Come for the wedding, stay for the drama… It seems to be happening more often than not, judging by the many unhinged stories doing the rounds on the internet lately. Whether it’s bridezilla to blame, a psycho mother-in-law, a drunk best man or a cheating groom, many nuptials have been struggling to go off without a hitch.

Another person recently asked, “What’s the most insane thing you’ve witnessed at a wedding?” and sadly, there was no shortage of responses. A few brides even threw themselves under the bus, with one admitting how she got drunk, stripped down and ordered the groom (in front of guests) to consummate the marriage.

Bored Panda has put together the craziest stories from the thread for you to scroll through while you contemplate eloping instead. Upvote your favorites and feel free to share your own horror tales in the comments section below.

#1

During the speeches, a woman near me dipped her cloth napkin in her water glass and scrubbed both her armpits, arm up in the air.

Who needs movies when you can get live action and drama for free at a wedding? It makes one wonder why so many couples are willing to fork out tens of thousands of hard-earned dollars knowing full-well there’s a big risk that things will go south.

As Glamour so aptly put it: “Wondering how to avoid family drama on your wedding day is like asking how to avoid ever getting rained on or how to grow taller—it's just one of those things that's a universal impossibility.”

But as we’ve seen (and read) far too many times, the drama isn’t always confined to family only. Fortunately, according to experts, there are certain signs that warn you’re in for a wild wedding ride. As there are triggers that are often bound to kick things off. And this means there might be ways to avoid (some of) the chaos.

#2

My husband & I set our wedding date a year in advance- booked & paid for the venue ourselves. His sister meets a guy, gets engaged, & gets married in that time. Their bio mom INSISTS we use her caterer & cake lady. They live 90 minutes away so they said they’d take care of it all. A week before the wedding we were told if we didn’t move the wedding closer to them, they weren’t coming, the food wasn’t coming, & his brother wasn’t allowed to be a groomsman. Walmart came through for us.

#3

My friends got married on the back patio of a (now closed) gay bar in D.C. a few years ago. The owners of the bar had asked neighboring businesses if they could turn off their outdoor music for a brief amount of time during the ceremony (early afternoon), and I guess one of the bars across the alley didn’t like that, so they BLASTED one specific song during the ceremony.

And that’s the story of why I associate lesbian weddings with the song “Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee.

We already know that alcohol can throw a spanner in the works, especially since it relaxes people's inhibitions and pushes them to let loose. You could play it super safe, and have a booze-free big day in an attempt to avoid drunken drama, or you could just consider limiting the alcohol flow.

“There are plenty of ways you can do this that also happen to come with cost savings: Skip cocktail hour, limit the amount of time the bar is open during the reception, or consider going with beer and wine only,” suggests the Wedding Spot Blog.

#4

Catering mgr here. Best men shaved grooms name into his hairy chest and flashed it during toast.

#5

My uncle’s 2nd wedding. He had the same best man as his first wedding. During the toast, the best man called the new wife the previous wife’s name TWICE! I was not invited to his 3rd wedding so I’m not sure if there was a repeat.

#6

I saw a mother-of-the-groom try to push the bride out of a photo and the bride threw a drink on her. The photographer started laughing and the mom was removed from the venue.

You could also opt to give your guests drink tokens. “While it’s nice to offer a free bar to your guests, some people may take advantage by having far more to drink than other guests,” notes the Wedding Invites site, adding that drink tokens can help to keep things tidy.

“These are small tokens like raffle tickets that you hand out to each guest. When the guest wants a drink, they hand the bartender one of the tickets, which the staff behind the bar are supposed to keep," it explains. "Once the guest has run out of tickets, they can’t get any more free drinks. This makes it harder for certain guests to drink themselves to oblivion. "

However, they advise that if you plan on using these tokens, you should inform your venue in advance.

#7

I officiated a wedding held at the maid of honor's parents' farm in WNC. Ten minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start, the M of H came out of the house on her phone yelling, "Daddy! Daddy, the cow got out! What do we do?!"

