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Worst Wedding You've Ever Been To?

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Re: Worst Wedding You've Ever Been To?

  • I've only been to one bad wedding but it was pretty epically bad. DH was asked to be the best man for an old roommate who was also a groomsmen in our wedding. At our wedding he wrote all kinds of crap in chalk all over our cars. There were the usual hearts and "just married" but also "Obama 08" (we're not Obama fans), "Sarah Palin is hot", and "one in the oven". It wasn't on a car that was in photos so I wasn't happy but got over in very quickly. I did make comments to this groomsmen that when he got married that I would be writing things on his car.

    Five years later this guy gets engaged. We get an invite which says dinner will be served at the reception. It was also going to be a dry wedding but we expected that because of this guy's religious beliefs. The wedding was several hours away from us so we arranged to stay at a B&B the night before the wedding since DH had to also be at the rehearsal.

    The rehearsal was pretty standard. When it came to the part with the rings it was decided that DH and MOH would hold the rings during the ceremony. The pastor was being super judgy to the bride but we had heard he complain about it before and weren't surprised. The church was in the middle on nowhere and most of the people there lived locally. They dressed differently that I would have been comfortable dressing to a rehearsal but that just me. The rehearsal dinner was cooked by the grooms brother in the basement of the church. It was southern food, fried chicken, greens, cornbread, etc. It was good and felt appropriate for the event.

    The day of the wedding DH and I arrive at the time we've been given and no one else is there. We knew we were in the right place. 20min later an usher comes in talking on his cell phone. They guy was missing teeth, jailhouse tats, and was complaining about "that stupid bitch" getting another restraining order.

    Wedding party gets there. Some photos were taken that will probably end up on Awkward Family Photos. After DH left the rehearsal dinner the entire order of the ceremony was changed but no one told DH. As the wedding party is getting ready DH sees the rings out and confirms with the groom that he only needs to hold the bride's ring. Ceremony starts. Seems different than the rehearsal but still pretty standard. Time for the rings. It turns our DH was supposed to have the grooms ring as well. DH and I are both called out by the bride during the ceremony for him not having them. Ceremony ends and MOH is still complaining about DH "screwing up".

    More photos are taken. I head down to the church's gym for the reception and meet up with the only other person I know who isn't in the wedding. He was DH's best man. We witness come classy displays on par with the usher above. There is a head table for the wedding party and open seating for everyone else. I decided to sit by this friend. Photos are still being taken so this friend steps our for a smoke. I bought chalk to decorate the car. I wrote "just married" and made some hearts and wedding bells. On the drivers side window, the groom would be driving, I wrote" Sarah Palin is still hot". I also bought some windex wipes and put them in the drivers seat. Various other wedding guests come out to smoke and ask to use the chalk. They start drawing more hearts but then it gets passed around to some of the grooms family. They started drawing tranny stick figures. I tried to erase them but they thought they were hilarious so the friend and I decided it would be best to just go back inside. Wedding party is now coming in from pictures. They sit at the head table. With the exception of standing up for his speech and going to get "dinner", DH sits there the whole evening.

    The food is out in tables in the hall. It's around 100 degrees outside and the door by the food is open. For "dinner" they served deli meat, wonder bread, and american cheese. It came individually wrapped but the slices were all unwrapped and arranged on a plate to be served with tongs....near the open door. The wedding party got soda for a toast the the rest of the guests got lemonade and tea made from a powdered mix.

    Speeches are given and people are staring to mingle. The friend and I eat "dinner" and are people watching. DH is at the head table but we are still pretty close to him. Out of nowhere the MOB walks by DH, throws chalk covered paper towels at him, and says "That's my daughter you're talking about you son of a bitch", and then stomps off.

    At this point DH and I are hungry and ready to leave. The friend is able to slip out. DH is still is expected for the wedding party dance. The Locomotion without booze is just cruel but we finally get a chance to give our well wishes to the couple and get the fuck out of there. One our way the car we see several other cars with stick figure trannys. We never received and thank you note for our gift.

