We asked our readers if they had any stories about the ‘Worst Wedding Guest’ they ever saw—and the response was so overwhelming that we will be putting them out in several volumes. We’re up to 5 now: 2, 3, 4, 5. In this edition, we heard from 20 people whose stories ranged from mothers-in-lingerie to coked-up employers. Thanks again to all the wonderful readers who shared their stories with the community:
1. Michelle kicks it off with this story she emailed to us featuring the second most popular character in this series, the mother-in-law.
When I married my husband 4 years ago, my mother decided she wanted to change everything. She called the florist pretending to be me, changed the size of her bouquet so it was substantially larger than mine and changed the colors of the flowers. I didn’t know this until I saw her prancing herself down the aisle.
But before all that, let me start with, she showed up late and drunk.
She then proceeded to fight because she wanted more pictures taken of her before I walked down the aisle. Then she also decided it would be most appropriate to wear a negligee (see-through nightgown). So we are already late to my wedding, wearing bedtime clothes walking down the aisle, drunk and with a giant bouquet of random color flowers. At the reception, we learned she changed my cake topper out for her own when she got married, which she smuggled in inside a shoe box. Then at the end of the night, she was so drunk she got mad we didn’t want her coming with us when we wanted to leave the party and go to our room.
She was obviously the greatest wedding guest ever. At least we can laugh about it now.
2. Stephanie contributed on Facebook with a story about Jim. We’ve all known a Jim.
We had a relatively small wedding, just 100 people, including a whole bunch of my family visiting from the other side of the country. My husband’s groomsman, “Jim”, decided to get drunk. Whatever, no big deal, we all were a little sozzed. Jim, however, decided to get fall over, sloberknockered drunk, and on the bus ride from our wedding venue to the hotel, puked out the open bus window. We were on a large highway. His vomit traveled down the side of the bus and directly into the open window of my 80 year old grandmother and aunt visiting from the other side of the country. We don’t speak to Jim any more.
3. Kelli’s story on Facebook must have been upsetting at the time, but on the other hand at least it’s been quiet since?
My worst wedding guest was my SIL (husbands brothers wife) She got so shitfaced (like usual) she threw candy at me during the speeches, slapped two groomsmen in the face, smashed cheesecake into my husband’s eyes and grinded with her cousin during the mother/son dance. I was asked multiple times that night by family and friends what the hell was wrong with her… I just told them she was an alcoholic. It was humiliating. Almost 6 years later and we still haven’t spoken.
4. Most couples worry they’ll end up paying for meals of guests who cancel. Leigh had a different problem.
We had about two hundred of them.
We mailed 125 invitations and received RSVPs for approx. 200 guests.
When I arrived in the sanctuary to walk down the aisle, I saw at least twice that many people.
There were countless people who came through the receiving line afterward who said either “We heard you all were getting married”, “We decided to stay after the morning service”, etc.
The only “plus” was that the receiving line was so long, the majority of people got tired of waiting and left before we had to figure out how to feed them!
5. This story from an anonymous reader features a competition from a guest and the happy couple to be the worst people in the room.
So this wedding we went to was a mess before it even started. Some highlights:
Bride was 45 minutes late
Bride and groom had a fight at the alter and at the sweetheart table.
Bride was so drunk she laid on the dance floor and told people to dance around her.
Groom left early and before the bride.
But the best was the aunt of the groom, all night they had been playing Phil Collins. The song Gangnam Style came on and the groom started doing the dance at the point where he jigs his hips his aunt ran across the dance floor pushed him off the dance floor and yelled “no one wants to see that stop the music now,” as that happened the Bride walked on the dance floor and puked in the middle. They are still married.
WWGAB (worst wedding guest and bride)
6. Sheena wrote in on Facebook with another popular genre: the couple who probably should stay away from all facets of the institution of marriage.
One of my bridesmaids brought her boyfriend of a few months. She was also cheating on him. She was also was pressuring him marry her. At the sight of my wedding vows he had what she described as an anxiety attack. During the reception he started freaking out to her about how he hated weddings and how he was itchy and sweaty.
