Yahoo Lifestyle 17 Unbelievably Tacky Weddings Guests Can't Believe They Actually Sat Through With A Straight Face
After recently perusing the r/weddingshaming subreddit, I was particularly struck by how many tacky, cringey, and otherwise bizarre weddings people have attended. I came across some truly jaw-dropping stories of totally tasteless ceremonies, receptions, and brides and grooms, and I just need to share them with you right now:
1."I attended a wedding recently, and at the wedding reception, the bride called out a couple for a late RSVP. The couple looked surprised as everyone stared at them. She first said she wanted to acknowledge the couple that RSVPed first and then said she wanted to change it up and acknowledge the couple that RSVPed late. The bride and groom had a choice of whether to accept their RSVP. I thought shaming them made them uncomfortable. I also heard that some invites arrived late or were sent late. Before she shamed them, she forced guests to stop getting food and come back to their table by making a microphone announcement (so that everyone could hear and see the people). It's hard to say if she was joking because what she said was pretty straightforward."
2."My younger brother got married a few weeks ago, and it was a lovely evening overall. This week, he texted me, 'Hi, [his wife's name] just told me she hasn't received your $115 each. No rush. You can send it to [email address].' At no point had it been communicated to me that they were charging guests to attend. It was nowhere on the invitation either. Plus, my husband and I had already given them $400 cash inside of their card. This wedding took place at an expensive restaurant downtown in a private room that's famous for its architecture. I have no idea why they booked that place if they couldn't afford it. No open bar or dance floor. We didn't even drink alcohol that night and still paid $30 for pop and coffee, plus Ubers there and back."
"His only response was, 'Oh, thought you knew. I forgot to tell you, sorry.' He said it all nonchalantly. So infuriating. It got heated, and I eventually told him I would send the money, but he can wait now because I'm pissed off. Now I'm considering not sending anything, and if he asks, I'll say, 'Oh, I forgot.' Did I mention I also married in June this year and didn't charge anyone a dime?"
3."This was when my stepbrother got married. At the reception, his wife decided to sit in a chair in the middle of the dance floor and have all the guests circle around her, pointing at her, whilst the song 'All About You' by McFly played. It has to be one of the tackiest things I've ever witnessed. Needless to say, I did not participate in inflating her ego any further."
4."I was invited to my cousin's wedding. I have no idea why, as the last time I saw her, she was 10 (she's in her early 20s now). When I got there, an older cousin filled me in, and oh boy! This is the couple's third attempt at getting married because they break up every few months, but she wants to be a trad wife and already thinks she's too old. On the topic of trad wife, she pays all the bills, cooks, and cleans. He just got out of the military and sells candles on Etsy. She isn't allowed to touch that money. The groom has 100% been lying to everyone about his military service. My spouse is also in the Air Force, and there was panic on this man's face when my S.O. started asking real questions. He's been telling everyone he is a 'medic.' He's a medical receptionist."
"The groom showed up one hour late to the rehearsal because he and his buddy needed to 'charge the Tesla' (they are roommates, y'all!). The bride wore a nice dress and had her hair and makeup done. He was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. During the rehearsal, his own family asked if he was going to even show up/be sober at the wedding.
The speeches...oh god. The groomsmen both talked about partying and getting laid with the groom. His brother also gave a speech that was also basically, 'Remember getting fucked up as kids?!' The one speech for the bride was, 'God, I'm so single and lonely. Totally cool that you're married, though!' The groom's vows started with him talking about swiping through Tinder. I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff, but this was my first messy wedding. Open bar, though!"
5."I'll start by saying the groom's family is extremely wealthy and paid for the wedding, 'no expenses spared.' The groom is stubborn, refuses his parents' involvement, and only accepted their money. The wedding was about two hours away from our hometown (we had to book a hotel). The ceremony was fine. Afterward, there was a cocktail hour in the blazing sun, with one open bar and one bartender for about 150 guests. Not a single hors d'oeuvre was passed around. We then entered a large plastic tent where the dinner would occur (in the dead summer heat at around 3:00 p.m.). The sun was blazing hot and there was only one door for ventilation."
"Our table was at the back (this was fine — we're not close to the groom or bride, just family friends). The meal took three hours to be served in its totality. It was supposed to be a seven-course meal, but one of the dishes was missed. It was buffet style at the tables, so when we got the 'main,' it was steak. We got four slices of steak for eight people. Two wine bottles were left at each table, and there was no bar during dinner, which was fine. However, we slowly realized that the 'very wealthy' guests at the wedding had been given more bottles, and they had high-end wine bottles, scotch, tequila, and more food. At the end of the night, there was no dessert, just a table of Oreo boxes and cut-up apple slices. The groom's mother left in tears because she was ashamed of how most of the guests had been treated."