    We aren't really friends with this couple anymore.
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  • I haven't really been around for a while (stupid school!), but I love this thread. I haven't ever really been to a "bad" wedding, but I've had bad/funny/weird experiences at weddings. 

    1. When I was 6, my sister and I were flower girls at a wedding across the country. We missed school and all to go to the wedding. MOB (our cousin) suggested to my mom that my sister and I spend the reception in the hotel room with a babysitter instead of joining the party. My mom was NOT taking two children under the age of 7 most of the way across the US to sit in a hotel room! For a variety of reasons, my mom hardly talks to this cousin anymore. 

    2. My cousin who got married in May had a great DOC (I love her), but unfortunately, she made a major mistake. She forgot to inform the VIPs about the cake cutting. The band made a quick announcement, but a lot of us (like the hosts and planners and all) weren't in the reception room and didn't realize we missed it. I know this upset some people, and it's not anybody's "fault" per se, but it's a good reason to make sure someone (DOC, photog, busybody elderly aunt, whomever) rounds up the relatives when it's time for those big moments.  

    3. This was a beautiful wedding, but someone at our table accidentally started a small fire! It was minor, and no one got hurt, but a napkin got totally destroyed. Luckily, when I told the bride the story later, she was completely clueless, so I guess we covered well. But still! 

    4. My parents went to a wedding once where the invitations explicitly stated that cash was the preferred gift because the bride and groom would prefer to gift shop themselves. My mom never ever ever gives cash and even hates giving gift cards, so I have no idea what she gave them! 

    5. This wasn't a wedding, but a bar mitzvah: we paid for parking on the way in. There was no other parking option! Pay the $10 or don't come in. Whatever. 

    6. Facebook updates. I've seen brides do both the fine (basic update to announce engagement; ring photo; honeymoon shots or whatever) and the abso-freaking-lutely nuts (daily posts about excitement; posts about things like cake tastings and STDs; you all know the drill). Luckily, I've always been invited to those weddings, but I can't imagine how much worse they'd be if I weren't invited! 

    All I know is that, when I get married (someday...), I just want to do the right thing, etiquette-wise, so that everyone has a great experience! 
  • SP29 said:
    hihihiii said:

    Reception had a cash bar. However, members of the wedding party had access to a certain number of “secret” drink tickets to either use themselves or give out to their friends. So everyone was asking around for tickets or hoarding them all night. So weird.<?xml:namespace prefix = o />

     

    Stuck in the box!

    I just wanted to comment on this for an lurking future brides. Don't do the above- it doesn't work.

    Friends of ours got married this summer, and bless their hearts, had a cash bar (I like to give the benefit of the doubt that they didn't know better and were wrongly influenced by others). Guests were given a free drink ticket each. What I found out later from my FI (the best man) was that the wedding party table (which included SOs) was supposed to get free drinks all night. When the B&G went to pay their bar tab there was a HUGE tab for the wedding party, but the WP had hardly any drinks (most used their free ticket only)!

    So either the bartender was being lax about who he was giving free drinks to, or guests figured this out and either said they were the bridal party or were buying drinks for the B&G.

    Moral of the story- don't treat your guests differently. Don't try to hide "perks" for your wedding party. Guests will figure these things out. Host your guests properly. 

    This! Friends of ours got married last summer and did this and to this day I still judge them for it. I think they honestly didn't realize that they were being rude but to see a group of bridesmaids walk up an get a free drink and then have to to pony up $9 for a water downed vodka drink of your own is just annoying. I remember thinking it was so rude. I get you want to treat your BP well and thank them but do it in private don't make this a nightclub with a VIP table the rest of us can't get access to. I guess I see where I fall in regards to importance to you so why was I invited again?
  • Cookie PusherCookie Pusher member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited December 2013

    I've been very lucky that most weddings I've been to haven't been total flusterclucks, but we had a doozy a few years ago.

