Summer wedding season is in full swing. Weddings can be fun, but they often cost a pretty penny: The average U.S. wedding is $38,000 according to WeddingWire's 2019 Newlywed Report.

The extreme financial pressure can turn relatively sane people into raging bride (and groom)-zillas.

These Redditors share the worst things they've ever witnessed from bridezillas they knew and loved.

Comments have been edited for grammar and clarity.

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Penguin suit

A malel in the penguin costume is have fun on ice in the winter.
Dmytro Khlystun / Shutterstock

Tuxedo salesman here.

Bride and groom came into the store to get tuxedos. She said "I need a penguin suit for my fiance." Now I don’t give this too much thought, as that's not a particularly uncommon phrase. But then she pulled out a picture of a penguin and I had to match that.

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She made him get a tails jacket and black vest, spent over an hour figuring out what shoes looked like the most like flippers, and then made me special order a shade of orange bow tie that most closely matched the penguin's little scruff thing.

The seven shades of orange we had were not acceptable.

| Arusso64

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Champagne taste on a beer budget

Three champagne glasses clinking together
Shutterstock / New Africa

I’m best friends with the groom but not as close with the bride. In the past year, I started becoming close with the bride. She asked me to be a bridesmaid, I got excited and said yes — not knowing how much it would be.

I was under the impression that because the bride and groom don’t have much money, myself and our friends don’t have much money, that the wedding events would not cost that much

The bride is really obsessed with fairy tales and princesses (which is really cute) but she wants the wedding and bridal shower/bachelorette party to be this huge fairytale that she can’t afford. She planned the bridal shower herself but gave each of us roles.

She assigned one decor item and one food item to each of us — which is fine. But each “item” she wants is A LOT of money so the price is a little high for our budget. Everyone that knows her keeps saying she has champagne taste on a beer budget. I was thinking of telling her I can’t afford all of that but this happened: her best friend chose desserts and pictures for the bridal shower.

She was thinking she could make cupcakes or something like that. But the bride texted her saying she wanted certain desserts and this would cost $400 alone. The girl said I can’t afford to spend $400 on bridal shower desserts (because we still have a huge list of other things to buy).

The bride texted her back and said “I understand you work hard for your money and it’s yours but you just got your nails done and bought a pet fish. I really thought you’d spend the next two months on my wedding and then go back to buying things you want after.”

This is making me want to drop out of the wedding.

| Comfortable-Fig6874

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No makeup allowed

Makeup artist holding compact and wearing belt of makeup brushes
Shutterstock / Dmitry Galaganov

My best friend is getting married this summer and she’s been a bit of a bridezilla but I figured it has just been stressful having to cancel and reschedule her wedding and such with COVID. She ended up cutting people out of her wedding party and now it’s just me and her maid of honor.

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Since the wedding party is small she asked if we would be okay with doing our hair and makeup (yes). Except today she told me that she and her maid of honor were going to be getting their hair done at the salon and then having a makeup artist come in to do their makeup the day of. I’m pretty hurt, but I don’t mind doing my own hair and makeup. To be honest I’d rather just do my own makeup since I don’t like people touching my face.

After I mentioned that to her she replied to me with “well if it’s okay with you, I’d rather you not wear makeup to the wedding since you will look way better than me if you do.” I was shocked. I laughed because I thought she was joking but she said she was serious and told me I could wear mascara and that’s all. She doesn’t want me to “outshine her because I know you will” on her day.

This hurt a lot and put some other things into perspective for me such as her ordering me the wrong size dress and having it look like a potato sack on me and her saying “no you look great!” Or her intentionally leaving me out of getting my hair and makeup done. I feel really upset and I’m not sure what to tell her.

| universalstarseed

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Pricey princess

Bride in wedding ball gown standing outside of old castle
Shutterstock / md-pictures

Me and my childhood bestie have always been friends and she got engaged five months ago to her boyfriend of six months. We’ve been planning our weddings since we were 14 and she always wanted a castle wedding with a ballgown.

