Weddings are meant to be the happiest day of a couple’s life—warm memories, good food, and embarrassing speeches. But what happens when the person snapping the photos or serving the cake witnesses a ceremony gone wrong? Say “I do” and read about the hilarious scenes witnessed by these wedding workers creating the marital magic.
1. Ornament Explosion
As a wedding photographer I got lucky seeing the best and worse ceremonies. One bride I photographed twice. Her first wedding was during Christmas. Groom's family decides they hate the bride's family during the reception and takes the glass ornaments off the tables, throwing them onto the dance floor. The ornaments shatter and cut up the bride’s family members that were dancing barefoot.
This couple had been together for five years before getting engaged, and the bride got served divorce papers less than six months after the wedding. She was stunned and had no idea her husband wanted a divorce. Several years later I had the pleasure of shooting her second wedding. She definitely traded up and is very happy now.
2. Sweat In The Sky
The bride asked me to please get a few shots up ASAP for Facebook, which I did that night. I then received a 1 am phone call from the groom, who was FURIOUS that I had "made him look bad" by posting pictures where his "hair looked all sweaty." This was an outdoor wedding. In Louisiana. On July 4th. At noon. They didn't last a year.
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3.One-Click Wonder
The one wedding I have ever photographed was held at a stately property owned by the groom's mother. The moment I got there I knew it was going to be an interesting day but stayed optimistic. In the kiss she was all-in, he was taken aback and off-balance. Afterward, the groom's mommy licked her hanky and proceeded to clean lipstick off her sons face.
As the party continued the grooms’ mom became more domineering, even shoehorning herself between the couple while they cut the cake. It was the first and only wedding I've ever seen where, whilst the groom removed the garter, he had his mommy coaching him. "Silly, don't use your hands, you're supposed to use your teeth!"
As the day winds down the bride and groom look like they’re ready to leave, but there’s no car in sight or limo to drive them away. Instead, they walk straight over to the house behind mummy’s, and he carries his bride over the threshold. Five minutes later, mommy dearest makes her way across the lawn and goes in right behind them. The marriage lasted almost three weeks.
4. Hands Off
While photographing a wedding I had a groomsman hit on me all night, and repeatedly put his hands on me. I told the bride and groom I was uncomfortable and they both just laughed. At one point, he ended up following me into the bathroom and trying to kiss me. After throwing him off me, I told the newlyweds I was leaving an hour early after their first dance.
They tried to sue me over it. Now they’re divorced.
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5. Editing Quirks
I’m a wedding video editor, and some footage can be a little weird. One wedding in particular, the cameraman asked the groomsmen to say something about the couple while they were getting ready. They each seemed really uncomfortable and didn’t answer. He also asked the groom how he felt. The cameraman asked “Are you excited!? How do you feel?” He smiled awkwardly and said “good.”
During the ceremony, their kiss was a brief peck. It was a long time and it may have been on the cheek. They had their reception in a very fancy well known expensive hall. The room was two stories and huge with marble columns. Could have easily fit 300+ people but there was less than 100 guests which made it look strangely empty. The mood was more like an eighth-grade dance.
During the first dance, they kept as far apart as possible while holding each other’s shoulders. Later the groom was dancing with his friends and the bride was dancing with hers. Someone grabbed the groom and pulled him over to the bride, and pushed the two together. They repelled like magnets. They were so uncomfortable near each other. They didn’t know how to interact.
6. I Wanna Dance With Somebody
I'm a wedding singer and I’ll always remember one wedding. It was unseasonably hot and the venue had no A/C. At the reception, none of the almost 100 guests want to be inside on the dance floor. The bride gets up to dance and she is literally the ONLY ONE on the dance floor. After what felt like an eternity, one of her bridesmaids joins.
We heard through the planner that the bride didn't even want a big wedding. She only said yes to her husband's desire as long as she got a band. So she's out here dancing, with maybe three or four people and the husband could not be bothered to join her. I keep seeing him walk by, chatting with various people, at one point he has a drill in his hand to go fix something?
Later, he’s, chatting with someone near the dance floor and she goes over to get his attention. I see her ask him to dance, and he completely blows her off, doesn't even stop his sentence, just shoves her hand away. It was so sad. She was so crestfallen that she stopped dancing and went outside. We played in an empty room for another hour and a half.
7. A Year To Remember
Did a year and a bit as a photographer/videographer. My worst memory was witnessing a bridezilla lose her temper at her poor florist setting up the table centerpieces. Apparently, the petals were a shade off from the napkin colors. This poor florist finished setting up in tears and ran out; I later heard the bride refused to pay her.
