Your wedding day is supposed to be a special occasion; the one day in your life when everything is beautiful and perfect and totally focused on you. Of course, while this might be a popular fantasy, real life never goes this smoothly. Here are some true stories of weddings that descended into terrible cringe moments for everyone involved.
$250 Minimum
Weddings can be expensive, but that's not something you can mitigate. This couple is trying to ensure a return on their investment by insisting that guests make a purchase of over $250. If they're looking for a get rich quick scheme, getting married probably isn't it.
Slave Labor
An experienced professional photographer who will work for free without breaks or even getting fed is not just hard to find, they're impossible to find. Nevertheless, this couple seems to be under the impression that they can find someone who's been doing this job for over a decade who will willingly work for free, and bring their own food.
Family is All We Have
This poor woman's aunt is trying to convince her to attend the wedding of her cousin to a man that cheated on her, because "family is all we have." If this is the family she has, she probably doesn't want it.
Poor Choice of Timing
Pro tip: if you're planning on asking someone to marry you, don't pop the question while on the dance floor during their sister's wedding reception. There's a time and a place for a proposal, and that place is not, shall we say, upstage.
Plus-Twenty Two
This wedding guest needs to work on their math. Instead of opting for a Plus One at the wedding they've been invited to, they've written on their RSVP to announce that they're bringing fourteen additional adults (plus two more), three extra kids (plus one more) and two infants. That's an entire extra wedding party that they're trying to sneak onto the guestlist.
Photographer's Revenge
If you want a good photographer, you have to pay for them. In this case, a camera jockey that has been stiffed on payment has got a little revenge by photoshopping everyone into a cat. In fairness, it does make for some unique photos.
Something's Fishy
This wedding is decorated with live fish. Cute, right? Except that these fish are clearly not in appropriate containers, and are clearly destined for a flush down the toilet. Fish are friends, not party decorations!
Party Poopers
Kudos to this bridal party, who could have felt that their big day was about to be spoiled by a series of porta-potties, but instead decided to just own it and take a cute picture with their neat selection of outhouses. Not everyone can pull off that chemical toilet chic.
That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles
When viewed up close, these custom cookie wedding favors probably look adorable. When viewed from a distance (or here, under a blurred lens), it's hard to ignore the fact that the bride and groom's initials spell out "D I E."
Secret Identity
What do you do when one person getting married wants a traditional wedding cake, and their partner wants something a little more heroic? This hybrid cake is actually perfect for a superhero theme, as it has its own mild-mannered secret identity.
DO NOT USE A FREE PHOTOGRAPHER
PSA: this wedding blog that suggests you trick a friend into taking your photos is giving out terrible advice. The rule of weddings is that you get what you pay for, and if you don't pony up the cash for a decent professional photographer, you're going to end up with a book full of over-exposed, blurry embarrassments.
Warning Sign
Nothing says stable, lasting marriage quite like sending an email telling everyone that the wedding is off, and then sending another one, three hours later, retracting the first email. This is a good way to get everyone at the wedding running a pool to see how long the marriage lasts after the honeymoon.
Saturdays Are For The Boys
Brooke here is dead certain that she would rather be alone her whole life than marry anyone who says that "Saturdays are for the boys." If any prospective groom is still holding this immature attitude, there's a good chance he isn't actually ready for a marital commitment.
Hay Urinal
What wedding is complete without a giant hay bale that guests can tinkle on? Apparently the need for a hay urinal is so strong that this couple is searching online, but if this is the aesthetic they're going for, the rest of the wedding is clearly going to be unforgettable.
Misogyny Alert
No. Just no. No. First off, you do not dedicate a moment at the wedding to shining a spotlight on every single woman in attendance, giving them a white rose to remind them to "maintain their purity" before marriage. Secondly, if you must make a big show and dance of twisting the knife in the back of your female single friends, do not let the men off the hook as if the women are the only ones who need to be somehow "pure" or "chaste." Every element of this is awful.
"Accepting Money"
Hey, you're not invited to the wedding, but don't worry! You can still give us cash! Cold hard cash! That's what weddings are all about, right? Giving us cash.
Batman Uses WikiHow
This question on WikiHow ("Should I use a smoke bomb to stop a wedding?") is so obviously a bad idea that it's hard not to wonder whether the poster went through with their terrible plan. It would certainly add a little something extra to the day's festivities.