Two months ago she found her dream castle in which she booked the wedding in four months. She just asked us for a $280 dress and for us to pay 1/10 of a $2000 wedding dress. There's six bridesmaids which is $200 plus a $14,000 bachelorette party — which is $2333.34 per person, plus a $600 bridal shower.

The total is $2,913.34 which I can't afford. I am still in university and finish a few months before the wedding but I am $100,000 in debt. I told her I can't pay for her wedding dress and bachelorette party — not even including the flight.

She wanted us to also pay for makeup and hair and wanted me to dye my hair dirty blonde. I am a redhead and can't dye it back. She also wants us to get her wedding gifts from the registry and pay for our own dinner.

I told her at this point I can't afford that and she freaked out saying I am an A-hole cause it's her big day and I helped her plan it at 14. I told her I am not in a financial situation to do this but I can try to work my butt off to afford it.

| erktx

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Backup bridesmaid

Bride standing between two bridesmaids wearing pink dresses
Shutterstock / Kyryk Ivan

One of my boyfriend's best friends got engaged about a year ago. His fiance and I were pretty close. When the time came for her to ask people to be in her bridal party I was not asked and also not super off put by it — I understand that you can't have everyone. The part that upsets me is that she kept telling me if there is anyone in the bridal party that causes drama she will get rid of them and I can be the honorary bridesmaid.

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Well fast forward about three months ago and I went out for supper with her and the maid of honor. They had been arguing about problems with the wedding for a while. Then they start drinking. This causes them to get emotional and the bride asks the maid of honor if she even wants to be part of the wedding, to which she replies yes.

So the bride is happy then, she turns to me and says "I know you're not a part of the wedding but if you want you can come hang out with us in the morning and get ready. You can also pay to get your hair and makeup done."

They continue to drink and get into a heated argument about how the bride wants her there but the maid of honor doesn't want to be there. I'm just sitting there watching it all play out.

Any time I have hung out with her since then all she talks about is the drama in the bridal party and honestly it feels like a chore to hangout with her when I used to genuinely enjoy it. Two weeks ago she asked the maid of honor to leave the bridal party because of the drama and now I am being asked to be the "honorary bridesmaid.” I honestly feel like this is the same as being chosen last in gym class.

| graphixgurl747

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Something blue, something stolen

Close up of bride wearing pearl necklace
Shutterstock / elitravo

My friend, we’ll call her Mary, got married last week and I was in her bridal party.

I was supposed to attend the wedding with my own fiancé but he contracted COVID five days before we were supposed to leave and made the choice to stay home for everyone’s safety. Our 5th anniversary of our first date was two months ago and he got me a beautiful opal necklace on a gold chain specifically to wear to the wedding because it complimented my bridesmaid dress.

I asked Mary in our bridal party group chat if she was alright with us wearing our own jewelry to the wedding, she said no problem. Day of the wedding comes, all of us bridesmaids and Mary meet early in the morning for pictures outside the chapel. Mary sees my necklace and loves it and actually asked if she could switch her necklace with mine.

Some other bridesmaids chime in and say that it would be her “something borrowed.” I tried as politely as I could to tell her that my fiancé got this for me to wear to the wedding and especially since he can’t be here, I’d like to keep it on.

Mary and the other bridesmaids were persistent, saying it was her wedding and her pictures and I wasn’t being accommodating, but I firmly told them no. Mary then said if I could at least take it off since it looked nicer than her own jewelry.

Again, I told her I’d rather not. She was not happy, neither were the bridesmaids. I received a lot of cold shoulders and dirty looks at the ceremony and reception. After the first dance, Mary’s sister came up to me to tell me just how upset Mary was and how rude it was that I upset her on her big day.

| BlueRoses95

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Shallow bridezilla

Hair stylist curling blonde hair updo
Shutterstock / frantic00

I am a 27-year-old woman and my fiance Emily and I have been engaged for the last two months. Everyone important knows about us and is happy for us to be finally engaged. At least that's what I thought. Emily has been battling cancer the last few months and because of chemo, is bald. She has really bad self-esteem and confidence because of it (among other things) and hasn’t really left the house since finding out about her diagnosis.

