and welcoming his new daughter in law to the family. Standard stuff.
The mother of the groom was not on the sheet. But she was so incensed by her ex husband having had a moment of spotlight, she sent her sister over to me to DEMAND that she also get a chance to make a speech. Unplanned, unscripted, several glasses of champagne and wine deep. This went as well as you could imagine.
The groom is an ex model (handsome chap). She started off by saying how hot he looked shirtless. This devolved into her saying she preferred the groom’s ex girlfriend, and talking at length of her hatred for her ex husbands new partner (he didn’t cheat, she wasn’t at the wedding to try and avoid such a situation).
By the time I got the mic back after her ramblings, the bride was in tears, half the room had realised the mother had a strong Jocasta Complex, and the father was bright red and about to burst.
Disaster.
If a big drama, crisis, or family emergency happens at a wedding, it's really none of your business. Stay in your lane, resist the urge to pry, gossip, or approach the bride and groom for updates. And it goes without saying that you should not take your phone out to record or photograph whatever disaster is going down so that you can share it or post it online. Be the better person and maintain the couple's privacy.
#16
I used to work in a hotel that was a popular wedding reception venue. It's right by the river, and there a very picturesque weir that was a popular spot for wedding photos. It was also the turn around point for boat tours, and people would often have to wait 10-15 minutes for the boat to get out of shot.
This one particular time, it was brilliant sunshine one minute, and then the clouds came and it started pissing it down out of nowhere. The bride that had been waiting the the boat to leave lost her mind. Had a literal foot stomping tantrum and was shouting and screaming at everyone. She then stormed off crying. Left her own reception, and didn't come back. The groom followed soon after.
Nobody really knew what to do. There was a sit down meal that was minutes from being served, the cake hadn't been cut, there was an evening band, a buffet, and a very expensive free bar. After a couple of hours, guests started filtering out. By the time the band was playing, there was maybe a dozen people left who obviously didn't want to let the free bar go to waste. The buffet was barely touched.
Me and the other chefs ended up sitting at the bar drinking with the father of the bride, who had spent a fortune on this, and just seemed completely defeated by the whole thing. He gave the impression that it wasn't the first time she'd done something like this...
#17
My best friend went to a wedding where the best man's speech was announcing his love for the bride, right before they ran off together.
#18
The bride decided to sing a song as her walking down the aisle song. It would've been fine except she couldn't sing and was crying as she walked . It was very awkward just complete silence peppered with sobbing and off key singing. .
#19
The vicar made his whole sermon about forgiving infidelity when married, during their wedding. Turns out however that the vicar may actually be clairvoyant.
#20
Friend of mine said his ex-girlfriends name instead of new wife in his speech at the reception.
Inspired by the Friends episode best man had been winding him up all day saying "make sure you say the right name."
He was nervous and got in his own head and uno-reversed at the wrong time.
Air went out of the room. Was amazing.
#21
I couldn't make the day part of the wedding, due to work. But I went to the evening and saw the bride and groom and, while I didnt say this, I thiught it was odd he was in a suit and she was in a red (non wedding day vibe) dress.
Whatever, I thought. Maybe she changed for the evening.
Turns out he had a few 'for courage' drinks in the morning and had thrown up on her during their vows.
They laugh about it now, but not exactly at the time.
#22
Went to an Indian wedding where the bride got into a fight with grooms mum, groom then slapped her before brides dad waded in and took out groom and grooms mum.
Apparently they'd been arguing constantly before. Needless to say the wedding didn't proceed.
#23
Father of the bride's trousers fell down, as he was walking his daughter down the aisle. He laughed it off in the moment but asked me to cut that from the final film.
#24
Two "Best" men, who had read somewhere that the Best Man's speech was supposed to be funny at the expense of the groom.
Except these two barely had three braincells to rub together so spent 10 minutes being rude to the groom. It was a horror-show. The Mother of the groom was crying, a few old folk took off their hearing aids to avoid hearing any more. The evening guests arrived to a "Party" with absolutely zero Party Atmosphere. The only folk on the dancefloor were the under-12s as no-one was in the mood to dance.