She decided the best way to calm him down was to take him in the bathroom during the reception and bone him. Then she came back when they were through and proceeded to tell our whole table what they had just done. Also, it took her five years but she finally broke him down and they are getting married in four weeks. I’m sure it’ll last. ?
7. Kristina wrote us on Facebook, and her worst wedding guest certainly isn’t getting any #1 Dad mugs.
My worst wedding guest was my biological father. My step father has been a major part of my life for over 20 years so I asked him to give me away. My biological father has been in and out of my life my entire life and I really haven’t seen him more than a handful of times since I was a teenager (I’m 31 now). Anyhow, my father showed up at the wedding in a ripped t-shirt, denim shorts, and grass stained sneakers.
He started crying when he saw my step father walk me down the aisle and got up walked out, not avoiding making a scene. My cousin (his nephew) ran out after him and my father told him that he thought he was going to walk me down. Dressed like that… yeah right. He ended up leaving before the reception started but not without making me feel like the worst daughter in the world.
All of his family, who were around and aware of all the times he abandoned me, said that I was cruel for doing that to him and left too. I to this day still feel this overwhelming sense of guilt every time I think about my wedding day.
It turned out that I made the right choice though. I’ve been married for 3 years and have 9 month old twins. I called him when I found out I was pregnant and he told me he couldn’t wait to be a grandfather so he could fix the mistakes he made with me.
I haven’t heard from him since and he lives less than a mile away from me.
8. Reader Kari has experience on both ends of the worst guest equation.
At my wedding, my step dad walked me down the aisle. My grandpa (my biological dads dad) brought his ex wife who he was dating again and after the ceremony she walked up to my step dad and told him ” I just want you to know how uncomfortable you made everyone feel” because my family wanted my biological dad to walk me down the aisle.
Separate story, my husband was the best man in his best friends wedding. This friend got particularly trashed at our wedding so he decided to “get him back”. He drank a fifth of whiskey before the ceremony. Barely made it down the aisle and then proceeded to stand over the buffet with fork in hand eating off of it. Then while waiting for the dance to start, yelled at me in front of everyone for letting him get so drunk. When he gave his best man speech he just talked about how the couple used to break up all the time until he was clapped off…
9. What is it about brothers’ girlfriends, the most common entry for this category? Lea, for one, would like to know.
Here’s one from my own wedding. Invited my brother, who I hadn’t seen in ages. At the last minute, he asked if he could bring a guest. I agreed. We had buffets at both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding.
At the rehearsal dinner, his guest, a girl (not sure if they were dating or what), pushes in front of the rest of my family and bridal party at the food line, and says, “Well, the bride has her food, so its my turn now.” My brother wasn’t even in line yet. She then kept him away from my family the whole night (mind you, we haven’t seen him in months).
At the wedding she shows up in a dress the same color as my bridesmaids dresses (my brother had asked me what color they were wearing, and I told him she shouldn’t wear that color specifically). Same thing at the wedding buffet – she pushes in right behind my husband and I, and then had the gall to complain about the food right behind me. She and my brother drink the whole night, ignore me and my family, and when they are leaving, my brother cussed me out and called me a drunk. I had one glass of wine.
I don’t even remember this girl’s name, but she shows up in all the pictures of my husband and I getting food.
10. Amy’s story, sent via email, shows how every unhappy mother-in-law manages to be unhappy in their own special way.
I have a good one. It was my mother in law. The second we got engaged it was obvious to everyone that she was not excited to say the least. Throughout the whole planning process she continually brought up her friend’s stepdaughter’s wedding & how they were doing everything & how much nicer it was going to be. Very insulting to deal with.
Then on our wedding day at the reception she went around telling several female family members that I “didn’t let her” get ready with us girls & she had to get ready alone, when even after her crap all along I had asked her to come with us to get ready & she said no, doesn’t sound fun. She also told people that we spent too much money on the wedding, my mom paid for the wedding, so it was really a dig at her.