When I met the groom I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. No clue what happened there but I'm guessing they lasted six months tops. By contrast, at the first wedding I ever shot, the couple was so sweet with each other and with everyone working. My boss said they recently celebrated four years together.
8. Hold Your Breath
I wasn’t in the wedding business long but listening to the audio of the ceremony for the last one I did gave me a laugh. The officiant asked the groom to place the ring on her finger, and he let out the loudest sigh I’ve ever heard. Like a weather report during a hurricane. There’s no way the bride couldn’t have heard it. Their faces were awkward when they walked back down the aisle.
9. Coordinate Disdain
I was a wedding coordinator at a country club. This was in rural NC so plenty of young couples getting married before they could legally drink, which weirded me out plenty and doesn't generally bode well for marriage longevity. One that really gave me pause was this really sweet, girl who was with this overall douchey guy.
He was low class in every sense, speech, looks and attitude. He came to the meetings, but actively dismissed my questions with "I don't care," and eye rolls. Now, not every groom is 100% involved but it always bothered me when they explicitly say they don’t care. This is your wedding too, and you're spending a not-insignificant amount of money, at least pretend?
Anyway, he was the worst. The main "incident" that I strongly recommended against was he wanted the officiant to say "speak now or forever hold your peace" thing, so he could look around menacingly while moving his suit jacket, exposing the weapon he would have in a holster. I definitely nixed the weapon, but I seem to remember him still doing the menacing look during the ceremony.
I just remember being so sad for her. She was one of the nicest brides I had worked with. I also found out that she had been pregnant before the wedding, but it was ectopic so she had to terminate it; and she was understandably devastated. It was just an all-around sad thing and I felt like I was looking into her future of never leaving the small town, and it made me so sad.
10. Dessert First
A wedding planner told me a story, where they have been looking for the groom to cut the cake. They found him in the kitchen banging a waitress. Two years later she planned their wedding.
11. One Time In Vegas
I worked as a photographer at a wedding chapel on the Vegas strip. One night, we had a young couple come in with their friends to get married. The minister did his normal speech but when it came down to the vows I could tell something was wrong. The groom kept putting the ring on the bride’s finger and taking it off hesitantly.
This went on for a few uncomfortable minutes. At one point the groom asked the bride if there was someone else and she nodded her head. After a couple more awkward moments the minister explained that if he did not pronounce them man and wife it wouldn't be legal. They decided not to get married, but their friends still bought the DVD.
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12. Dusty Intervention
Not a pro photographer, but I took photos at a super-low-budget wedding. It was outdoors, in a trailer park, in Nevada. And things were about to get stormy. Right before the ceremony, a desert tornado blew right through the trailer park. Nothing big or massive, but it was enough to blow down some chairs, a few tables, and some tree branches.
I'm pretty sure that was a divine sign that the marriage was not supposed to happen. They broke up a few years later because he liked using his hands instead of his words.
13.Sleeping Sound Check
A groom passed out not once but twice during a ceremony where I was working. One minute he is standing at the altar, and the next he’s on the floor. Using smelling salts, we wake him up and get him water and orange juice. The ceremony continues to the vows and he faints again. We collectively decide he should sit down on the steps to finish the ceremony.
The whole time his brother, the best man, has this look like “I really should just scoop and run with him out of here.” The poor bride has the worst look on her face, and you can tell she has no idea what is happening. Six months later, it was over.
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14. Dear John
I'm a photographer and I was shooting a small wedding. Everything went fine until the reception, where the mother of the bride had too much wine and proceeded to give a speech. She started it off with, "When my daughter told me she was getting married, I knew it was to one of two guys, and I'm glad it's you, John." Everybody looked at him simultaneously as he shrugged and downed his glass of champagne.
15. Magic Moments Captured
My husband and I got married at the Tropicana in Las Vegas and afterward had our pictures taken by the chapel photographer. There is a very pretty area that faces the pool, so the photographer had her back to about 100 sunburned hotel guests while we stood smiling pretending we were in a private tropical oasis.
Just as she's about to snap the picture, a dude screams "Don't do it!" My husband yells back, "Too late, we just did!" There's a long pause as the guy processes this and then says, in a super fake tone, "Yaaaay!" We burst out laughing and it's one of my favorite pics from the wedding.