Photobombed
This one comes with a complete open letter, penned by the photographer who took these pictures: To the girl with the iPhone…
Not only did you ruin my shot, but you took this moment away from the groom, father of the bride, and the bride. What exactly do you plan on doing with that photo? Honestly. Are you going to print it out? Save it? Look at it everyday? No. You’re not.
But my bride would have printed this photo, looked at it often and reminisced over this moment as her dad walked her down the aisle on her wedding day. But instead, you wanted to take a photo with your phone, blocking my view, and taking a photo that you will not use.
Guests, please stop viewing weddings you attend through a screen but instead turn OFF your phone, and enjoy the ceremony. You are important to the bride and groom, you would not be attending the wedding otherwise. So please, let me do my job, and you just sit back relax and enjoy this once in a lifetime moment. Sincerely, Wedding photographers
Carpool Lane
Did this couple really not think through their mode of transportation for their wedding? Sure, get an uber if you like, that's your call. If you get an uber pool, though, you're going to have to be ready to share your ride with someone else, that's just the rules. It's not your awkward third wheel's fault you opted to carpool on your wedding day.
Lookalikes
What exactly is this bride's plan? She wants all the bridesmaids to cut and dye their hair to match hers. Is she hoping that by having a string of doppelgängers roaming around that she can somehow stop her groom from taking the wrong woman home and escape the confusion? There's no other explanation for wanting a series of clones at your own wedding.
Soap Opera Drama
It's always fun when a wedding turns into soap opera. This woman had absolutely the best timing for maximum drama, announcing at her supposed fiance's wedding that she is pregnant with his child, all while he's in the middle of marrying someone else. It's enough to have the guests looking around for popcorn.
A Bargain at Half the Price
Hey, does anyone want to pay $150 to buy these ramshackle urinals that my husband constructed for our wedding? They're super classy, they have three and a half walls and everything. What is it about weddings in a field that make people assume men can't hold their pee?
So Stinking Happy
Here's a free tip to anyone printing out anything for a wedding: get someone to proofread your work. Even in cases where you think you might have perfect spelling, if you happen to have a picture of a diamond ring randomly in the middle of the word "popped," your cutesy bags of popcorn instantly transform into an announcement that "He pooped," which is probably not the message you were going for.
Perfectly Balanced
This wedding was inevitable. But, wait. Is that Thanos? Either someone misinterpreted the dress code, or the Mad Titan himself decided to take time off from wiping out half of all life in the universe to enjoy a friend's nuptials.
Jellicle Guests
This one is amazing. Not only is this poor bride's guest convinced that her cats are invited to the wedding, but she's making demands that the centerpieces not be made of anything that her cats are allergic to. Well, in fairness, you wouldn't want a bunch of wedding crashing cats throwing up all over your wedding venue because they ate all your flowers, now would you?
No Babies Allowed
Yes dear, you are overreacting to blame a bridesmaid for having a baby right before your wedding. You cannot entirely control when a baby is going to make its entrance into the world. As it seems that your problem is not necessarily the existence of the baby, but the fact that you now have to accomodate a mostly sleeping newborn at your Grown-Ups Only party, there's a chance you might need to relax a bit.
Wedding Planning is a Full-Time Job
Look, fiancé, all your bride is asking is that you take on a second job to support her while she works full time to plan your $80,000 wedding. Whatever happened to "happy wife, happy life," a saying that is definitely not designed to be used as a weapon by overly controlling fiancées? Now seems like a good time to point out that studies have shown that the more money couples spend on their wedding, the shorter their marriages tend to last. Strange coincidence, huh?
Roleplay
Oh dear. Oh deer. Ladies, if your potential husband is the kind of person who wants to roleplay dragging you through the wedding venue as if you were a wild animal that he hunted for sport, you might want to think twice about your life plans.
Not saying he isn't the guy for you, but, just, make sure you're certain.
Cavity Search
Bad news, brides and grooms: no matter how special your wedding day might be, it will take place in reality, and not in a fantasy land. As such, you will have to deal with the fact that your guests are human beings, and that may mean accepting that your bridesmaid has imperfect teeth.
After Labor Day
Nope. Nope nope nope nope. The number one rule of attending a wedding: unless it is your wedding, you do not wear white. How are people not aware of this vital tradition?