It was terrible, the only thing that could’ve made it worse is if she had given a speech but luckily she likes to keep her bullshit under wraps & just to family, so you know…they all are crazy & drama filled.
11. Amber wrote us with a very important reminder: kids can be the worst, too.
Not my wedding, but rather my aunt’s.
The grooms nephews absolutely stole the show and made everyone uncomfortable. During the ceremony they had to be constantly shushed, told to sit down, and were generally the center of attention.
During the reception adults were given champagne and the kids were given sparkling apple juice. The boys went around trying to sip out of the glasses of any inattentive adults.
Instead of hiring a photographer disposable cameras were placed on the tables for reception photos. The boys learned if you slammed the camera against your hand the flash went off. Needless to say they ruined every single camera. They wouldn’t leave my aunt alone either. They asked for her wedding bouquet, criticized the menu options, and kept asking why ‘this thing has to be so damn long’. The groom kept apologizing and they ended up leaving early. They ended up divorcing and I have to say I feel like their behavior was an omen for things to come. Haha.
12. Wendi’s short story on Facebook is the rare story of a disaster averted.
A girl that had a crush on my hubby came to our wedding in a wedding dress, then sat on his lap during the reception and hugged him. Needless to say, my three bridesmaids threw her out!
13. Brenda from Facebook would like to second the point about brothers’ girlfriends.
At my wedding, during dinner I turned to my husband and said that my brothers gf didn’t look to happy at the table they were sitting at. During speeches, I look over and she’s got her legs up on the table, spread wide and she decided to go commando that day.
Try to ignore….next comes time for dancing, she’s running around, screaming, breaking shit in the bathroom, yelling at my brother, swing my 8 and 10 yr old nieces around on the dance floor, stripping!
My brother is nowhere to be found now, he disappeared. I tried to ignore the best I could, found out later she had done a bunch of coke, plus the drinking and she was pissed at my brother because it wasn’t them getting married! He got mad at her and went and passed out in the bushes! Fun times 🙂
14. OK, Nikki on Facebook, you kind of win since indoor motorcycles are involved.
My mom’s half sister got married when I was like 13. The reception was at a hotel, and about halfway through, some former friends of the bride (5-6 of them who weren’t invited) showed up and tried to start a fight. They got kicked out but they weren’t done. They somehow got back in and rode three goddamn motorcycles through the fucking hotel’s main floor. Needless to say, a ton of cops were called. After that settled down, the groom got so wasted he ended up doing drunken handstands on the dance floor and passed out.
15. Vanessa on Facebook finishes this off with the worst guest possible: a stranger who’s also someone’s boss.
My best friend’s brother was getting married and at the last minute my best friend decided to bring her boss, 30 year old female with an attitude of entitlement, who was in the process of divorcing her heroin addict husband and father of her three young kids while, dating a drug dealer. She had gone from a strict Pentecostal to a binge drinking cocaine snorting bitch recently.
We all carpooled and during the reception and cake cutting they brought out bottles of champagne for every table. She proceeded to drink a few cups of it, and when the bottle was empty she went straight to guzzling a second bottle all to herself. Mind you she didn’t know the groom or bride, had never even met them.
She became rude and sloppy drunk. The dinner was a burrito bar where she gorged herself. When the reception was over the family all went back to the groom’s parents house for more drinks and leftovers and to hang out. She drank some whiskey and by evening she was passed out drunk on the parent’s living room couch…but still conscious enough to start gagging.
My friend helped her stand up to try and make it outside but her boss ended up puking beans rice tomatoes lettuce salsa and booze ALL OVER HER PARENTS WHITE LIVING ROOM CARPET. It was a lost cause, so she sat her back down and for the rest of the night had to hold her hair and head up while the boss puked into a spaghetti pot on the couch.
Meanwhile, the groom’s brother is scrubbing all the puke off the carpet. Later we carried her to the car and drove her home to her boyfriend and kids. The groom’s parents had to get all new carpet installed and the boss ended up later throwing my friend under the bus at work. She had no humility or shame.