6."I have been to many weddings and love them. It's always a good time, and I love celebrating with my friends. However, there was one wedding I couldn't wrap my head around. It was a destination wedding. So, that said, I'd have to buy plane tickets. There was no block of rooms reserved anywhere. So, I'd also have to get a hotel with no particular discount. The wedding location meant that I would also have to get train tickets. Then I discovered that as guests, we'd have to pay for the food, on top of the drinks, oh, and dessert. This, of course, did not take into account a gift. Where I grew up, this just isn't the norm. I also lived in the US for so many years that I didn't experience this there. Where I live currently, this isn't the case either. That made me conclude that this wedding might have been bonkers, off the rails, or just a straight money pit for guests."
7."It started off great; the bride and groom had a quiet engagement. They didn't want a bachelor party or stag do, much to the relief of their 30+-year-old friends. In the year leading up to the wedding, members of the wedding party kept asking if there was anything they could do to help or what expectations would be on the day of the wedding. All were assured that a rehearsal dinner would be held the day before so everyone felt oriented."
"Three days before the wedding, an email to the wedding party outlined that no outside services were contracted and that the wedding party of 10, along with their plus-ones, would be expected to host the wedding in its entirety, including set-up and tear-down of the venue (including the sound system, place settings, game booths, and a floral arch), serving food to the guests, bartending, and serving as bathroom attendants (as well as ensuring garbage bins were emptied regularly and bathrooms cleaned once per hour during the reception).
Needless to say, not everything was ready, and arriving guests had to roll up their sleeves to make it happen, delaying the ceremony for over an hour. Their wedding photos revealed shiny foreheads and wrinkled shirts from the group's efforts to make an entire wedding happen in under two hours. After the ceremony, the wedding party took off to a separate location for photos, and guests were left alone to fend for themselves without anyone to run the cash bar. A charcuterie table, a selection of juices, and some lawn games were left out, and folks had to entertain themselves for over an hour.
The guests' comfort was not a consideration, as the outdoor ceremony had no cover from the weather, and guests were asked to carry their chairs from the ceremony site across a farm field to the barn where the reception was held. The plus-ones of the wedding party were not welcome for the entire day and had to drop their spouses off in the morning and entertain themselves for five hours before getting themselves to the venue to help set up. I have been married for 10 years, but two new dates who didn't know anyone were volun-told to show up and wait tables! These poor souls were then seated apart from their dates for dinner, as the head table was reserved for the wedding party only.
As an introvert, I deeply resented this, but at least I was familiar with some of the guests. Before anyone considers that perhaps the couple could not afford a wedding, the groom is wealthy enough that the bride does not work. This couple did not even pitch in when it was clear the party was falling apart; they just expected to show up and enjoy the party. Other gems included several tasteless cash grabs and no electronics on the threat of being asked to leave so that the couple could enjoy exclusive content for their failed YouTube channel."
8."I recently attended a relative's wedding. First, unbeknownst to us, the ceremony was outdoors, late afternoon. The sun was blinding, and we were all sweating; the ceremony started late. Secondly, the bride and groom took an hour after the ceremony for pictures. Then, when dinner started, the bride and groom chose to have their dinner in a private room, away from guests, for another hour. Has anyone seen this before, where the bride and groom eat privately?"
9."I went to an old friend's wedding a few years ago. We had no mutual friends, and I'd barely met the groom, so I went alone. No biggy, I've done it before. I wasn't loaded then, so I put £20 or so in the card. During the best man's speech, he had the box of cards next to him. He opened them all in turn, read out the messages, and held up and announced the amount of money inside each card. It was so weird. I was praying he'd not get to mine, but he did, and then I had to endure everyone looking at me. I left not long after, and we barely speak now."
10."My husband and I have been to some terrible weddings together. This was one of them. The bride and groom asked me to make their wedding cake. I've done it for other weddings, and they knew this. I said okay and very explicitly told them this was going to be their wedding gift due to the cost of the product and the amount of time it involved. They said great and that it was going to be special coming from a friend. Cool. I was told to make a cake for 70 people. Months later, I finally had a flavor profile they wanted (all they told me for months was that they like frosting), and I asked for a final headcount again. It was now 100. It happens. During one of these conversations to pin down the flavors, the bride asked me if I'd taken a look at the registry."