#25
I knocked the wedding cake over. This was back in the early 90s. I was about 6. You know how most weddings have kids running around the place? Well that was me and my cousins. I was being chased and I ran behind the table that the cake was on. I pushed past it a little too hard and knocked the top two tiers off. Thankfully the venue staff were there to catch it before it touched the floor. My cousin's and I never ran so fast after that. I'm 43 now and I still think about it 🙈.
#26
Priest had sussed out groom. He gave a long sermon about treating your wife well and never ever hitting her. Six months later she was showing up with bruises and black eyes to church.
#27
Just terrible all round. Was a destination wedding in Mexico. The brides brother was swimming in the ocean and got into difficulties. His/brides dad dived in to save him... which he did... but couldn't save himself and tragically drowned. The wedding went ahead somehow... but obviously they didn't last. Brides head was messed up. She cheated a few times and moved away. I've never seen her again. I'm still mates with the groom, he married again and has a couple of kids and is doing great in life.
#28
The bride and groom had ordered a fancy chocolate sculpture cake. Stunning if tacky, cherubs and hearts etc. Anyway, time comes to cut the cake and it will not cut. Bigger and bigger knives were brought in from the venue kitchen. In the end the hotel manager ended up smashing it open with a sledge hammer. .
#29
Not me but a friend of mine, many years ago. The best man stood up to do his speech and the mic cord hooked a full glass of red wine, which toppled over and splashed the bride. It looked like a scene from Carrie.
Since then I've been a best man twice myself. In each case I've told the bride and groom this story and said that I'll only do a speech if they promise we'll be using cordless mics.
#30
Not me - but I know someone who got dumped at the altar.
Packed church, she's at the front with her dad and the groom. The groom turns round, blurts out 'I can't do this' then leaves at high speed.
It absolutely devastated her, took her months to get over it.
#31
My stepdad's brother shouted 'run!' during the vows.
Nicole Weymann 4 minutes ago
I need context. Was just trying to be "funny", or was he actually warning the bride off? Or the groom? Or even the other guests?
#32
I worked with a chap, who was getting married, booked two weeks off for the event and honeymoon, we all wished him good luck on the Friday.
On the Monday afterwards he came into work, had a quick chat with his manager and just started working. Obviously something had gone very wrong. The story leaked pretty quickly, when it came time for him to say I do, he bottled it and said he couldn't do it. He'd been having 2nd thoughts for weeks but let it go right to the wire before speaking up.
The bride to be went on the honeymoon with her best mate, her family sent him the bill for everything they paid for. He was skint for years 🥺.
Chocolate llama 3 hours ago
sounds like he got what he deserved. Nothing wrong with having cold feet but not communicating about it at all until the very last moment? Nah, I'd also want my money back.
#33
Halfway through the reception the bride (23) started a very slow dance with this older guy (well into his 40s). It took a turn when he grabbed her behind - there were audible gasps from a few parts of the room!
Turned out he was her boss and they’d been having an affair for a year. She left her husband when she got back from the honeymoon.
#34
The younger sister of the bride, who was about 19 and had been with her boyfriend for about 6 months, interrupted the first dance by getting the microphone from the DJ and proceeded to silence everyone before proposing to her boyfriend. It was absolutely wild.
#35
Arrived at the evening session of a wedding to hear the ONLY thing the day guests were talking about was the father of the bride speech when he said far too much about remembering the childhood friends of his daughter in swimming costumes and bikinis as kids and how lovely they had grown up! Obviously they were in the room (some were bridesmaids). So glad we were only evening guests!
#36
I went to a wedding where the ceremony finished at 1430, then nothing until 1900. Most people left for the pub, leaving the bridal party in an empty hall.
#37
My mil interrupted my first dance, crying on my husband. 😂 She disliked me. (Reason still unknown after 35 years of marriage but, possibly because I had 2 children when we met and I’m mixed race)
I was also her daughter’s friend.
#38
A story an old boss of mine told me once.
The mother of the bride (single) had a car booked to pick her up from her house and get her to the venue. She wasn’t trusted to book a taxi and get there on time by herself.
She texted on the way to say she’d left but still hadn’t arrived about 10 minutes before the start. Her life360 said she was there so one of the bridesmaids went looking outside.
She was found in the car park getting *seen to* by the driver of the car service.
TheWickedOne 5 hours ago
It's wild how many brides are banging out everyone else but their husband to be on the day of their wedding... why?