We started a half hour late because the groom and his groomsmen had to take off their jackets and wrangle the cow back into the pen. My wife and I still quote "Daddy, the cow got out!" to one another any time we're at an event that starts late with no explanation.

#8

At my own wedding, my mother tried to drag our photographer away to get pictures of my sister and her husband who got married last November screeching, "THEY'RE NEWLYWEDS TOO!"

I haven't forgiven her since.

#9

Wedding photographer here. Couple decided it would be fun to cut the cake with an axe! They were very drunk and knocked it off the table. Got a shot of the cake in mid-air! Look at those faces.

If you’ve taken the necessary steps, and are still faced with a drunk guest, experts suggest talking to them tactfully, and trying to encourage them to limit their drinks (or stop drinking altogether). This might only work if the person isn't drunk enough to make a scene, but you feel they might be getting there.

"Identify somebody who they know, e.g. their plus-one, and encourage them to take the guest back to their room/home," adds the Wedding Invites team. They also advise speak to the venue staff and/or security if the guest is getting aggressive, rowdy, belligerent, etc.

"Don’t let them ruin your night," the site notes. "Ask the venue staff to encourage them home, or security, if you hired any."

#10

When it came time to throw the garter, the father of the bride decided to join his new son in law under the skirt of the dress to show him how it's done.

#11

At my brother’s wedding the officiant addressed him and said “do you, Tony” and our mom snarled “it’s ANTHONY!”
No surprise he’s no contact with her now.

#12

The ceremony was 30 minutes late starting when FOB announced that it would be just a bit more. Turned out, the groom’s ex- gf showed up, uninvited, and the groom got cold feet. The ceremony started 45 minutes later and they’ve been married for something like 20 years now but I would have LOVED to have been a fly on the wall back there.

But sometimes, regardless of the amount of alcohol available, chaos and drama will still rear their ugly heads. And often, the bigger the crowd, the bigger the risk there is of things taking a wild turn. That's why the Wedding Spot's experts suggest keeping your guest list as small as possible.

"The less people you have at the wedding, the less likely you’ll have wedding drama. The more people you invite, the more likely someone will have a problem with another guest," they explain. "Having a long guest list can also make some feel left out. Shorter guest lists allow everyone to be part of your wedding day experience equally."

#13

My wedding. Two men who none of us knew crashed the reception & headed straight to the bar. Before we could approach them they got into a huge fist fight. Guy guests had to drag them out. Yeah.

#14

I was a wedding photographer for 12 years in Chicago. So many stories. One bride tho, wow! Start our morning with portraits. She reveals she is pregnant but no one knows yet. Literally me and hubby. Days goes on, she gets absolutely hammered, lights up a blunt in the limo, and then vomits on a stranger outside her reception while hysterically crying about hurting her unborn baby. It was unhinged.

#15

At my friend Sue’s first wedding, one of her bridesmaids, Liz - who had a voluminous helmet of thoroughly Aqua-Netted early 90s hair - stood too close to a decorative candelabra and soon enough a giant fireball ignited over her left shoulder and her hair and all that spray caught fire. The minister abruptly started beating Liz around the head and face to extinguish the flames. Sue walked down the aisle unknowingly, while the smell of burnt hair and regret wafted through the church.

Other experts agree that some drama can be prevented before it starts.

"You may be able to identify particularly dramatic guests on your guest list from their reputation alone," notes the Wedding Invites team, adding that you have a few options available in the case of "flagged" guests.

An obvious one is not to invite them at all. If that isn't an option, you could try talking to them. "If you feel brave enough, confront them in advance," says the team. "Remind them that your wedding day should be yours alone, and that if they want to pick fights or cause a scene, they can do it on their own time and at their own expense!"

#16

Not mine but a friends: when the groom and bride went to kiss at the ceremony's end, the groom tried to dip the bride and.....dislocated her knee. She had to be rushed to the ER and they spent the next many hours there. The guests didn't know what to do so they just continued with the reception awkwardly. The couple eventually returned hours later with crutches and a fat knee brace, so she was unable to dance that evening. Pretty sad actually.