Masks Off
This family has their mask off in every sense of the word. Now, the bride can be assured that while they might like her, they don't like her enough to wear a small piece of cloth on their face in order to keep guests at her wedding safe from a dangerous disease. It seems like Emma might be better off without them in attendance; COVID-19 on your honeymoon isn't exactly a desirable wedding gift.
Happy Birthday
Sure, this one's a wedding fail, but it's an adorable wedding fail. A little flower girl singing Happy Birthday as she skips down the aisle? Priceless.
Painting by Numbers
As with photographers, painters are talented artists who have spent years honing their craft. If you can't afford a painter at your wedding, or you don't think it's a priority when you have to decide how to allocate your budget, fair enough. Don't, though, assume that the painter is trying to pull a fast one by asking for a high fee for their work. The job is incredibly skilled labor, and while your amateur friend or one of your kids might be willing to do this for free, there will be a noticeable difference in quality.
Hindsight is 2020
This cake is kind of a perfect summary of getting married in 2020: there were toilet rolls aplenty, and official images showed everyone wearing maks, but in practice, a whole lot of people just threw caution to the wind and did their own thing regardless of the danger. 2020 in a nutshell.
Seed Bomb
When showering the bride and groom, use a handful of seeds, a handful. Do not use the entire bag in one throw. Do not potentially give the bride a birdfeed-based concussion.
Dress Wars
This isn't something that happens by accident. Nobody in a bridal store sells a mother-in-law a wedding dress without making it very clear to her the message that it will send. This mother-in-law is staking her claim, challenging her child's new wife for dominance, because her baby was hers first and you will respect that.
Persona Non Grata
Alas, you cannot get married if you don't actually exist. This is the kind of eleventh-hour discovery that can ruin a wedding very easily, so it's important to check in advance that you are definitely legally considered to be a human being before tying the knot.
Take Out
Bless this couple for their optimism that a romantic carrying off into the sunset would all work out fine. Those grass stains aren't coming out of that dress any time soon.
Down I Go
This picture of a wedding photographer taking a tumble is actually really cool. If this is the work he does by accident while literally toppling over, his successful pictures must be amazing.
Glug Glug
Look, we get it. Weddings are fun, it's a great excuse to party, and it's your special day. Nothing ruins a special day quicker than alcohol, though, so go easy on the booze if you want to actually remember your wedding at all.
Round Two
Much like Fight Club, the first rule of attending someone's second wedding is you do not talk about the fact that it's a second wedding. The second rule of attending someone's second wedding is you do not talk about the fact that it's a second wedding.
Great Minds Think Alike
If there's one thing that can definitely be said about these three grandmas who somehow all ended up wearing the same dress to their grandkids' wedding, it's that this is clearly a very stylish dress, and they all pull it off spectacularly well.
Relatable
This picture of a drunk bridesmaid hiding from her relatives is the most relatable photo in the history of relatable photos. We've all been there.
Action Shot
No wedding day is complete without a chance to thoroughly embarrass your siblings. This photo of a bridesmaid hitting the deck deserves a place of pride on the bride's mantlepiece.
Literal
When this couple asked the balloon printers to put "Mr and Mrs on it," they got exactly what they asked for, and yet, not quite the intended message.
Bye Felicia!
"At a friends wedding reception it was very windy and the groom got blown off the cake and well it looked like he had jumped off and ran away and she’s waving bye Felicia!"
Unexpected Guest
Not everyone can throw a wedding so cool that Jesus himself hurries up the Second Coming so that he can attend in person. This couple's photographer was clearly impressed with the service, because they took the trouble to photoshop the King of Kings in the skies above the St. George Temple for this special picture.
Bouquet Battle
Sometimes we all just need a win. That's why, even though this maid of honor completely misunderstood the tradition of throwing the bouquet (she assumed it was her right as the maid of honor), and even though she wrestled a child for the chance to be the next in line to get married, it's hard to blame her.
False Narrative
Oh, how sweet, this happy couple were introduced by a mutual friend, and they'll happily tell everyone about it. What they're deliberately leaving out is that one of them was dating the friend, and their "introduction" was actually an affair.
Let's End With a Sweet One
Do you know what? This couple is probably going to make it. Unlike a lot of the brides and grooms on this list, they understand that it's not really about the wedding at all, it's about the marriage. If they can get married in a CVS parking lot (the location of their first kiss) because of pandemic restrictions, then they're probably going to do just fine.