17 Wedding Disasters That Will Make You Thank Your Lucky Stars You Weren’t Invited

10.

“I was a bridesmaid in my childhood best friend’s wedding. I wasn’t expecting it to be such a shit show, but it was the worst 24 hours of wedding ‘festivity’ I have ever experienced. She was not a bridezilla at all and let us choose our own dresses in the color she chose, which was great. My parents were invited, as was my family (husband and kids), but since we lived eight hours away, I opted to go with my mom and dad and leave my kids and husband at home. So my dad drove me and dropped me off at a hotel the night before the rehearsal, and I rode to the venue with another bridesmaid. We were supposed to stay at the venue the night before the wedding since it was about 40 minutes outside the city and in the middle of nowhere. I got to the rehearsal lunch, which was on the lawn outside the venue, and there was a potluck set up. Okay, that’s fine. I get that not everyone has a huge budget.”

“We do the rehearsal and eat this weird potluck meal, and then the bride says to all six bridesmaids, ‘Don’t forget to make yourself a dinner plate and put it in the fridge inside.’ I was immediately taken aback, but I followed directions without objecting. That night, we were supposed to be having her bachelorette party, so I was expecting to go out or at least order a meal, but instead we had funky potluck leftovers. Okay, fine, whatever, it was one meal, so I moved on. 

Then, we all have to help set up tables outside, and my friend says, ‘I need you guys to make your bouquets, prepare food for tomorrow, iron the tablecloths, and set up chairs and tables.’ We spent six hours working our asses off, and my back was screaming after ironing the tablecloths with her sister. Again, I get that budgets can be tight, but there was no warning that we would be put to work, and I was in a mini dress and heels doing hard labor and moving furniture. 

Her husband-to-be and his white trash friends left right after the rehearsal and stayed in a hotel and got trashed. Not a scrap of help from them. At 8:00 p.m., we were exhausted, but we rallied and ate our crusty potluck food while the seven of us shared a solitary bottle of champagne. It was nice to catch up and chat. 

The morning of the wedding, we all got dressed and did our makeup, and then the other bridesmaids started freaking out because they didn’t know how to do their hair, and the bride said we all needed to try to do something with our hair. As a mom of two daughters, I stepped in and did the hair of four bridesmaids and had to scramble to do my own before the ceremony. The bride had a hairstylist and makeup artist come in. If she had offered, I gladly would have paid to have mine done, but it was not an option at that point. 

The ceremony was fine, but I was just ready to go home. Then we get to the reception. They brought in a BBQ truck to provide the food, which was forgettable, and they had a bar, but I was told that we had to pay for our drinks. Again, okay, that’s fine. I’ll buy my own damn pinot gris. Then I see the groomsmen getting progressively more tanked, and they are at the bar every five minutes. I asked the bride what was up with that, and she said, ‘Oh, [new husband] paid for his groomsmen to have an open bar.’ Neat. These dudes were being so nasty, and it was throwing the vibes off massively. 

The bridesmaids and I danced and enjoyed ourselves as best as we could with our self-purchased drinks, and then, finally, it was time for the bride and groom to leave. A huge limo rolls up, and the bride is shocked. She tells me, ‘My parents said they had a surprise for us!’ She then informed me that since I had moved away, her mom and dad had become multi-millionaires because they had invested in properties all over town so they could afford the limo. I asked tactfully if they had been the ones who paid for the wedding, and she said, ‘Oh yeah, all of it. They are loaded.’ You could have fooled me. 

The bride and groom rode away, and then her parents approached the wedding party and said, ‘It’s time to tear down.’ The groomsmen were blitzed and slinking away, and the other bridesmaids and I were so pissed. I finally just said no. I had my parents there at this time, so I hopped into their car and hightailed it out of there. It was the worst wedding I have ever been to, and it made me so angry to find out that her parents are loaded and they just didn’t feel like paying for their youngest child to have a nice wedding. She’s somehow still married to her husband, but I hate him so much. They came to visit my family once a few years ago, and he kept pulling my dog’s tail, which confirmed my suspicions that he’s just an asshole.”

—OppossumsEatTicks