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A mutual friend of ours was engaged when Emily found out about her diagnosis and was originally asked to be a maid of honor but now that she's bald was asked “to wear a wig to cover her bald head" because it didn't suit her style of photography for her wedding.

Emily came home crying after looking for bridesmaid dresses after she was demanded which wigs to wear by the bride and told me she felt uncomfortable about attending the wedding. I felt like this was rude and said to the bride that Emily was uncomfortable with her treatment and her reply back was that "she felt uncomfortable about a bald bridesmaid and that if she didn't wear the wig she wasn't allowed to attend the wedding.

I told her that we both wouldn't be attending, but now we have left her two bridesmaids short a week before the wedding.

| Anonymous

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Blindsided with a blind date

Man talking on the phone on date, woman drinking wine looking away
Shutterstock / New Africa

My friend Mary and I have known each other since we were children. We’ve grown apart over the past few years but she still considers me important enough to make me a bridesmaid.

One reason why I distanced myself from her was because of her treatment of my relationship. My boyfriend Jack and I have been together for 3 and ½ years. He’s a wonderful person, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is the man I want to marry, but Mary is under the impression that Jack is “too good for me.”

Jack comes from a very wealthy background — this is in stark contrast to my childhood. Jack’s good looks and background have led Mary to believe that Jack deserves better than me. According to her, there’s no way I could have pulled someone so attractive and rich.

Mary invited me for lunch with her fiancé and his friend Gary. He asked me why I was single, and I told him that I was in a happy committed relationship.

He was taken aback by my answer. He told me that Mary had set up a blind, double-date of sorts for the both of us. I was very confused. Luckily Gary wasn’t upset and ended up making a few jokes about the whole ordeal.

I called Mary later on in the day and asked her a ton of questions about why she thought it was okay to do that. At first she tried to deny it, but then she tried to justify it by saying that “Gary is a man who’s more in my league,” and since he was also a groomsman we needed to get to know each other better.

I was shocked by her bluntness, so I just told her that I didn’t want to be her bridesmaid anymore. Mary didn’t take it well — trying to apologize and saying that it was a mistake. It’s been a few days and her fiancé has been texting me, asking me to suck it up for the wedding.

| notreallyadoubledate

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Sorry you can’t make it

Cookies decorate for engagement reading
flickr / Karla

A few years ago a very close friend got engaged and wanted to throw a conventional engagement party for around 40-50 people. I was her bridesmaid and had a nice party room in my condo that I kindly offered to her for the party, plus all my help in decorating the place and paying the deposit fees.

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While we were planning the date she said she wanted it in April. I told her that any day in April would be fine, except for one Saturday of the month that I would be away for work.

And all that she said was "yeah, it's such a shame that you can't go to my party.” This happened in the very early stages of organizing the party, so it's not like she had hired caterers or any other services. At the time I was shocked with her answer but didn't say anything.

I thought that she was going to at least consider moving the party to the next weekend to have me there since it was happening at my home and there was literally no reason for her to choose that date. Yet she was willing to throw the party without her only bridesmaid there.

When I was paying for the $300 non refundable rental deposit fee for the party room they walked me through my responsibility as a host and I realized that I couldn't just have 50 unsupervised strangers using my party room without my presence there. I told her and after throwing a tantrum she moved the date one weekend up. | sudokueggs

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The trouble with twins

Fried folding her arms across her chest annoyed
Shutterstock / Maria Sbytova

My twin sister, May, and I are identical. At the end of our first year of college I was in a car accident and I ended up with a facial scar and major trauma.

I also got a physical, started working with a dietician to fix my diet and the smorgasbord of vitamin deficiencies it caused. I started working out with our older sister.

By the end of our first year of college, we had each gained about 30 lbs. By the end of the next year, I had lost half of it. I found a new beautician and she gave me long layers and I stopped spray tanning.

I live in a rural area and the internet isn't great. Things like Facetime just aren't options, and I can't post a lot of pictures on social media because of it. This is relevant because a big issue is that May didn't see me over the quarantine.

