People Are Revealing The Obvious Red Flags They Witnessed At Weddings That Should've Had The Newlyweds Running For The Hills
Reddit user kinda_beechy asked the members of the r/AskReddit community: "What are some red flags at a wedding?" Rather than just share vague, boring, or obvious red flags, Redditors filled the thread with wild observations from doomed weddings they've attended. The theme of the thread can really be summed up with: YIKES. Have a look for yourself:
1."I attended a wedding where the bride spoke not about her love for the groom or how wonderful he was, but about how much he had changed his personality for her and how that made everything perfect."
2."I went to someone's third wedding in 10 years. There were multiple speeches alluding to the theme of 'let's hope this one takes.'"
3."I found out later that the groom's side piece also attended a wedding I attended. That marriage was doomed."
4."I've been to many weddings, two of which I vividly recall the groom spending 98% of the reception/dancing portion with his friends rather than the bride; both ended in quick divorce."
5."When the groom starts his speech with, 'This is for all you haters who didn't want to see us together!' Rumor has it he was referring to the bride's uncle and brother, who don't like him. Now I'm hearing the girl wants to divorce him but can't because they have a young son under 5 years old."
6."So this may be controversial, but it's when the bride and groom are overly physically affectionate. I'm not talking about normal kissing; I'm talking about the first dance turning into a sprint from first to second base over clothes — with all their parents there. Once the wedding night was over, they didn't last long."
7."Small fish in inadequate glass containers as centerpieces. We all walked into the hall to find our tables, each with a belly-up, totally dead, bloated guppy floating in its little glass coffin. Lots of people lost their appetites. The marriage didn't last a year."
8."So, I'm a wedding photographer. I am moving away from weddings but have kept up with many of my couples. Weddings, where one of the mothers/mothers-in-law tried to book me and demanded I speak to them as if they were the client (I always make the couple my clients, regardless of who pays. They sign the contract, etc), have ended kind of often. I suspect it's because if they're controlling the wedding, they're probably controlling towards everything else, and a lot of marriages just cannot withstand that."
9."When the bride and her friends and family are at the opposite side of the building from the groom and his friends and family. The couple was barely together, and it felt like two different events. They lasted a year."
10."Smashing cake into the bride's face. It's disrespect and humiliation covered up as a joke on full display in front of everyone."
11."I understand not wanting the traditional vows, but I went to one wedding where ALL of the vows were extremely childish, like, 'I promise not to leave the toilet seat up.' They lasted about a year."
12."If the bride loses her shit over every little thing that isn't exactly as she wanted it. Some people are more concerned with the idea of being married than they are about who they're marrying. These people have a 'dream wedding' in mind."
13."When the cost of hosting is passed onto the guests, or there is no lodging nearby. Also, being outdoors with very few accommodations or enough food. Yes, I get that it's 'your day,' but hosting an event should account for guests' experiences, in my opinion."
14."The groom stood up to make his toast and started by thanking his new wife, who was 'better by far' than his ex. Then he launched into a rant about how his ex screwed him over, slept around, spent all his money, etc. Ultimately, the audience's silence must have clued him in because he ended strongly by saying, 'Don't date a 10, boys. Settle for a 6!' and toasted his bride. They lasted six months before he went back to the ex."
15."A video presentation of the groom's birth right before dinner. Yes, this actually happened."
16."I went to a wedding where a bridesmaid asked the bride, 'Where do you think you'd be today if you had never met the groom?' She said, 'At my wedding with a different man.' After the wedding, the bride drunkenly made out with her friends while her new husband was passed out 10 feet away."
17."This is a weird one, but when I saw their official wedding portrait, I had a gut feeling they wouldn't last. In every wedding picture I've ever seen, the bride and groom stand very close. In this one, they stood at least eight inches from each other. It seemed very off. They ended up divorced, and the groom told me that she told him that she never wanted to get married in the first place but did it because everyone else thought it was a good idea."
18."I went to a wedding where the newlyweds had a terrible fight, and the bride stormed off down the street in her dress during the reception."
19."When people who supposedly support the couple give speeches, yet none of the speeches mention the two parties as a couple. Or, if their friends take more of a 'if you're happy, then I'm happy!' kind of tone."