    - The wedding was on a Friday afternoon, and the rehearsal was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, well before the time people get out of work - necessitating that we both take the day off from work for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

    - The groomsmen were required to be ready for photographs at 9am, for a 3pm wedding. Not a big deal except we didn't stay overnight at the fancy hotel they booked (money was tight then as I was unemployed), so had to drive through rush hour traffic to get there. Even though they photographed straight through from 9am until the time of the ceremony, there were NO refreshments offered to the WP. No water, no snacks, nothing.

    - The reception was at a hall about 15 minutes from the church - and there was a 2 hour gap. The venue would not let us in early, so we all stood around in the parking lot. During this 2 hour gap, the WP was still not provided food or drinks, nor was there any opportunity for them to get anything on their own as they were STILL being photographed since directly after the ceremony.

    - The room they booked at the hall was "L" shaped, so you couldn't actually see people seated in the other half of the room. Which was great, because they seated FI and I with a bunch of strangers in the completely non-visible side of the room. As in, he missed being in pictures of the WP because no one knew where he was. In fact, we were the ONLY table set up in that area of the room. The waitstaff didn't know where we were either because they missed serving us an entire course!

    ~*~*~*~*~

  • Lily9911 said:


    1. Her cocktail hour was in the same room as her reception, so there was no grand surprise and no change. Your seat was your seat and you were stuck there.


    You will hate my wedding then. My ceremony, cocktail hour (half hour really) and dinner are ALL going to be in the same space. If we do it locally, it will be more of a dinner party with a short wedding ceremony at the beginning. We'll have passed appetizers and beer/wine/soft drinks (fully hosted the whole night, I might add) for about a half hour after for a couple pictures and then dinner. We'll be doing most of our pictures earlier in the day so our guests won't have to wait around. We aren't superstitious though so I don't have a problem with Fi seeing me in my dress before hand. 

        If we do it at Disneyland they have it set up so your ceremony is in one place and cocktails and dinner in another. I think  you have to pay extra if you want your cocktail hour in a separate third venue and quite frankly, I really don't see the point, although I am not offended is someone wants to have a bunch of separate spaces for their wedding. It's just a bit too fussy for me.

  • 2. My cousin who got married in May had a great DOC (I love her), but unfortunately, she made a major mistake. She forgot to inform the VIPs about the cake cutting. The band made a quick announcement, but a lot of us (like the hosts and planners and all) weren't in the reception room and didn't realize we missed it. I know this upset some people, and it's not anybody's "fault" per se, but it's a good reason to make sure someone (DOC, photog, busybody elderly aunt, whomever) rounds up the relatives when it's time for those big moments. 
    My FI and I missed the cake cutting at his brother's wedding because someone realized halfway through the wedding that the MOH, who was supposed to go prep the honeymoon suite, had forgotten to do it earlier and was now too drunk to drive there. We left his brother's wedding to go make sure his wedding night went well, and when we came back all the cake was gone.
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    eyeroll
  • A friend of mine went to a wedding where the bride had a money tree. I have never heard of having a money tree at a wedding before. Like instead of having a bird cage or something to collect cards in, people were actually attaching bills to the tree branches. 


    I asked "How do you know who to thank for the amount of money given?" and my friend just looked at me like "You don't thank anyone for that, that's just what they do there." 

    This was a Texas wedding, I am from Jersey.
  • Lily9911 said:
    A friend of mine went to a wedding where the bride had a money tree. I have never heard of having a money tree at a wedding before. Like instead of having a bird cage or something to collect cards in, people were actually attaching bills to the tree branches. 


    I asked "How do you know who to thank for the amount of money given?" and my friend just looked at me like "You don't thank anyone for that, that's just what they do there." 