16. Icing On The Cake
I helped cater a wedding once, and while I was slicing the cake the groom asked if he could lick the icing off my fingers. In front of his new bride who was standing right beside him. I picked my jaw up off the floor and hid in the kitchen for the rest of the wedding.
17. Speak Your Truth Next Door
I worked as a waiter at a banquet hall and when it came time to cut the cake, the groom was nowhere to be found. He had wandered over to another reception and was taking advantage of their bar. But that wasn't all. He was also crying and kept repeating that he made a huge mistake. The brides’ brother found him and threw him out of the hall.
18. Trophy Wedding
I made the mistake of planning my little sister's wedding in 2018. She didn't let anyone get to know the groom before her wedding: She was specifically keeping the grooms’ age a secret. She was 24, he was 49. They had nothing in common and it was clear she was a trophy wife. Within a year big secrets came to light including, a secret house, passport, bank account, and businesses.
They didn't last long for obvious reasons. I feel bad for my parents that paid for everything.
19. For Richer Or Poorer
I was a DJ at a wedding maybe ten years back. The bride's younger sister was a friend of mine. Her sister and new husband were kinda kooky, but I thought it was all in good fun. I ran into her and asked her how they were doing. "Not great," she said. Turns out, the day after the wedding, the groom took all the checks and cash they had been gifted, and went on a shopping spree.
He spent five grand in five hours. They were both in their mid-30s, with established careers. His reasoning was wedding money was "extra" money. Plus with dual incomes, they can spend more. I lost touch with the sister, so I have no idea if they're still together. But if they are, it took lots of therapy and compromise.
20. Dance Floor Emergency
I was the wedding DJ for a couple with large Italian and Irish families. I knew things would get wild when they did Patron toasts instead of traditional champagne. Had an idea it wasn't going to last when the authorities shut the wedding down after an ambulance carted a girl off on a stretcher who got punched in the face by some dude.
21. Cake Confession
My friend is a wedding planner and shared this with me. Hours before a ceremony, the groom's boyfriend shows up to confess to the bride that she is the other woman and he wanted to fight for their future. The groom found him first and the ceremony was delayed while they cried in the grooms’ suites together.
My friend ran interference to give the two privacy, especially since no one knew the groom was gay and his family was the super religious hipster type. In the end, the wedding continued, but a year ago she got a call from the groom's boyfriend to arrange his wedding and he told her they didn't even manage a year. Shocking, I know.
22. Create Your Own Reality
I'm not a wedding-related professional, but I think the time I attended a fake wedding as a guest counts. 'Bride' and 'groom' were quite young and dated happily for several months. She was in a hurry to settle down and pushed for engagement. He was reasonably happy to oblige but not ready to take the next step and wanted a long engagement.
They ended up agreeing on a date, but as it approached he tells her he isn’t ready to settle down yet. Bride started to complain to her own immediate family who then harassed the groom's parents. He agreed to go ahead with the wedding if her family leaves his parents alone. She isn’t satisfied and called the officiant who refused to perform a wedding where one party wasn't on board.
Bride insisted on going ahead with a fake ceremony. Guests noticed the officiant didn't say the words legally required for marriage in Australia, and no paperwork was signed. His parents refused to attend the reception, or help with the cost. The couple avoided each other the entire time except for a super awkward first dance. The whole thing was surreal.
They split up a couple of months later. Groom is now in a happy long-term relationship. No idea about bride, who did some other dodgy stuff before leaving our lives.
23. Sleep It Off
I remember one wedding I bartended at a hotel. The groom had too many drinks and messed up his speech, and got carried to his room to sleep it off. All within an hour of being legally married. The bride was distraught and had to have her first dance with her dad because the groom was passed out and missed the whole night.
24. Sober Witness
Marriage officiant here. A few years back, I was marrying a young couple, and the groom’s family turned up early and proceeded to drink in the parking lot. The venue owner started having a fit because they were a licensed venue and couldn’t have outside alcohol. Eventually, I went to see the groom’s Mom and asked her to help contain the situation. I also explained I couldn’t marry an intoxicated person, and his witness also had to be sober.
She told me to relax, and that there was no problem with it. The bride turns up, sees the partying going down, and loses her mind, thinking the groom couldn’t marry her sober. In the end, it went ahead. I had to postpone for two hours forcing the groom and his family to sober up. I was covered in mascara from the bride sobbing into my shoulder. They didn’t even last three months.
