#1
Surreal.
Weddings are meant to be magical, romantic, memorable, and fun. Many couples spend lots of time, effort, and money planning the perfect day, and often, on the surface, everything seems perfect. But a wedding is not a wedding without some sort of drama...
Maybe it's the minor kind, like a drunk uncle doing the Macarena on the main table, or the bridegroom losing the wedding ring temporarily. Other times, it's more extreme, like the stories featured on this list. Either way, there's no denying that tying the knot can be a stressful experience.
In fact, recent research reveals that 84% of brides experience wedding-related stress. For one in four, it's so bad that they've called their wedding the most nerve-wracking life event.
#2
#3
I was that weird girl and I'd do it again.
In a bid to preserve their mental health, many brides are enlisting the help of a dedicated "wedding therapist."
“This can be such a beneficial space, either as a couple or individually, to help unpack your thoughts and feelings in a confidential, judgment-free environment and find some clarity,” says Lorraine Collins, an Integrative Psychotherapist and Cognitive Behavioral Therapist.
Experts say there's a difference between wedding stress and having anxiety about your big day. Stress, explains Collins, is often marked by feelings of frustration or nervousness. It usually stems from external demands like choosing the perfect venue or managing the guest list. The expert adds that this stress can manifest physically, perhaps as fatigue or tension.
#4
Good times.
#5
I think the wildest part about it was all the trashy comments by customers about it. I mean these 2 people worked at walmart, they had no money. They both old, they had no parents helping pay for anything. Venue, free. Cake and drinks, provided by the store manager. DJ a kid in electronics department who really wanted to be a DJ. And the list goes on. But I guess if you're poor you're not allowed any moments of happiness in this life, you only get to suffer and serve. Why the [hell] are they out there getting married instead of in here serving us!
#6
Sucked for the groom but all in all a top night for the rest of us.
They broke up and get met someone else and has now been married 15+ and has 3 kids. Second wedding wasn’t as much fun, his Dad agreed.
Anxiety is a different story, says Collins.
“It often involves deeper concerns that go beyond the logistics of planning. You might find yourself worrying about the future or feeling uncertain about the marriage itself,” she explains. “While some level of anxiety is natural, persistent feelings of worry that interfere with your daily life may indicate something more.”
Integrative Psychotherapist, Charlotte Jefferson, reveals that one way to tell the difference between stress and anxiety is to pinpoint what you’re worrying about.
“Anxiety differs from stress in that it centers itself around longer-term fears and worries, what-if questions, and worst-case scenarios that can sometimes keep you up at night. Am I doing the right thing? Do I love this person enough? Will our marriage last? Will I trip over going up the aisle? Will I get jilted?” she explains.
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#9
1. The bride's family threw a fit when they found out she signed a prenup. Smashing furniture, screaming, police. The marriage was annulled shortly after.
2. The groom found out a few days before the wedding his fiancée was cheating. Day of the ceremony he emailed proof to bride's family and no showed. The guests were told to proceed to the reception. Eventually word got around. The DJ played the country song "Your cheatin' heart".
According to one survey, guests or guest lists are a big source of stress for brides. 45% of those polled said deciding who to invite to the wedding - and navigating family and friend politics - was the most stressful aspect of wedding planning.
Another culprit, say wedding therapists, is brides trying to keep up with the Joneses of social media. “My clients get really overwhelmed by the pressure for the wedding to look good – not only for guests but for Instagram," reveals Tom Couch, a luxury wedding planner and founder of Thomas Couch & Co.
#10
#11
He mentioned dates and myself and a few others started doing math in our heads...
They didn't like you because you were 21 and she was 16. KYLE!
#12
Wedding 2, me: I was a good friend of the bride. She invited me to do a reading at her wedding. The night prior, after the rehearsal dinner, everyone went to a bar. This was a south-side Chicago wedding, so a loud, fun crowd. The groom and his guys left around midnight so he wouldn't see the bride on the wedding day. I partied with the bride and bridesmaids.