    This was a Texas wedding, I am from Jersey.
    My jaw just dropped to the floor!
  • I am from Texas, and have never heard of a Money Tree at a wedding.
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  • I have only been to one wedding and it was not a good experience. I was a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding 3 years ago. On the night of rehearsal dinner, we learned the ceremony would have 2 preachers due to the groom's mother insisting her denomination (Lutheran) instead of Baptist be represented. It took an hour to do. I honestly did not think it was a big deal, until the ceremony the next evening. It was outside in the late afternoon and we were in Alabama. Also, our bridesmaids dresses were long evening gown types. I was happy to wear the dress for my friend, but goodness you talk about burning up and I am used to the heat due to living in Alabama my whole life, but not in a thick evening gown. 

    The next morning the bride asked me if my date (now FI) would mind coming early and just get ready at the bed and breakfast, because her step dad needed assistance with moving a few tables. Okay no problem. My FI came over and it turns out, it was not a few tables. The bride's wedding planner had my FI set up all the plants and decor for the ceremony and reception tables. My mom was even called by the bride's mother to bring ferns over for some ceremony decor. We were an hour away. My FI was exhausted by the start of the ceremony and had to get ready very quickly. My mom was also not a happy camper. 

    Then the reception, the bride invited way more people than the place could accommodate. We were packed in like sardines. Also, several people had to stand up to eat because there were not enough tables. All in all I was happy to be a part of my friend's day, but to this day I resent that my FI basically set up her wedding ceremony and reception. I felt it was all very unorganized. 
  • This was a Texas wedding, I am from Jersey.

    Polite Texans know better than to do something this rude.
  • RebeccaB88RebeccaB88 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited January 2014
  • This was a Texas wedding, I am from Jersey.

    Polite Texans know better than to do something this rude.

    My SIL is from Texas and I was wondering if this was a true statement about your chille. Is it with or without beans? She swears its with beans, other Texans say no  to the beans. 

    She also seems to be very lets just say.....frugal- is that a Texan thing or a personality trait. 
  • RebeccaB88RebeccaB88 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited January 2014


    My SIL is from Texas and I was wondering if this was a true statement about your chille. Is it with or without beans? She swears its with beans, other Texans say no  to the beans. 

    She also seems to be very lets just say.....frugal- is that a Texan thing or a personality trait. 

    From the Texans I know personally (and only that), it's a personality trait. You know the phrase 'everything is bigger in Texas'? They take that to heart down there. Beans or no beans will be an argument that's will never be won by either side. There are also factions who believe real chili is made with cubed beef rather than ground. Others who say cubed beef is sacrilege. Arguments over whether beer is a necessary ingredient. Kind of like the debate over which wood is preferable for smoking meat. Nothing is winnable. They WILL ding you for words, though. Chili = spicy beef stew/soup type thing. Chile = a pepper of varying degrees of spiciness. Chile = a country in South America. Chilly = anything below 60 degrees. They're picky about that stuff. ;) Effing paragraphs. TK needs to fix that. Sorry ladies.
  • RebeccaB88RebeccaB88 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited January 2014
    Stoopid DP.
  • jdluvr06 said:
    I've been to a wedding with a money tree before. It was a little different though. They weren't trying to get money for themselves. The MOH's daughter had cancer and they put the money tree up to help raise money for her treatment. I heard later the bride and groom gave all the money they received as gifts and the money from the tree to help with the little girl's treatments.
    Ok, that's sweet.  I'm not fond of asking guests for extra cash but that's something I wouldn't mind, and if I were a guest I'd be happy to contribute.  
    image
  • Stoopid DP.


    I've come to notice that you are the queen of the DP.

    Thanks for answering my Texas questions, I only get to hear Texas stories from my SIL and her whole family who only give me their personal beliefs and feelings.

    And the love telling me that Aggies f-sheep. :/


  • My SIL is from Texas and I was wondering if this was a true statement about your chille. Is it with or without beans? She swears its with beans, other Texans say no  to the beans. 

    She also seems to be very lets just say.....frugal- is that a Texan thing or a personality trait. 