#17

My ex mother-in-law showed up at our wedding in a white, sparkly, skin tight, full length bridal gown. that was fun.

#18

I went to a wedding where the mother-in-law showed up in Black with one of those veil hats you see at funerals. Just sat there, like the wife was stealing her man.

It's also wise to seat "problem" guests safely. For example, put them at a table of grannies who you know they won't cause trouble with. As the Wedding Spot Blog notes, a seating chart can become your best friend in the case of long-standing guest or family feuds.

"Keep any problematic parties seated as far away as possible from each other as possible," warn the experts. "Limiting their interactions with one another and distracting them with people they enjoy is one of the best prevention tools you have in your arsenal."

#19

I found out that the photographer I assisted had actually SLEPT WITH THE BRIDE the week before the wedding. On the morning of the wedding, they did a bridal boudoir session, and he encouraged her to go topless and do all these overly spicy poses. The whole day, he was bragging about it to the other male photographer/videographers and showing them the explicit photos he had taken.

#20

I'm now dating the guy that officiated my wedding years ago.

#21

Was at a wedding where the bride got so drunk on Pimm’s minus lemonade, went upstairs to the bridal suite took off her gown and came back down in a towel and announced ‘come husband we consummate NOW’ to her new in laws, grandparents, cousins and parents ….

Yes people that bride was me.

But at the end of the (big) day, some drama is just unavoidable. And sometimes, you'll have to grin and bear it, or roll with the punches.

"Your wedding day probably won’t be perfect even if there’s nobody ‘dramatic’ there," say the experts. "Enjoy your day for what it is, and compartmentalise your annoyance for these people away from the joy you feel with your partner. Deal with it later."

Have you witnessed wedding drama? Or worse yet, had your own wedding ruined by drama? Tell us all about it in the comments section below...

#22

Buddy of mine and his new bride danced to that song skinny love as their first dance. They thought it was fitting because they were both thin. Turned out it was fitting because they divorced a year later.

#23

I’m a wedding photographer and was shooting a wedding on a golf course. During the family photos nobody was watching a toddler and he took a golf cart and almost ran a bunch of people over - he didn’t hit anyone but ended up running over me and the other photographer’s camera bags.

#24

At the wedding of my former brother in law and his wife, the bride was so drunk she was lifting her gown up and inviting guests to crawl under for a peek. After a few minutes of this, she vomited all over herself.

#25

My father, so on a Polish immigrant, saying “It’s not a Polish wedding without a fistfight moments before the groom and best man started beating the hell out of each other.” I admired his prescience.

#26

It was on a beach, but there was a sidewalk behind the bride and groom. As they were saying their vows a guy on a motorized lawn chair went flying by playing bass boosted music from a boombox and with his head turned to stare at the wedding.

#27

Throwing the bouquet happened in church parking lot. Girls fighting, road rash. Not a good look.

#28

We were at the reception - they served cake and punch and it was lovely and simple. Then the groom's father got on the mic: "For everyone going to the REAL reception, we're leaving soon."

Dear reader, everyone was looking around trying to figure out who was invited. Slowly but surely, some people left and had shame in their eyes because they didn't know others were excluded. Tacky!!

#29

The time a groomsman told an aunt Sally that if she touched her “nice camera” again before the photographer was done with the formals, he’d punt the nice camera over the cliff we were at. Sally’s husband tried stepping up he and was told he could follow the camera over the cliff too. When Sally whined her camera was expensive at $300, the groomsman said, that’s nothing compared to the equipment the pro has, that her gear starts at $5k just for the body and the lens is $3k.

The groomsman was me.

#30

My mom hung out a 4th floor window waving a bottle of champagne. She was toasted long before the wedding and missed the first dance and cake cutting.