I was riffing and goofing with my church reading, making up words. I changed the refrain from "The Lord is kind and merciful" to "The Lord is kind...to some people." I would invent passages, like, "Though I walk through the valley of promotion and they give it to Chad who is a [jerk], and he gets a corner office, still, the Lord is kind... To some people."
The bridesmaids would shout out the last three words and then drink.
At the wedding, during the ceremony, I did my reading. Completely straight-faced, no weirdness. No reference to last night's jokes. But when the videographer turned the camera to the bridesmaids, they sat in the front pew laughing, snickering, doubled over. To me, the video looked like a Salem witch trial with women laughing and snickering for no discernable reason while the holy Bible was read aloud. Pretty tame, but bizarre on film.
Wedding 2 (same wedding), bride: During the planning, the groom kept asking for things she kept vetoing: Can we have a disco DJ on roller skates? No. Can we have a clown who makes balloon animals for people as they leave the church? No. What if we had three live turkeys at the reception hall, just running wild? NO.
All this suggested in a spirit of play. He kept inventing outrageous requests. (The groom is a great guy and he makes his bride laugh.)
After the priest pronounced them husband and wife, and everyone clapped, they faced the long aisle to walk out. The bride, my friend, leans over and says to him, "Look." At the far end of the naive, near the back of the church is a fully made-up clown already making balloon animals for the guests and wedding party. So many wedding photos with balloon animals!
Thirty years, and two grown kids later, they are still in love and still goofy and playful with each other.
He adds that he's noticed many weddings have become an extension of the bride or the couple's identity. It's something the experts warn against. "This is often not who you really are, but rather who you would like to be seen as. It’s a marker of you as your imagined best self,” says Couch.
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#15
Not super scandalous but wildest thing I've seen at a wedding so far.
Relationship counselor Simone Bose says that involving your loved ones in the wedding planning, or at least making them aware of your stressors, can help.
"If you are worried about your day not being as 'Instagram-perfect' as you would like, manage their expectations; tell them it is low-key or relaxed so you don't feel this mounting pressure," suggests Bose.
And when the big day arrives, if all hell breaks loose, all you can do is roll with the punches. Hopefully not literally...
#16
I was arrested, he was arrested for interference of a minor but charged with many more crimes in the ensuing weeks. He lost everything, and I mean everything. He was eventually jailed for 7 years and is now on 'the' reigistery for life. He now has no home, job, wife, family, and the daughter he was grooming needed years of therapy after.
This was 15 years ago, and she's now married with her own family.
Oh, I was never actually charged in the end.
#17
So anyways, Nanny Shift is completely drunk and feeling kinda frisky. So she had the band (no DJs back then!) play an old burlesque number and she started lifting her skirt and dancing around, showing off her red silk bloomers and parading around while everyone [laughed].
For the grand finale, she turned her back to new couple sitting at their table, put her head between her knees to look at them through her legs and flipped them off with both hands proudly. The room erupted into big cheers and Nanny was ushered away with another drink.
So naturally, this became a thing at every wedding we’ve had since then. When Nanny Shift passed away in the mid 90s, my aunt Lois took over the bloomers and has worn them for at least 10 weddings over the years, including my own and more recently, my young cousins.
I love my family. We throw the best weddings.
#18
#19
Dear reader I am sure you’ll be shocked to learn they are no longer married.
Edit - since it’s been commented so frequently, the ceremony was at midday, she woke up around 4pm, I caught them in bed at around 2am, and they certainly both knew exactly what was going on because they both spent quite a long time trying to explain it away and stop my gf from immediately telling the groom. Quite dark what is being suggested tbh.
#20
One wedding that was particularly odd was a large, big church wedding where both families were Florida State fans. The brides parents house looked like the FSU gift store exploded logos everywhere!
Well, the only day they could get the church was the day of the big Florida vs Florida State football game. As I'm doing formals of the groomsmen, I noticed they were all wearing a single earpiece that looked like secret service agents. Every man in the wedding including both dads had them.
During the ceremony (!!) they were all listening to the darn football game and *twice* there were audible noises and twitches as the game had a big play. Too much fandom there.