    From the Texans I know personally (and only that), it's a personality trait. You know the phrase 'everything is bigger in Texas'? They take that to heart down there. Beans or no beans will be an argument that's will never be won by either side. There are also factions who believe real chili is made with cubed beef rather than ground. Others who say cubed beef is sacrilege. Arguments over whether beer is a necessary ingredient. Kind of like the debate over which wood is preferable for smoking meat. Nothing is winnable. They WILL ding you for words, though. Chili = spicy beef stew/soup type thing. Chile = a pepper of varying degrees of spiciness. Chile = a country in South America. Chilly = anything below 60 degrees. They're picky about that stuff. ;) Effing paragraphs. TK needs to fix that. Sorry ladies.


    I had to LOL at this. Then again, it is 0 degrees right now where I am in MN...

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  • Lily9911 said:
    Stoopid DP.
    I've come to notice that you are the queen of the DP. Thanks for answering my Texas questions, I only get to hear Texas stories from my SIL and her whole family who only give me their personal beliefs and feelings. And the love telling me that Aggies f-sheep. :/

    Yeah, almost every post I make posts twice. It's ridiculous. I can't stop it. Knot Porscha swears they're working on it, but they don't seem to be. Can't explain it either. Stupid.
  • I went to a wedding with my bf. We flew all the way from NYC to the middle of nowhere for his friend's wedding. The ceremony was short and the reception was in the basement of church. The couple served Thai lunch buffet, the basement was not decorated, ppl had to sit in benches, the whole thing was unorganized. There was no microphones during the speeches, and no dances. On top of everything, the couple didn't greet guests, and no thank-you card for the gift. I'm more selective on weddings I attend afterwards. 
  • I just thought of a wedding I have to tell you all about! I didn't go to it myself but the story needs to be told. My family has friends who live in AR, and their son met his fiancee wile going to college in CA.  So they plan their wedding out in CA and the parents of the groom arrive a few days early to help out. Wile talking to the parents of the bride the mother of the groom asks about the location of the reception. She is then met first with blank stares, and blinks, and then some feeble words saying something to the effect of "Oh... uhm... well I suppose everyone will meet in the church basement afterwards..."

    "Is there a caterer? A Cake? Music?!" Asks my friend

    "Ah... Hmm... I guess we didn't think about that..." they reply looking very lost.

    Apparently no one, not bride, groom, or parents of the bride (who lived out there in CA) had done anything to set up a reception. It wasn't that they had planned not to have one, it's just that they sort of thought it would just magically come about on it's own. Maybe they thought the church provided such things? (side note, apparently both the bride and parents of the bride were painfuly shy, quiet, with drawn people which the mother of the groom seemed to think had something to do with it). So the mother of the groom turned into a whirl wind and over the next few days (might have been one day I heard the story many years ago and forgot) put together some sort of quickie reception in the church basement. It was something simple with sandwiches, punch, cake, white crepe paper... You get the picture. Definitely way better than the guests all standing around in an empty hall staring at each other. Now THAT would have taken the prize for worst ever!
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  • I went to a "black tie optional" wedding once. Aside from my feelings on "black tie optional," the wedding was held in low grade hotel (think Red Roof Inn), the cocktail hour consisted of a cheese plate in the middle of the ballroom, the beef was so dry you could hear knives scraping against the plates as people tried to cut their food, I was seated far away from anyone that I actually knew, and I never received a thank you card.

    I guess it wasn't anything so terrible or crazy but it wasn't as fun as some other weddings that I've been to lately.
    image
  • Lily9911 said:
    Stoopid DP.
    I've come to notice that you are the queen of the DP. Thanks for answering my Texas questions, I only get to hear Texas stories from my SIL and her whole family who only give me their personal beliefs and feelings. And the love telling me that Aggies f-sheep. :/


    Yeah, almost every post I make posts twice. It's ridiculous. I can't stop it. Knot Porscha swears they're working on it, but they don't seem to be. Can't explain it either. Stupid.

     

    *Stuck in the box. Must be on your end, no? What browser do you use?


    image
  • Amyzen83 said:
    I woulda purposely "accidentally" spilled punch or red wine all over that bitch bride
    YES!!!!!
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