Weddings you went to where things went wrong?

Arriving at the reception venue someone knocked into the champagne bar table collapsed all the champagne on the floor made worse by the fact that the bride and groom took forever to have their photos done so everyone was just standing waiting no drink or anything. After this I told my photographer that she had 30mins tops I wanted to be with my guest.

Bride was an hour late, but the groom was 2.5 hours late. Groom wore white and sunglasses inside the church. It was very bizarre.

I actually want this to happen at my wedding 🤣

My dad got my name wrong in his speech. He called me by my brothers wife’s name. I put it down to nerves on the day and didn’t say anything but looking back it still really really hurts.

The worst wedding I've been to was the one where probably the most money was spent.
Thousands spent on venue, dress and band, it looked amazing on social media, but in reality it was really boring, not enough food, nothing for the kids to do (they had kids themselves), bar was mega expensive, hotel in the middle of nowhere, stupidly expensive gift list.

The best one was a lovely couple who put the guests first. Low key venue with free bar, plenty of food, no kids, venue easy to get to. Friends provided the entertainment, cake, dress. Specifically requested no gifts. Everyone invited to brunch the next day. A few things did go wrong, but everyone was having such a good time it wasn't an issue.

This topic is as old as time. Certainly the oldest and most regular topic on Mumsnet. There are at least 5 wedding threads in Classics and many of the same stories are repeated in some and many here are also in the other threads too. I'd say around every two years this topic comes up. And the same stories are repeated again.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnet_classics/1008339-Worst-behaviour-seen-at-a-wedding

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnet_classics/1832446-Terrible-wedding-behaviour

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnet_classics/2910417-Cringiest-thing-youve-witnessed-at-a-wedding

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnet_classics/4094310-what-drama-have-you-witnessed-at-a-wedding

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnet_classics/1468074-Tell-us-about-your-worst-wedding-experiences

went to a family wedding when I was a child about 20 years ago, it rained so bloody hard the ceiling fell in onto the wedding cake. The hotel waived the bar tab though so I think it was ok in the end! Marriage didn’t last though 😂

went to a friends wedding in 2023 and the bride was over an hour late because her bridesmaids hate hate hated the ridiculous costumes they’d been forced to wear, and mother of the bride was being weird about brides hair and make up. Whole thing was a tacky shambles. Mother of the bride and bridesmaids fuming all day, bride stressed and spent most of the wedding placating everyone. Her own stupid fault though for her outrageous choices.

At my first wedding, my ex-husband got into a fight with his cousin and broke his nose. The Police were called and the only reason my ex didn’t end up in the cells was because my best friend lied to the Police and said the cousin started it, not my ex. My best friend hated him but did it for me as she could see how upset I was.

I’m very happily married now to someone else and he’d never do anything like that. Our wedding day was extremely civilised ♥️

The bride danced the first dance with her father whilst the groom looked on bemused. It was all very odd. They have now divorced, unsurprisingly.

It was a long time ago now but I think it was just dry cleaning costs.
Point is that walking into a church as a bride infront of 50 family and friends with an oil stained wedding dress is embarrasing and humiliating. No amount of money can compensate for that so choose your transport carefully.

Sisters wedding and the priest double booked!! Had to call on the husband's parish priest to save the day.. it ended up being 2hrs late also, the reception was 2.5hrs away from the chapel too.. Family photos were in a forest, some of the young nephews went missing and were found in the park a right bit away from the where the photos were taken.. pure maddness!!

Bride and Groom from 2 different nationalities got married the same day the 2 nations had a big sporting event in the same city. A large quantity of guests almost half, disappeared halfway through the reception to find a pub to watch the game including the Father and sister of the Bride, they both missed the speeches. Needless to say the Bride was fuming.

Possibly - but it's an interesting thread so it doesn't really matter.

Full on brawl at one I went to. It was a lovely venue as well. I saw a woman climb on a table and jump on a man’s back kicking him. The bride has blood smeared on her shoulder. It was awful! Police were called.

My DBs wedding, she was the vilest of women, he's got anger issues. I didn't go mad either clear I didn't support he weddings Nd told my DB the marriage wouldn't last before he married. She had 3 hen do's so her family and our family didn't mix, as well as her friend snot mix with either family. No ody got along because she did a lot of back stabbing. Such different up bringings, we were brought up expecting to pay our own weddings if we left home before marriage and that a simple gift would be given. She wanted my mum and dad to pay half of the costs that didn't happen. My DB tried to explain my parents were on basic pension and didn't have the kind of money she wanted. She wasn't happy. Despite the separate hen does who h one or two were invited to all three which had to be paid for, expensive trips at the guests cost. She then demanded even those who didn't want to attend because they were invited should pay their share of the hen do. It didn't work. Her mum and step dad couldn't pay the half she wanted them to pay so they went into major debt. She told certain family that she expected them to wear certain clothes but they'd have to foot the cost again it didn't work. Some turned up in what they wanted anyway because DB had told them too. So again Bridezilla wasn't happy. Then she did a speech herself ranting about how selfish she felt some people were because they wouldn't help with the financial burden. She had also told a couple of disabled relatives of ours that they weren't welcome if hey were going to use wheelchairs or walkers in case it spoilt her photographs. It was just a vile display of entitlement. She complained during the speech that she'd seen my dad give over loads of money to me and DH at our wedding. (This was money that we'd taken out of cards form other people that I'd handed to my dad for safe keeping because either was in my dress and she'd seen him hand it back). I didn't go to theirs because by then I knew how vile she was and my DB said he would never forgive me. 4 month later they were divorced and my DB said he had wished he'd listened.

