11 wedding guests shared the most chaotic celebrations they witnessed and maybe eloping is the better plan

Weddings are supposed to be magical – champagne, cake, and a perfect first dance. But sometimes, things take a turn… and then another… and then the police are called.

In a recent Quora post, guests shared the most awkwardly disastrous weddings they’ve seen in person, and the stories range from hilariously petty to full-blown tragic.

Think drunk uncles, missing grooms, brawling bridesmaids, and unforgettable toasts that should have never been written – let alone spoken aloud in front of friends and family.

Here’s what to brace for this wedding season…

1.

I was a guest at my sorority sister’s wedding (I am going to name her Amanda). The day before the wedding, another sister (we’ll call her Rachel) and I traveled an hour and a half to get to our friend’s hometown where the wedding was being held. Rachel and I were not bridesmaids but we were going to spend the night at Amanda’s house with the rest of the wedding party. She had invited us to prove we were special even if we weren’t bridesmaids.

From the minute Rachel and I stepped into the house Amanda’s mother had us doing little tasks: Go pick up the pizza, set the table, etc. Little things, but still things you don’t ask a guest to do. The next morning Amanda’s mom woke us up and told us to go find Amanda. Apparently, she had spent the night with her lover, not her fiancé, or in her own bed. Can you imagine how uncomfortable we were to be put in that situation? It gets worse.

We had to fetch breakfast, bobby pins, hairspray, and shoes. I had to fix hair. I used to fix hair for all the girls living in the house at that time, but I had no prior knowledge I would be required to style the entire bridal party and bride. Rachel had to iron Amanda’s dress. By this time we realized we hadn’t been invited as special guests but servants.

We were late for the reception after the wedding because we had to gather all the various detritus left after seven girls finished prepping for a formal event. Dinner had already been served and Amanda’s mother immediately herded us to the kitchen and instructed us to wash dishes. I was in shock, even more so when Rachel picked up a dish. But I started laughing when she tossed it to the floor. We left, went to McDonald’s, and never spoke to Amanda again.
Emeleigh Cormack

2.

The bride did not show up. The guests were at the church, along with the bride’s and groom’s families. The bride’s maids were missing, but the groom and the groom’s men were waiting. We all waited. For 1 1/2 hours.

Finally, the maid of honor showed up, and announced that the bride decided she was not getting married. It seems that she used the airplane tickets for the honeymoon to elope with someone else. We all left the church somewhat “rattled”, and felt very bad for the groom. However, that was only the bride’s 1st wedding. Almost 40 years later, and she is on to husband #6. I did not attend any of the other (elaborate) weddings.
Sharon Breivogel-Leonard

3.

We were sitting three or four rows back and when the maid of honor came down, she seemed to be a little blushed. Okay, weddings can be stressful for everybody in the party. Then, the bride and her father came down the aisle. As they walked by, I heard her mumbling, ‘I can’t believe it. On my wedding day. My day.’ She didn’t kiss dad.

In fact, I think she killed him with her laser beam eyes. When she stepped up on the altar, she basically jammed the bouquet into the maid of honor’s hands and gave her the same glare. Well, the groom suddenly started to look anxious…Things seemed a little tense for the rest of the wedding and the feeling slowly crept back through the church. At the reception, the best man clued me in on what was going on.

I got an idea when I heard someone say, ‘That’s the kind of shit that cost him at the divorce.’ Seems father of the bride and MoH were caught in ‘the act’ by the bride!
Dillon Pyron

4.

I was supposed to be a bridesmaid at this particular wedding but got kicked off the bridal party because I couldn’t buy the particular shoes that the bride requested the bridesmaids wear. I couldn’t get these shoes because due to a birth defect, I cannot wear heels higher than two inches (even then it’s painful). She knew I couldn’t wear high shoes before she even met her now husband.

When the wedding day came around, it was fine at first but things started going downhill at the reception. The bride put me at the worst table in the room and I was sitting next to an ex-boyfriend who I’d had a nasty breakup with. The bride *forgot* that I didn’t eat meat so I couldn’t eat the first two courses. During the bride’s speech, she made comments about how she was glad that all her *true* friends were able to be bridesmaids…

Before I left I went to say goodbye to her and she said, very loudly, that I still hadn’t paid for the bridesmaid dress. This dress hadn’t even been ordered when I was told that I was no longer a bridesmaid.
Jennifer Louise Manby

5.

My eldest son’s wedding was a fiasco from beginning to end. My son was embarrassed to tell us he couldn’t afford tuxes for himself and his friends. We made frantic calls to different stores and found red vests for rent (not cheap, as you can imagine). The wedding took place in a bar where my son had played gigs, and it wasn’t set up for weddings. The man who was to officiate was drunk, didn’t know their names, and had a difficult time climbing up on the stage, nearly falling off! During the ceremony, he turned to my son and said, ‘Do you take her as your awfully wedded wife?’ The wedding colors were red and black. On the white wedding cake, the red icing ran, making the cake look like it was bleeding.
Tessa Goodpaster

6.

Once the ceremony was over and guests were being seated for dinner, I was helping my daughter bustle her [wedding] dress and my husband was taking care of the pastor. By the time we were done, the only tables left empty were one that was reserved for the wedding party and the one farthest from the dance floor in front of the DJ’s speakers, so we went to sit at the empty wedding party table with my 80-year-old mother. Shortly after that, the mother of the groom came over to tell us that the table we were sitting at was for the wedding party only and basically caused a scene until we moved to the only other empty table. The effect of this was we were the last to be offered food, were unable to see our daughter’s first dance with her husband, and couldn’t talk or hear each other for the entire evening, even though it was our event! The wedding party table remained empty the entire time.
Katherine Woods