20 Red Flag Wedding Moments That Immediately Signaled The Marriage Would NEVER Last

Weddings can be pure magic. There's nothing more heartwarming than watching two people in love say their vows and begin the next chapter of life together. But other times, there can be some major red flags.

Simone Ashley and John Owen Lowe stand together in matching blue robes, holding drinks. A woman in the background, Jennifer Jason Leigh, is seated
Netflix

Perhaps you've experienced one of these ~less spectacular~ wedding days. Well, one Redditor recently asked, "At what point in the wedding did you think the bride and groom would not be husband and wife for long?" Here's what people said.

1."I was a plus-one at a wedding last year. By the evening, the bride was so drunk that she asked me to help her use the bathroom in her dress. I didn't know her, but being a girl's gal, I assisted. I made small talk while she peed and asked if she was having fun. She went into a weird trance and said: 'When I walked down the aisle, I was really disappointed that the groomsman I shagged a month ago didn't turn up.' I don't even think she realized she said it out loud. Anyway…the marriage lasted nine months."

Woman in a sparkling lace dress holding a champagne glass. Her face is not shown
Oleg Breslavtsev / Getty Images

2."When the bride’s ’work friend’ was having a slow dance with her at the reception and feeling her arse up in front of the groom, family and friends. She left the groom the day they got back from their honeymoon. And she kept all the presents!"

u/Mischeese

3."Bride and groom had been together for years, and she was hopelessly in love with him, and he treated her like dirt. This went on for years, with her begging him to get married. Finally, one day, he proposed. He said something romantic like, 'If it shuts you up, let's get married'..."

Bride in a wedding dress stands with her back to the camera, facing seated guests in an outdoor garden setting. Guests smile and look towards her

4."The bride invited her cocaine dealer to the wedding. The groom didn't know him, and he didn't know she had such a big problem."

u/Frogomb

5."She wouldn't stop laughing when he was saying his vows very seriously. There were a lot of red flags in that relationship. Oh, the 'he' was me."

A person places a ring on another person's finger, suggesting an engagement or wedding. The hand receiving the ring has a delicate, manicured appearance
Me 3645 Studio / Getty Images

6."The groom and his groomsmen did a coordinated 'Time Warp' dance from Rocky Horror Picture Show in the middle of the wedding, and the bride sat there stonefaced the entire time, obviously unamused. Ultimately, they were just two very different people. The marriage lasted about a year."

u/Hrekires

7."When the bride specifically said she did not want to feed each other cake, he aggressively came at her with cake and shoved it in her face hard enough that it was in her hair and ruined her makeup. All the while, he was laughing about it. It also came out later that his groomsmen ate her special gluten-free lunch while setting up for the ceremony, but he didn't say anything about it. The marriage lasted less than a year."

Wedding cake with a bride and groom topper, split down the middle, with the bride and groom figurines lying on separate sides of the break
Mofles / Getty Images/iStockphoto

8."She was clearly in love with him. He was very clearly gay. Neither of them seemed to want to recognize it, but everyone else was sure of it. A few years later, it turns out he’s gay and asked for a divorce."

A couple stands close together, facing away from the camera on a brick path. The person on the left is in a suit, and the person on the right is in a wedding dress
Ana Rocio Garcia Franco / Getty Images

9."The bride fainted when she had to say her 'I do's.' They lasted a few years..."

u/KathAlMyPal

10."When the groom and father of the bride got into a fistfight at the rehearsal dinner. The groom drops the father with a clean right hand. The brother of the bride steps in to defend Dad. He and the groom go for two or three minutes. The groom's father gets involved. Half the wedding party had black eyes and fat lips for the ceremony. The couple was divorced less than six months later."

u/Punkrockid19

11."I was at the wedding of a couple who I worked with at a restaurant years prior. At one point during the reception, I’m taking shots with the bride, and I tell her how much fun I’m having and that she looks beautiful in her dress. She then whispers in my ear to meet her in the bridal suite in fifteen minutes. They didn’t last longer than a year."

A person in a wedding dress walks away on a rural road, leaving a bouquet of flowers behind on the pavement
Merbe / Getty Images

12."When the groom pulled out his phone and started watching UFC at the reception instead of dancing with his wife. Spoiler: I was the wife. We didn’t last, lol."

u/Luna_Soma

13."I was the best man for my friend. At his wedding, I asked his then-wife what it felt like to be married. She said, 'It still feels like I can leave at any time if I want.' They were married for six years, which is longer than I thought they would make it."

Close-up of hands showing off an engagement ring with a large diamond
Liudmila Chernetska / Getty Images/iStockphoto

14."When the groom's dad was taking bets on how long the marriage would last with us (the groomsmen). He won the bet at 9–12 months…"

u/BGOG83

15."When I saw the bride walking down the aisle with perfect makeup, a huge bouquet, elegant hair, an elaborate white ballgown, and the fakest smile I'd ever seen in my life plastered across her face. Smiles don't lie. The marriage lasted less than two years."

A bride in a white wedding dress and veil, standing near an open door, looking outside on a snowy scene
Johner Images / Getty Images/Johner RF

16."When the groom was passionately slow dancing with the best man. The bride was sitting and crying alone, with no one comforting her. It didn't quite seem like a match made in heaven."

u/mostlygray

17."It was her third wedding. It was at the same place, and they used the same car as in the first two marriages. Although though the groom was new!"

The back of a white convertible car has a "Just Married" sign with flowers attached, and tin cans are tied to the bumper
Neustockimages / Getty Images

18."I was a groomsman. During the wedding, when the officiant asked if anyone objected, the entire wedding party, minus the bride and groom, turned to the audience, expecting someone to say something. It was the funniest moment I’ve seen at a wedding."

u/Used-Progress-4536

19."The bride and groom were both 18, and they got married a month after high school graduation. I was correct in my assumption that it wouldn't last."

u/InternetsTad

20."When the bride told me they weren't going on a honeymoon because he was still paying off his last honeymoon."

Tropical overwater bungalow with a thatched roof and spiral staircase overlooking clear, blue water, with a lush palm-tree-covered island visible in the distance
Triggerphoto / Getty Images

Have you ever witnessed something at a wedding that made you feel like the marriage probably wouldn't last? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.