20."When either the bride or groom drinks to the point of being unable to stand up."
21."When there is a 'bride's side' and 'groom's side' seating arrangement...and one side is empty."
22."The groom's throat seized up while trying to say, 'As long as we both shall live.' All he could do was croak. Lasted seven months."
23."My cousin got married to her high school boyfriend in my grandma's garden. It started raining as soon as the reception started, and thunder roared when they got to the vows. He left her four years later out of the blue while she was pregnant with her second child."
24."You know the part where the officiant asks, 'Does anyone object to this union?' The wedding was held in a greenhouse with a small stream and a few resident ducks. They let out the loudest quacks, honks, wing flaps, and general fuss at that moment. It echoed through the building. I should have walked right then and there."
25."The bride and the groom's sister got into a fistfight in a moving vehicle while the groom's mother was driving. They are still together, but they almost split."
26."They're still together, so I guess it wasn't a red flag for their marriage, but I attended a wedding where all the speeches were about how great, funny, smart, creative, nice, and sweet the bride was. The groom got 'good job finding such a catch!' as his highest compliment on his wedding day. It just seemed off to me."
27."I went to a wedding one time where the bride ran away from the ceremony with her maid of honor, and a guy we worked with (who was invited to the wedding) went to comfort her. She ended up returning and still getting married, then divorced him later."
28."Our wedding photographer told us that she had previously worked at a wedding where the bride got so drunk she didn't make it down the aisle. The bride was brought to the ER by ambulance, and they all figured she'd get some fluids and get back to her wedding. Nope. They wanted to keep her and ensure she could walk without falling on her face. She missed her own entire wedding due to throwing back one too many. If I recall correctly, the groom left her, as this wasn't the first time her drinking had gotten in the way."
29."I went to a wedding with 20 bridesmaids and maybe five groomsmen. All of the bridesmaids stood up there with extremely noticeable frowns/anxious or upset faces. So far, they are still married and have kids, but that relationship just seemed doomed to fail, even before the wedding. They may never get divorced, but I can't imagine the bride will ever experience real happiness in her new life."
30."When the people getting married can't make eye contact during the vows. Hysterical crying while walking down the aisle. I was at a wedding where both of these things were true, and they were divorced in under a year."
31."I went to a wedding where the bride gave a heartfelt, sincere speech about how the groom was like a loyal dog: always listened, was always around, did what she asked, etc. She meant for it to be cute or something. I found it kind of demeaning."
32."The bride and groom asked for cash only on the invitations, and then COUNTED the money given to them at breakfast the next morning in front of everyone."
33."When the wedding is called off at least once, if not twice, before the big day because the couple cannot agree on anything!"
34."I've seen a huge correlation between the most overtop fancy, unnecessarily expensive weddings and the fastest divorces."
35."The bridge and groom arguing. If they can't get through the 'happiest day of their lives' without an argument, that marriage is not lasting long."
36."When the speeches all end up being about times they were very drunk, including how drunk they were when they met."
37."I used to work weddings as a bartender, and I heard a speech where the bride kept talking about how many times she had wanted to leave the groom. That was a red flag."
38."If the couple has to start disinviting friends because so many people keep saying, 'This is a really bad idea. I cannot in any way endorse this.'"
39."I'm friends with the bride. During the wedding, her brothers told me she had doubts, but they kept telling her he was the first decent guy she dated. At the reception, the bride and groom showed no interest in one another. They seemed to not want the night to end, but more so because they didn't want to be together — not because they were having fun. The next day, I told some friends I got weird vibes from that one. They divorced/annulled two weeks later."
40."When the best man's speech starts with, 'I probably shouldn’t say this, but…'"
41."When the bride and groom argue with each other the entire length of the aisle as they walk out of the church after the ceremony. Not a good look."
42.And: "I asked a wedding photographer once if there were any tells when it came to whether a couple would make it or not, and she mentioned two things. The first was not seeing any emotion between the bride and groom as the bride walked down the aisle. The second one was more interesting. She said most of her couples that eventually divorced didn't hug the maid of honor and best man after their speeches."
What's a wedding red flag you've witnessed in real time? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