#31

My cousin's wedding was in her parents' gorgeous back yard. They set up a big tent with a dance floor, fancy portapotties, home brewed wine, the whole shebang.

My uncle insisted the food had to be cooked FRESH. He had this idea that reheated food was cheap and HE was not cheap (despite all 3 daughters getting married in the same year!)

The caterers tried to explain how long it would take to BBQ for 150 people but he wasn't having it, so the dinner service took over 3h.

I was 13 or 14?

#32

My family went to my cousins wedding which was happening during a hurricane. The wedding was in a church and the reception? Outside in a tent. my mom offered to pay for a hall as a wedding gift but the bride insisted on the tent at her parents house. The parents wouldn’t allow anyone to use the bathroom inside and got port-o-potties instead. Her family members listened to NASCAR on the radio and it was flooding. Afterwards, she accused my mom of ruining her wedding for offering to rent a hall.

#33

One of the groomsmen was well sloshed before the ceremony even started, then proceeded to do a “I should have been the best man” speech. Later during the night he tried fighting a bunch of other guys over a girl (who was NOT his gf who was also there btw), and he pissed himself by the end of the night. Another guest knocked himself out by smacking his head on the bar.

#34

At my cousin's first wedding, she was dancing barefoot and got a massive blood blister that ripped open and had to be taken to the hospital for stitches, missing the end of her wedding. She claims it was glass, but no. Her brother then got so drunk he also went to the hospital, by ambulance, due to alcohol poisoning. All the while his friend directed much screaming and crying towards the father. That branch of the family is all drama all the time.

#35

Watch a bride in her 50s crash out on a 21 year old guest because the guests mom didn't make it to the wedding. The mom had emergency surgery 2 days before and was at home recovering. The grooms cousin (guests dad) stayed home to care for his wife. The parents had already been married close to 30 years and the grooms family loved the mom. There was a fight between the bride and the grooms family at the reception because the bride accused the guests mom of stealing at spotlight.

#36

This year my band will have played 45 weddings.
Been doing it for 10 years and have endless stories.
But at a recent one, the bride came on stage with us and sang You Oughta Know by Alanis Morrisette and glowered at the husband the whole time. It was the weirdest thing I’ve experienced in a while.

#37

The officiating pastor had a stroke in the middle of the ceremony, so the best man had to read the vows. The doctors in the audience then whisked him off to the hospital, where apparently he made a full recovery.

#38

Bride didn’t know she was getting married that day.

It’s okay—she’d talked to her fiancée beforehand and told him she didn’t want to deal with wedding planning and wanted to just get surprised with a wedding at some point. She was really happy when she realized what was happening, and I believe they’re still together.

Still pretty crazy, though, seeing her come in and see all her friends and family and preferred wedding photographer (me) and figure out what was happening.

#39

Mother of the groom yelling at her son in front of their guests about how awful the reception is Escalating to the point of the groom going outside and not enjoying his own party to friends convincing him to come back in and forming a human shield around the bride and groom on the dance floor while everyone is dancing. Watched MOG make her way to the dance floor and try and penetrate the human shield and a kerfuffle broke out and MOG & FOG escorted off venue property by security!

#40

Not my story, but a friend’s wedding. His wife’s very loud and and proud gay uncle was playing the piano. He starts playing the music for everyone to start walking in, but there was a slight delay. He repeats the intro, but still no one comes in. He stops playing, walks to the back of the church and yells “what do I have to do? Throw up a flag?”

#41

My grandpa’s hobby was making (not drinking) wine and he passed six months before my wedding, leaving 100 cases of homemade wine. We served it at the wedding, and they didn’t card anyone, at one point the caterers just handed out bottles. There’s a picture of me somewhere absolutely tanked with a bottle of wine next to the sea otter exhibit at the Seattle aquarium, where the wedding was.

#42

A couple banged in the corner of the reception, one of the Bride’s friends stripped on top of a table, the wedding cake fell over overnight, the wedding dress didn’t fit right and the bride hated it, and she spent the morning with a bridesmaid and the groom washing dishes for 200 people because they forgot to wash the dishes the night before. It was my wedding. We’ve been married 20 years.