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25. Sweatpants Role Model
Not an opinion on a couple but I was a DJ at a wedding where the father of the bride showed up for the reception, intoxicated and in sweat pants. He ate and left before the Father / Bride dance.
26. Fashionably Late
One time I was shooting a wedding and no one could get ahold of or knew where the groom was. He showed up an hour and a half late, and after some quiet discussion with his father the wedding proceeded. Lots of family members kept exchanging weird looks. The entire time I was hoping I might get to go home early.
27. Smash Your Love
Several stories from working on wedding photo/video crews. One time, after a bride nicely fed her groom a piece of cake, he looked at all of his screaming guy friends yelling "smash her," and proceed to shove her face into the plate. Didn't even last three months.
28. Chew On This
During the first look, the first thing the bride says to her groom, “Are you chewing gum? Spit it out!” She was super sweet and said it in an angry-cute way, but yeah they’re divorced now.
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29. Happy Husband For A Day
My dad took some pictures of a wedding he was invited to, for the bride and groom to save money. He said that the groom was excited about his future wife until the vows, and then turned his attention to anything else. Only one photo was taken of the couple together. They looked happy, but he said he could just tell that the groom only liked the idea of being married, it didn't matter to who. They lasted two years.
30. Friends Don’t Let Friends Object
I recently officiated a wedding and left out the part asking if anyone objects. I couldn't believe what I heard. I overheard an ex-girlfriend of the groom loudly declare her intention because 20 years later, she wanted him back. The bride and the groom were dear friends of mine, and I was not going to put up with that nonsense!
31. Something Borrowed, Something Blue
My dad was a lawyer and a friend of the couple. I remember they were both a bit high-strung but seemed like a match! The wedding was a circus, so our family left shortly after the reception. I remember waking up at 3 am and hearing my dad talking on the phone with the authorities. He explained to the officer that yes they just got married and he will be down to the station to collect them. After the ceremony, they started a fight at a bar. The marriage lasted less than 6 months.
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32. Take It To The Lobby
My dad worked weddings on the weekends and I assisted from eleven to twenty years old. The wildest thing I witnessed was a handful of guys start fighting with the groom and his brothers at the reception. Apparently, one of the groom's brothers started bad-mouthing in the lobby of the hotel. Plates, bottles, and tables were tossed before the uninvited guests ran off.
33. Bride’s Best Friend
I bartend at weddings and see a lot of drama. One that really stands out is when the bride apparently couldn't control the volume of her voice when barking orders at people. Guests and groomsmen were trying to drink before the ceremony. There were no bridesmaids other than a dog who had pooped and vomited in the aisle. People were trying to clean it and the bride could be heard screaming.
Everyone took advantage of the open bar except the bride because she was pregnant so she was getting mad at the groom for drinking. At the end of the night, a female guest was crying telling me that the bride yelled at her for showing up because she doesn't like her or her boyfriend. A groomsman told her "we all hate her but what do you do when your best friend sticks it in crazy."
34. Everyone Gets What They Want
I planned a wedding for a couple that was borderline arranged. The groom was clearly into men, and the bride talked constantly about how she was marrying into money, and even if they divorced next week she was set. The groom's vows were tragic and sounded like a cancer diagnosis. They skipped the first dance and the cake cutting was just the bridal party. But that was just the beginning.
Early in the evening half of the groom's wedding party disappeared, and the groom never returned. The bride drank too much and peed in her gown. The brides’ father loudly called the groom a horrible word I won't mention. They didn't last the year and the bride hired me to do an event later in the year showcasing her new apparel line.
35. Wedding In The Wild
I saw a couple getting their pictures taken as I was on a run at a park near my home. There’s a huge ornate 1920’s fountain in the center of the park and the groom jumps in. He proceeds to run after the bride and finally hugs her, drenching her dress. The cherry on top was when he grabbed her, flung her over his shoulder, and body-slammed her into the fountain. I thought YIKES!
36. Nature Calling
Outdoors same-sex wedding had three strikes. One of the brides had an anxiety attack and pushed the ceremony back an hour and a half. The officiant said “bride and groom”. Nature doubled-down when all the butterflies they planned to launch mid-ceremony were dead, and then “you may kiss the bride” timed perfectly with a rumble of thunder.
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37. Bates Matrimony
My band played a wedding where the groom and his mother were disturbingly close. Before the ceremony, we noticed them holding hands and she was acting like they were attending prom. I asked a couple of the guests and they all said, "they just do that, isn't it sweet?" I don't know if that's marriage-ending stuff, but I still think about that gig all the time.