We talked on the phone a couple times a week, but it mostly revolved around her wedding planning (she got engaged before the COVID lockdown). I wasn't her maid of honor, so mostly I was being told decisions, not involved in the process. When it came to the bridesmaids' dresses, May sent our sister, sister-in-law and me a link and told us to get it in our size. May didn't see any of us until the start of the wedding.

She was livid. Apparently, she thought we would have stopped working out because of COVID or that we would have stopped when she announced her engagement, so we didn't upstage her. She was mad because I didn't try to hide my scar and didn't tan and thought it "would be implied."

She made several snide remarks before throwing a drunk temper tantrum at the reception, basically accusing us of trying to upstage her.

| Anonymous

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Going broke for the bride

Woman holding her phone and credit card to pay for something
Shutterstock / fizkes

I am the maid of honor for Julia’s wedding.

Julia has always had selfish tendencies, but friends kept her grounded. She has always expected people to pay for her, but is frankly non-reciprocal when the tables are turned. Since moving to a new city and meeting her fiancé, it’s been hard to manage her expectations.

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Julia’s fiancé is great, but he has enabled her selfishness because he is financially well off. To paint a picture, he pays for everything — $12k a month on rent, $10k a month on gifts, vacations and a $200k wedding.

They are having a destination wedding. I spoke with everyone about their budget for her bachelorette. Most said 1-3 days and $200-$500. I thought this was really generous. Myself and one other bridesmaid could max afford $1000.

Julia wants to go somewhere “epic” for her bachelorette for a week. When I priced out what she wanted, it was $2000-5000 per person. When I told Julia this was “too big of an ask” she cried, called me selfish and made comments like “I would do this for you!”

I explained that spending money is a big sacrifice because we don’t have the same financial freedom as her and we would not expect our loved ones to take a financial risk for our benefit. This was met with spite.

Now I’m being called out for being cheap and not supporting her special moment — I’m stunned at how everyone is behaving.

Is it really fair to expect others to spend that much for wedding events? Is it fair to expect a maid of honor to pay for other people's costs to meet the bride's expectations? Am I missing something?

| ThrowItAway7199

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The Great Gatsby: bride edition

Lavish wedding venue decorated with lights and flowers
Shutterstock / Thanakorn.P

My best friend since the day I was born is finally getting married. This past summer she asked me to be part of her wedding as a bridesmaid.

We had a dress try on party which was exciting and expected but found out the only type of dress she wanted would be over $200. This was the first time we were all expected to bring gifts for the occasion and throw a party for the bride which we were all happy to do.

At the party she decided to tell us all that we will also be required to pay for hair and make-up if we want it and find a specific shoe for the big day. Not a big deal but wondering what she will be chipping in for.

Now moving on to the bridal showers — bridesmaids are expected to provide all the liquor for a 300 person event, come a day in advance to make all the party decorations and provide a gift off the registry for the shower.

Last but not least the bachelorette parties. We are expected to spend $1,000 just to attend the events. This is not including food and drinks. The second party will be more low key at her parents house for the people that aren't invited to the first one. We are expected to get at least one registry gift for this event. Plus, can't forget we need to get one more registry gift for the wedding!

I am feeling a little put out for this wedding cost wise as we are all in our 20's and two bridesmaids just turned 18. I have mentioned things are getting a bit over the top but as she and her parents are fairly wealthy she doesn't see how this could be seen as expensive. It's honestly stressing me out that my friend would think this is normal to spend all this.

| tryndye-1

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Replaceable bridesmaid

Pregnant bridesmaid in purple dress holding flowers
Shutterstock / Ana Iacob Photography

I was thinking about bridezillas and I was reminded of an experience a friend of mine, we will call her Daphne, had with a bridezilla, who we will call Tara.

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Daphne and Tara had been friends since they were young. They lived about an hour apart, attended the same church, talked frequently on the phone and got together for sleepovers. As they got older, Tara’s family stopped attending church but Daphne and Tara still talked occasionally.

Daphne got married and due to her husband’s inability to pick among his friends, ended up with a larger complementary bridal party which included Tara. Tara bought the dress Daphne selected (a modest red dress with cap sleeves for less than $80) and Daphne bought her jewelry. Tara already had shoes to wear. All went well.