"I said I hadn't. She said, 'You should take a look. We have some excellent stuff on there.' I replied, 'I already have your gift. I don't need to look.' She asked, 'What do you mean? You already bought something off of it?' I said, 'No. Your wedding cake is your wedding gift, remember?' The bride said their parents were paying for the wedding, so the cake didn't really count as a gift. So, they did not forget the cake was their gift. She said, 'We offered to help pay for the ingredients too, you know,' while reasoning why they thought I should buy them a gift in addition to making their wedding cake. They did not pay for anything regarding the cake. They also barely gave me any contact info for the caterer, so I didn't know where to bring the sheet cakes (yes, two sheet cakes) for the guests and the cake itself until the day before the wedding.
Wedding day. Most of the guests were already kind of drunk. The officiant was a friend of the groom's, and he gave a speech referencing a very specific famous jam band no fewer than eight times. A friend gave a lovely best man speech that essentially said, 'Oh yeah, and the bride is cool, too.' That was the extent of the 'bride talk' during the wedding ceremony. 'I now pronounce you husband and wife!' The groom finally took off his sunglasses, and they kissed.
We were seated across from a guy who noticed I had visible tattoos and started telling us about his chest tattoo of some scrolls from the Torah. He told us about the script's meanings and why he had it. Several minutes later, he told us he was lying and that he didn't have any tattoos. He said he likes to tell people this to see their reaction. While we were eating, he freaked out because he accidentally ate something with pasta, which would mess up his keto diet. He had no food allergies; he just ate a pasta dish labeled 'pasta.'
There was a weed bar with one pipe (it was not yet legal in our state), and the only beer they served was an 8% double IPA. The caterers threw away an entire sheet cake without telling anyone they were going to throw it away. I overheard a server saying something about it. We went to say goodnight to the bride and groom towards the end of the night (we didn't stay in the area), only to find them in a screaming fight because the groom promised the bride he wouldn't do any cocaine that day, and he broke his promise. We ran like hell out of there without saying goodbye. They are still married."
11."This is fairly low stakes, but it still haunts me years later. I went to a wedding a few years ago with a 5:00 p.m. start time on a weekday in a huge, dense city. This meant that everyone had to take time off work AND battle traffic to get there on time. Many people arrived during the ceremony because traffic was so bad. Then, there was no seating chart for dinner. This could be fine, but there were exactly enough chairs for the number of guests, which meant that several parties ended up being split across different tables. Our table was me and three friends, two people who despise me, and two random cousins. These things are annoying but not totally awful (and, to me, show that the couple prioritized their own time/energy above the guest experience)."
"BUT THEN came the cake. There were two choices. First was a rose water cake. I personally cannot hang with floral flavors, so this was a no-go for me. But the second option was chocolate, raspberry, AND MINT. It tasted like dollar store Valentine's Day candy and toothpaste."
12."A friend asked me to be in her bridal party; I said yes because we've been friends since high school. This is the only time I've ever regretted being in a bridal party before. About a month out, she texts the group chat asking for help with set-up and tear-down. It's a budget wedding, super DIY. Pretty much everyone said yes because we love the bride and groom. I got there around 10:30 a.m. and had some fruit for breakfast. For the record, the groom also helped with the set-up, and they both helped with the tear-down. Sister-in-law and I left the reception venue around 1:00 p.m. to head to the ceremony site to get ready. The ceremony started at 3:00 p.m., and we all still needed to do our hair and makeup."
"After the ceremony, where the groom's brother got super dizzy and had to sit down (I assume he also didn't eat enough because he was at the receptionist venue longer than us), we decided to do a McDonald's run on the way back to the reception venue. It was 5:00 p.m. at this point, and dinner wasn't starting until 6:45 p.m. Please feed your bridal party, especially if you ask them to help with set-up and tear-down. It could have been a homemade sandwich — just something to tide us over until dinner."
13."I recently attended a wedding as a plus-one, and I've never seen anything like it. This was a run-of-the-mill western wedding that the couple extended to FOUR DAYS! There was no rehearsal and no wedding party but a brunch the first morning, a ceremony the second evening, a reception the third evening, and a formal dinner the fourth. The kicker? Different people were invited to each. Thankfully, I was in town, but multiple guests traveled to attend. Some of the stories below were relayed to me by other guests (I didn't attend everything), and some I had the displeasure of being in attendance for. On day one, at the brunch, the bride showed pictures of her sister-in-law's wedding and said she wanted hers 'just like it.'"
"And over the next few days, we learned how hard she tried to do just that. She recreated her SIL's bouquets and color palette, took the bridal entrance song, and tried to recreate the first dance! Day two was the wedding. The SIL ran around all day solving problems and playing coordinator. I thought this was a gift to the couple, but they asked her to fill in the week of the wedding!
After the ceremony, the SIL checked that she wouldn't be needed for a few minutes and ran to the bathroom. While she was gone, they took the family photos of that side. When a family member asked to wait for the SIL to return, the bride refused and commented that she did not want her to steal attention. She was in a velvet wrap dress. Meanwhile, there was no cocktail hour or music for guests as the bride and groom took photos for 90 minutes.