They only gave you a refund and cost of dry cleaning your dress? What else were you expecting? £6k compensation?!

I know right! This was a few years ago and I still can't believe what went on. I'm sure there was more too...

@Bloom15

I think our best man must have looked that joke up too as we had it at ours

My experience - I had a designer vintage style dress and booked a vintage rolls royce for the transport with driver in smart vintage suit from a small local outfit. The car arrived to pick me up and broke down outside my b&b - he asked us all to push it so we could jump start it. I refused but some passing folk helped. Got it running so we all had to go then in case it broke down again - the car was backfiring and seemed on its last legs. We arrived too early at the church due to this mismap with guests still arriving so had to do a round the block drive all the while worrying the car would conk out. When I arrived at the church and got out of the car it had oil on the doorsil and got an oil mark on my dress - gutted ! The company only provided a refund and money towards the dry cleaning cost. Lessons learnt - never book a vintage car for a wedding.

A friend told me of a friends wedding where the newly married bride and groom went to the wrong bridal suite at the large hotel unknowingly (tipsy) - thought the chocolates, champagne and rose petals were a lovely touch. Drank and ate the goodies getting more tipsy then tried out the bed. Then whilst in bed the actual bride and groom walked in. There was a row and they were kicked out !

My son's in 2015. He was only 23, had recently lost his father and had latched onto an awful skank. Moved in with her and her family. Wasn't allowed to shower, wash clothes or generally keep himself clean. He stank. She walked down the aisle with her head bowed, flowers hiding her face, had a panic attack which held up the ceremony, then was taken to a+e and appeared at the reception at 11 pm. Marriage lasted 12 months.

You “didn’t realise wearing white as a guest was a no-no”? Oh, come off it!

They mightn’t have said anything to you but I’m sure they had plenty to say about you!

Yeah I went to one with this too. Issue was that the bride was from another European country and her parents didn't speak English. So they were asking their new son in law to explain the joke

Best man regaled guests with tales of the groom's conquests during his speech, in of which involved an inflated surgical glove.

The bride’s father had died a couple of years before the wedding. Bride was living at home with her mother as most 20 year olds did in the 70s. Bride got ready and told her mother she should start to get dressed as time was marching on. Mother burst into tears and replied that she wasn’t coming to the wedding as daughter was ‘leaving her all alone’ by getting married. Bride begged and pleaded for mum to come to her wedding but she wouldn’t change her mind. Poor bride walked down the aisle with very red, puffy eyes and cried throughout the service. What a bloody cruel thing to do to your daughter.

Weddings and DHs family aren't a great mix 😂

Our wedding, grandmother in law stormed over to us during the church photos to let it be known that her daughter (MiL) wasn't go to stand in the same photo as FiL because of the way he treated her (they'd divorced 12 years prior to our wedding). All ties were cut for about 15 years following that one.

BiL got married, he was in the Navy so most of the preparations were down to his fiance. It had been agreed early on our DD, who was 3 was to be a bridesmaid but time ticked on and nothing more had been heard from their side until the night before the wedding when BiL turns up at door. He stood there, bridesmaid dress in hand, expecting to have a quick try on then take DD to theirs for the night!! Hubby let it be known in fairly blunt language his daughter wasn't going to spend the night a strangers house. Things esculated so quickly FiL was phoned to come seperate his sons from a near fist fight.

FiL second wedding, everyone got invites which stated 'no children' DH said to FiL that I presume that doesn't include DD (who was 5yo) and his only grandchild? Well it turned out it did so he got kicked into touch for about the same time as MiL, DH only re-connected when he found out FiL was terminally ill.

Hubby loved his family but can also hold grudges forever, I'm not really sure it was worth it but it was his call.

He also has a sideline as a photographer for events like weddings. He did a fancy one that ended up a a very nice hotel. All went until the reception speeches when the groom, who'd started his speech like normal suddenly veered off into announcing his new bride had been shagging the best man for the last 6 months. He went on to produce all sorts of printed reciepts for hotel rooms, told the new in-laws they'd wasted their 10 of thousands on the day and said to everyone else to get pissed on the brides parents account. Final line to 'new bride' was at least one of us is going on the honeymoon and I'm leaving now, and did just that. Luckily hubby had switched the camera into video so captured all of the grand exit 😳