Fast forward a year. Tara asks Daphne to be in her wedding party. Daphne reluctantly agrees. Tara selects a form fitting strapless bridesmaid dress for her party. Daphne is mortified as she is overweight and the dress is very unflattering. Tara brushes her concerns aside and pushes on. Daphne reluctantly bought the $200+ dress, leaving it with Tara.

Months before the wedding, Daphne finds out she is pregnant. She will be almost six months pregnant when the wedding is scheduled to take place. She contacts Tara and asks to be removed from the bridal party. Her dress would be too small, and she had been feeling uncomfortable in the dress anyway.

Tara was enraged, but she quickly found a substitute bridesmaid. Daphne was relieved and asked about repayment for the dress — Tara refused.

Ultimately, Daphne was never paid back for the dress that her replacement wore. She ended up not attending the wedding. Daphne did not speak to Tara for years after this.

| Vindwyn

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How much is too much?

Calculator with bride and groom figurine on top
Shutterstock / Sayuri Inoue

I’m the maid of honor at one of my best friend's weddings coming up this spring. I love her like a sister and it is an honor to be a part of her special day. However, the costs she expects me to cover are really adding up.

The costs include — bridesmaid dress ($250), alterations costs ($200) and shoes ($50). The bachelorette also had some specific requests — it is two hours away from where we live and she wanted a two night stay. My cost is going to be around $500. She also requested that I host the bridal shower for about 35 people and wanted a few things like a mimosa bar and some fancy treats.

Roughly this will cost $350 or more potentially. We also need to cover the costs for our hair and makeup which is $250. So in total I will be spending $1,850. That doesn’t include the two gifts either — one for the bridal shower and the other for the wedding.

We are both financially stable, but I feel really stressed about the costs. I definitely expected to pay for certain things like the bachelorette and my dress, but when she asked me I had no idea she was expecting us to spend this much on everything.

| Comfortable_Desk_138

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The last straw

Bride and groom dancing with cash on the bride's wedding gown
Shutterstock / EvgeniiAnd

I have been friends with the bride for more than 15 years. But in the last four years I have been feeling disconnected from her. We have such different hobbies, interests and friends. Most of the time, she is not able to relate to any of my interests and she barely listens and ignores what I say.

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When she got engaged, it made me extremely happy and I boasted about it everywhere. They started to plan their wedding and I was the one who was expected to help them and be the main bridesmaid. I was happy to help — I didn’t mind staying up late after midnight to be on the phone with her and help them choose a dream destination.

Day by day, she voiced ridiculous requests that made me feel really uncomfortable. The wedding place must have a big dining room for 150 people and cannot be separated because everybody must be able to hear the speeches and cry.

She got mad at one of her friends because she hesitated on going to Thailand for her bachelorette party due to her job and the upcoming peak season. I wasn’t thrilled either, because I know not everyone would be able to go due to each one’s financial, occupational or family reasons.

I tried to be diplomatic and persuade her that we can have it as an option and come up with an alternative solution, since I believe she would be happier if all of her friends could come instead of choosing a destination where half of them wouldn't be able to make it.

The last straw, however, was when she boasted that her fiance allowed her to spend all of his money on the wedding and that she is sorry that my boyfriend doesn’t do something like that for me. From that moment, I didn't want to spend time with her anymore and distanced myself from her. It has been almost three months.

| Daybeforetmw

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Breaking vases

Broken vase on tile floor
Shutterstock / badboydt7

I went to my cousin's wedding — let's call his fiance, Beth. The ceremony was gorgeous, in a garde with the couple under a vine-covered pergola. While the gentiles were having their pictures taken, I noticed the maid of honor having strong words with the bride.

The groom's sister, a bridesmaid, let's call her Claire, told me that Beth was freaking out on the maid of honor to put back on the earrings that all the bridesmaids were wearing or she would ruin the pictures. The maid of honor was having a reaction to them. Claire said her earlobes were so swollen she couldn't put the backs on.