38. I’m Not Sorry
I'm not a professional wedding planner but I was helping a buddy plan his wedding. I called him to ask some questions. He told me to call his wife because he was on a date. So I called his wife and told her he was on a date. I don't know what happened after that. I felt really bad for the young woman but, it would have ended worse if I didn't say anything.
39. With This Camera I Take Thee
I was working with the groom's party after the ceremony and the bride went off to go fix her makeup. I was probably about 70 percent done with the photos when she returns screaming and crying. I explained that these were the guys’ shots and that the bridal party was up next. She did not like that answer and demanded that she be in their shots too. And then she went full-on bridezilla.
She proceeds to take my camera and throw it on the ground, shattering the lens. The groom just walked away, and I was petrified. RIP Canon 6D.
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40.You Can’t Hide From The Truth
My boss went to a wedding of our mutual friend. When the first dance was called the groom wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Eventually, found him outside with a few friends. It doesn’t seem that bad but they weren’t married for more than 6 months. They were having problems before and thought a wedding could fix it.
41. Young Love
I spent 5 years as a wedding coordinator for a major venue here in Pittsburgh. One eighteen-year-old couple got married the day AFTER they graduated from high school. In the last half of their reception, the bride sat at the head table alone while the groom was out on the dance floor playing with his friends. I bet you $1M they're divorced right now.
42. Parental Control
I work at a hotel and after one wedding reception, the bride went home with mom and dad. I'm betting that didn't last.
43.Smile Through The Pain
Not me, but a friend was the photographer of a wedding I attended. I later learned the bride was angry the whole day. Only two of the thousand-plus photos captured the bride smiling. She was eighteen and the groom was twenty-six. Lasted about one year.
44. Music To Set The Tone
I play in a wedding/event band, and one of our friends booked us for their big day. I remember watching the ceremony from afar, and the whole thing was weirdly depressing. Their ceremony featured loved ones giving speeches, and everything underlined how hard marriage is. Later that evening I found out the groom confided in one of our bandmates that the highlight of his day was hearing us play the reception.
45. Objections In Japan
I've conducted almost 4,000 weddings, and I've had a few where there was an uncomfortable pause before "I do," but every couple who made it to the appointed hour did get married. I've seen feuds, last-day cancellations, typhoons, and livid dads, but nothing canceled in progress.
46. Boca I Don’t Wanna
I was shooting a very fancy wedding at the Boca Resort in Boca Raton. The groom had been divorced three times, looks like George Hamilton, very wealthy, and recently a great-grandfather. When someone asked where he’d be going for the honeymoon, I couldn't believe his response. He said “Eh, she travels plenty on my dollar. But maybe we’ll go somewhere later this year.”
The bride was less than half his age, and gorgeous. While alone outside the reception before entrances, she was asked by a friend how it felt to be Mrs. ____, “Oh it’s fine. It’s whatever.” Notable quote from a guest I overheard: “This is disgusting.” I’m sure they’re fine.
47. Be My Guest
I was photographing a wedding when the groom stood up mid-dinner for an unscheduled toast. He said that he hoped everyone enjoyed their time, that they had enough to eat and drink, and that they would all be staying to help clean out the booze and food so there wouldn't be anything left over. But then the speech got super dark.
He also hoped they could take their wedding presents back because he caught his best man with his wife before the wedding and it would be getting annulled tomorrow. He then proceeded to pour his champagne on her head and left.
48. Maternal Objection
I used to shoot wedding videos and there was one where we drove nearly eighty miles from the studio and the brides’ mom objected. I turned my camera on to capture the moment, thinking it was a joke, and recorded her saying she slept with the groom. The wedding didn't continue, but part of our contract states once we are there, they have to pay in full. Even if there is an objection.
49. Caught On Camera
I’m not a pro photographer anymore but as a gift, I took photos of a friend’s wedding. Caught the wife making out with one of her bridesmaids.
50. Wise Beyond Bars
I was the wedding photographer for an older couple in their fifties. The bride had never been married and the groom was divorced with three adult children. The groom was excited the whole day, but the bride never cracked a smile. After the ceremony, they proceeded to make out for the entire reception. But that's not the most disturbing part of the story.
Less than three months after the wedding, I’m editing their album and the groom’s daughter messages me asking if I can send the gallery and the USB to her instead. She then tells me that the bride and groom are no longer together because the bride was having an affair with an inmate at the prison she worked at and planned on getting together once he was released.
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