#43

It’s not scandalous but in our wedding video you can see 3 women come in, sit down in a pew, realize they are at the wrong wedding, get up, and dip.

#44

The photographer broke her ankle at the beginning of the wedding in a remote area, couldn’t find a replacement right away and stayed for 4 hours shooting from a chair.

Anyway I’m walking fine now after surgery, 6 weeks in a cast and 4 months of physical therapy.

#45

Long distance friend was getting married. I bought my tickets early, talked with her almost daily about her plans, everyone is very excited.

I show up and the venue is 2/3 empty. There are only 4 people at her “friends” table, including my +1. A small table of her coworkers. Half of her family decided not to show up the day of.

Everyone else was from the grooms side.
Within six months two of the 4 people from her friends table stopped speaking to her.

#46

I worked a wedding once where the groom was I think 30/45 min late to the ceremony bc he was gambling with the boys beforehand. When he arrived he handed a pocketful of chips to the planner and asked her to give them back after the ceremony.

#47

My daughter was at a wedding this summer where the brides father/stepmom got angry and stormed out because he wasn’t asked to speak, but her Mother was asked to speak (he was an absentee father).
After causing a scene, on his way out, he pushed his other daughter!
This is a real classy family so they were all horrified.
Hopefully his daughters have seen the light now. I’d never speak to him again!
He also refused to be in family photos.

#48

He brought his mistress, the wife wanted me to play middle man keeping him away from the mistress so he would participate in the wedding. So as the photographer I was to babysit the groom.

#49

There was a live band at the wedding. The groom got so trashed he fell into the drum kit.

#50

The officiant was drunk before the ceremony started. The guests stood during the entire ceremony and he rambled for 15 mins, almost forgot to do the rings until the MOH suggested it. It was a train wreck that you couldn’t stop.

#51

At my own wedding, a TV exec got into a fist fight with her boy toy bc he was flirting with some of my friends from high school. My wedding planner managed to get a taxi out to the middle of Topanga Canyon, poured her in the cab and got her out of there.

#52

I can remember my father’s speech at my wedding nearly word for word. “Thanks for coming everyone. The bar’s open! (Turns to me and my husband) Don’t be having any kids yet, I don’t want to sleep with a grandmother “.

#53

Can’t choose between two. My first job was a banquet hall server. In the main room, the bride’s father collapsed from a heart attack. The wedding reception in the room next door was full of firefighters. My manager grabbed one to help and he brought him back to life. My manager got in trouble for bothering the other wedding.

Then there was the time the room only held 350 but 800 showed up and we had to evacuate the building because they brought guns and we all had to hide in the walk in cooler.

#54

I’m a wedding planner on Maui so I have stories for daaaaaysss but the most shocking was the groom who pooped in his (rented) tux on a remote beach because there was no restrooms at the location, then walked into the ocean and pulled his pants down to wash off. Meanwhile bride is laughing the whole time, saying “that’s so him” must have been true love.

#55

I saw a dog run off with the rings

I saw a minister catch fire on a unity candle

I saw a bride full on face slap the groom during vows

I saw a beet man propping an open can of Budweiser on the altar.

#56

Using Spotify as their DJ but not paying for premium so there were commercials. Same wedding asked for suggestions for mother/son dance because they hadn’t picked anything out.

#57

Another wedding photog story. Groom was a Marine. They had some sort of sword on a display with all these Marine related things. Photos, awards, etc from his families lineage with the Marines. Bride gets WASTED! Like I literally spent hours photoshopping red wine off her dress in all the photos. Cake cutting time but where’s the bride? Oh she grabbed the sword off the display, runs full speed at the cake and just destroys the whole cake. Laughs &just moves on. Everyone was in shock.

“The Cow Got Out!”: 57 Times Weddings Served Up Much More Than Romance And Rings

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