Dinner was inside, buffet style. I was in the ladies room when I heard yelling in the hallway. The bride was freaking out on her planner and the catering manager because there wasn't enough food, even though BOTH of them had advised to up the amount because at a buffet you can't control portion sizes. The chef says he can add more sides and salads for a fee, but she's basically screwed on the prime rib and chicken.

Somehow Beth had found out that in another dining room there was a 50th wedding dinner for a couple, and they were having prime rib too. She demanded he give her any remaining roast. He says no, so she then screams at her planner to get it for her or she's fired. I leave the ladies room because I want to see faces.

The chef is clearly astounded and the planner says there is no way that she's going to ruin her reputation or working relationship with the venue over a situation that Beth created by not following their advice. Beth grabs a vase of flowers off the side table between the restroom doors, smashes it to the floor and screams “you’re fired!”

| More_Hold4833

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My big fat vegan wedding

Spread of vegan food at buffet
Shutterstock / eldar nurkovic

So my brother got married last weekend. He and my new sister in law had known each other for a few years now. She had been vegan since she was 12 and had also converted my brother in recent years, so they decided to make the wedding vegan.

Basically, this meant that all the food was vegan and they used petals from their garden instead of plastic confetti to make the wedding as eco-friendly as possible.

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The problem I often have with eating anywhere is that I have multiple allergies: peanuts, soy, sesame and a mild shellfish allergy as well. The first three are very serious and have landed me in hospital in the past because of cross contamination.

I talked to my brother about if there would be anything safe for me to eat at the event, but because they're using a local lady’s business as the catering service instead of something professional I did not feel comfortable enough that there was absolutely zero chance of me having a reaction, especially because the allergens were ingredients in many of the dishes. It felt too risky, so I said I'd bring my own food and he agreed that was the best option.

The wedding day arrives and it comes time to eat. Everyone is digging into the food, and I pull out my tupperware quite happily and dig in when I see the bride staring at me with horror on her face. I had bought a homemade salad box which had two eggs on top and she literally just stared at me in disgust the entire time we ate without saying anything.

After the meal was finished, she pulled me to the side and said I ruined her meal, her appetite and her day and that I'm clearly "a selfish person because I can't even go one meal without animal secretions in a vegan wedding.”

| landofsunshine1

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Bridezilla as match maker

Bride and groom with maid of honor and best man looking away
Shutterstock /Omar Tursic

My fiancé and I have been together for seven years. He has a best friend, John, who is now getting married to his fiancé, Kim.

Kim is a very possessive and controlling person and has been this way since I first met her seven years ago. She came into my fiancé's friend group as John's girlfriend but she always tried to dictate who anyone was allowed to invite and she claimed she and her own best friend are the only "females" allowed around the guys.

She wanted to set up her best friend with either my fiancée or another guy from the group who was single. The other guy moved away for some family business and my fiancée stayed in our hometown so Kim was trying to set him up with her bff.

My fiancée wasn't interested at all. When he got with me Kim was very bitter and would take it out on me by insulting me and trying to dictate whether I can join them in outings and all that. She said she and John are allowed to hang out together because they're the "main couple" but not us. She always tried to exclude me in order to pair my fiancée with her bff.

We got engaged a year ago and Kim was bitter about that and even my fiancé's best friend said how Kim hates hearing of our engagement because "there goes her plan.”

Now they're getting married and my fiancé is a groomsman and Kim's best friend is a bridesmaid. She wants to pair them together, sit them together, have them share intimate, romantic dances together and she said random guests like me will be sat in the back of the room. I'm like yeah, I’m out.

I had enough of that disrespect. My fiancé was also offended by all this and said he'll attend as a guest but he cannot be a pawn in someone's wedding because the bride tries to plan something shady.

| That_Climate2632

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Stag and dough

People clinking champagne glasses together
Shutterstock /Vasyl Zabuga

This is about my friend’s upcoming wedding this fall and her stag and doe. Isn’t the purpose of a stag and doe to raise money for the wedding? My friend is having a tiny wedding just over state lines and calling it a destination wedding (1.5 hour drive) and only inviting 20 guests.