After a brief appearance at a salad bar dinner, the couple then left for more pictures, which took 45 minutes. By the time they returned, almost all the guests had bugs descending on the dinner in the couple's absence.
Day three was the reception, which started at 5:00 p.m. (upon arriving, guests learned they hadn't been invited to the ceremony by other guests, and a few left when they learned this). The bride and groom didn't arrive until 6:00 p.m. and then did their dances facing away from the guests and towards a camera. They then promptly left for pictures. The speeches were at 7:00 p.m., and then the couple left for more pictures. At this point, many guests started leaving, having never been greeted by the couple.
With two hours left, the couple finally appeared, and they spent their time posing for photos with all of their aesthetic trinkets and some of the bride's friends only, which insulted the groom's family. At the end of the night, the guests were asked to leave the dance floor so the couple could have a last dance while facing the camera. When the last dance became the last three dances (still facing the camera), we left and took our card/cash with us, having never spoken to the couple.
As far as day four goes, it was a normal dinner until we, the guests, were surprised with the bill. To top off everything, after the wedding, a mass email went to all the guests saying no one was allowed to post any photos from the wedding until the bride did. Has anyone seen this before?"
14."A few years ago, I attended a cousin's wedding. We are not particularly close, but I flew in from out of state and took the opportunity to see people I haven't seen a lot since I moved. As we rarely speak, I assumed it would be a very large wedding, and my sisters and I were invited as we are first cousins of the groom. We'd never met the bride. There were maybe 50 people there. I was just hanging out with my sisters, dad, and grandma. We sat down for the ceremony, and the officiant talked about how marriage is only valid between a man and a woman. Then, they went on about how the man is charged with protecting the woman as a guardian and other disgusting things."
"I audibly voiced, 'Gross,' and considered leaving, but I drove several family members, so I stuck around. Then, the officiant announced that the bride had 'saved herself' for the groom. This was a 30-year-old college graduate. They had been together for several years. I don't believe it for a second, and I KNOW my cousin, the groom, hadn't 'saved' himself. I made it through the reception and then donated in their name to the LGBTQ+ community in their neighborhood. Hope they got a thank you note."
15."I went to a wedding and had an awful time. The couple did not seem to think about how their decisions would impact their guests. I left as soon as it was appropriate. The wedding was outdoors in the dead of winter. Apparently, it is cheaper to get married in January. I understand wanting to save money, but maybe that is when you should compromise on your dream outdoor wedding if you can't afford it. To make matters worse, it was one of the coldest winters recorded for our area. The wedding was at lunchtime (I think 1:00 p.m.), so most of us didn't eat beforehand, thinking it'd be a lunchtime reception. It was not. We were hungry for hours until we were served dinner at 5:30. The wedding ceremony started over an hour late. We were waiting outside in the cold, with no heaters, no tentlike things, and not enough chairs to seat everyone. That day, I learned that you can get an awful sunburn even in freezing temperatures."
"The ceremony lasted over an hour. I get religious ceremonies last long, but most people try to keep it under an hour, especially when you don't have appropriate conditions for your guests (and are already super late). Cocktail hour lasted a long time, but the drinks and finger food were sparse. I later learned from the caterer that they hired a cocktail hour for only 70% of the guests, and they were trying really hard to stretch the food they had. This is bad on its own, but even worse when you've had people waiting for three hours without having lunch.
After we were sat, it took a ton of time to get our first course, a ton of time between courses, and a ton of time to start dancing after we were done eating. It was like two-and-a-half hours for something that usually takes one. It was around 8:00 p.m. when we finally started dancing. Turns out the couple asked for the service to be slow so they could take more pictures. I get it, but having guests doing nothing but wait for the better part of seven hours is just plain rude. The whole thing was a nightmare, and I left as soon as I could."
16."My friends are having a destination wedding, and not only is the wedding party expected to stay a full week ahead of the wedding and pay for our stay, food, and transportation, but we're also supposed to share beds with random people. They're also charging everyone to attend the welcome party. As if the guests don't have to spend money on flights, stay, transportation, and attire. I can't believe how tacky and cheap they're, especially when it's a destination wedding. If you don't have money to pay for all of that, maybe just have a small, low-key wedding instead."
17.And: "I was invited to a wedding from 5:30 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. The invitation specifies no sit-down dinner will be served, but there will be some 'snacks.' I've never heard of a wedding like this. It's at a very nice venue."
Have you ever been to a tacky wedding? Or, what's the tackiest thing you've seen happen at a wedding? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