#39
At my cousin's wedding reception, one of his friends (who I unfortunately had previously.... er kissed) invited me to dance, tried to kiss me in front of my parents and half my extended family, got upset when I refused and had to be taken away and "distracted" by his friends.
That was fun.
#40
Few weeks ago. Father of the bride calling the bride by her sister's name throughout his speech. Probably about 8 times. Guess which daughter is his favourite.
#41
I was the evening receptionist at a hotel, a wedding reception was going on in the function room.
A bunch of guests had rooms booked on site.
Not sure what started it but a fight between the Bride s and Groom s family erupted.
Pure chaos, some bedrooms doors were broken into, people screaming and running down the corridors, blood stains on walls and carpet, the bride ugly crying in the lobby.
Police was called.
Other guests of the hotels were terrified and when had to refund many stays. 😅.
#42
Bride’s dad brought a bottle of the cheapest gut rot jakey juice alcohol you can imagine into the (pretty upscale) reception venue and left it out in plain view on the table. Staff confiscated it, he got belligerent and was escorted off premises in a police car at the behest of the bride’s mum.
The best man also kept dropping his coke baggie in the same venue and it was handed to the groom on three separate occasions by three separate people.
#43
As a wedding photographer many years ago I was shooting a big church wedding. Bride walks down etc just about to start and the groom says” just before we go any further I have left a small gift for everyone under your pews”.
Everyone had a copy of some pictures of the bride having an affair. The groom and the groomsmen swaggered out of the church!
#44
Three days before at 2am.
Groom gets search and status box confused on Facebook.
Posts his ex Girlfriend’s name as his status.
#45
I worked at a bar in a hotel that was hosting a wedding. One of the guests had been sort of sulking by the bar most of the night. He was knocking back a good few drinks and barely said a word. Something was certainly up with him.
Later on in the night the groom was talking to him at the bar right in front of me and the guy planted an absolute perfect headbutt right on the grooms nose then legged it.
I never saw that guy again but the groom spent the rest of the night nursing a splattered nose on a chair in the corner with people fussing around him. He didn't go off in an ambulance for some reason, but he definitely should have.
Caffeinated Ape 6 hours ago
I can't help but be curious as to why. It certainly seems there was a (forgive the wordplay) hefty weight behind that action...
#46
I had a huge panic attack and spent most of my wedding reception in the dressing room crying. Half the guests had gone home by the time I was able to actually leave the room and come back to the party. We had a lovely time and everything was beautiful otherwise, but I hate that I have that horrible experience tainting what was otherwise a wonderful day 😭.
#47
Two brothers started fist fighting in the parking lot. It was over something stupid that happened years ago. They were both extremely drunk.
At a different wedding, the sister of the bride was hysterical that her sister was "leaving" her. The bride lived with her fiance for a couple years before they got married. Sister lived at home. Nothing was changing. Anyway that pulled the bride away from the reception for a bit. The sister stayed hysterical and puked in the hallway. (That marriage lasted like 6 months tops.)
Mostly, I go to uneventful weddings.
#48
The groom went awol, and then was discovered in the gallery above the congregation after the best man wet himself.
He pretended it was all a joke, went through with the ceremony, and as the vicar reached the big moment both he and the bride were crying.
They got in the bridal car, then she jumped out, in floods of tears saying he was horrible. Apparently he'd told her to cheer up, they were 'over the hump'.
I think they got the marriage annulled.
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wobbly jelly 1 hour ago
For reasons I can't remember we went to a friends wedding separately (might be some drinking) we were sat waiting for bride, no sign of my Mrs, who is often late... nothing is happening and eventually my beloved turns up with much blood, trying to clean her self with tissues. As she'd walked it at same time as bride, one of bridesmaids noses just exploded - blood everywhere - hard to keep off dresses - which she did - odd start!
wobbly jelly 1 hour ago
For reasons I can't remember we went to a friends wedding separately (might be some drinking) we were sat waiting for bride, no sign of my Mrs, who is often late... nothing is happening and eventually my beloved turns up with much blood, trying to clean her self with tissues. As she'd walked it at same time as bride, one of bridesmaids noses just exploded - blood everywhere - hard to keep off dresses - which she did - odd start!
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