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They’re most likely doing it in a hotel conference room but the ceremony is on the beach, so that will be pretty. It’s not going to be a big traditional expensive wedding.

My husband wasn’t invited. Her friends aren’t except me and one other person. However, she texts me asking me to Venmo her $80 from both of us for stag tickets. My husband can’t even go because he’ll be traveling for work.

I will be giving her a wedding gift and paying to stay overnight, doing the bachelorette stuff and OBVIOUSLY was going to get a ticket and go to the stag and doe. It just struck me as rude to text me “hi can you Venmo me now? I’ll put the tickets in your mailbox.” The stag is two months away and I would think I’d be seeing her before then but we haven’t hung out since March.

| bearsywearsy

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How dare you get robbed?

View of woman's bag being stolen by thief from behind her
Bogdan Cherniak /Shutterstock

Went on a bachelorette trip with my cousin. Destination: Austin, Texas. I was the maid of honor. The trip was going great — we stopped to do some sight seeing. I had to use the bathroom so I ran down the street to a hotel. After relieving myself, I headed back to the group.

On the way I was attacked by a homeless person. He tried to rob me. I made it away with only some scratches and a bruise. When I made it back to my group, I tried to explain what just occurred but they cut me off quickly saying “it’s the bride’s day it’s not about you.” I was very confused.

The bridesmaids got in my face — not going to lie I got verbally defensive because I was still in fight or flight mode. But I never said anything to the bride. To make a long story short the bride texted me after the trip to tell me I could no longer be in her wedding and neither could my kids who were supposed to be flower girls.

Proceeded to tell me I wanted her life and she lives “the rich life.” Her parents are middle class and she still lives at home. She told me I would have to tell my daughters they can’t be flower girls and it’s all my fault because I almost got robbed.

| Swimming_Excuse5690

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Accidental gender reveal

Pregnant woman holding one blue sock and one pink sock
Shutterstock /FamVeld

I am not close with my family. I live in a different state, so I don't have much contact with them. My brother got married last weekend and invited me. I told him I'll come and not have a plus one. My husband and I recently separated, and after that I found out I was pregnant.

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My extended family didn't know about the separation or about the pregnancy. I told my brother I was pregnant when we spoke on the phone before the wedding. My family knew my marriage was very rocky and my parents knew about the pregnancy.

So I am 7 months pregnant right now and getting a divorce. When I showed up to the wedding, everyone was super shocked to see me be pregnant and alone there.

During the ceremony, the priest mentioned my pregnancy to make a joke or whatever about what is next for the bride and groom — babies, something like "and after your baby, hopefully many more will join this beautiful family of the bride and groom.”

Bride was pissed off, because now EVERYONE knew I was pregnant. During the picture taking part of the reception, my brother says "okay and now I want to take a pic with my favorite sister and my FIRST nephew.” I laughed and said "niece, actually" and he was super happy. We took a picture.

Bride came to me later and called me out for up-staging her wedding with not just my pregnancy but also the "baby gender announcement.” Her family is obviously on her side, my brother thinks she is acting crazy and I did nothing wrong and my parents think I should have informed people I was pregnant before coming to the wedding and should have kept quiet about gender.

| Breakmyheart94

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It’s bride o’clock

Groom in suit looking at watch
Shutterstock /AliAshraf

My friend is getting married this summer. I have just been advised that we are required to be at her venue for 7 a.m. for hair and make up. She is not having a ceremony this day and the reception is in the evening.

I have two small children and their preschool does not open until 7a.m. and I am an hour away — I would be an hour late. I have asked the bride what the time slot is for hair and make up and if I can be a little late so I can get my kids to school and be one of the last people to go.

There are about eight people doing hair and make up, but she refuses to tell me the time slot. I have asked her to simply ask the hair and make-up company if it would be an issue and she also refuses to do this. I am just told “you’re to be there at 7 a.m, so the time slot doesn’t matter.”

She also said “you were sent a save the date a year ago” and “you are the only one causing me stress and making your problems my problems.” I have brought up the point that if I am just sitting there for hours does this need to be such a big deal?

She basically told me if I’m not there for 7 a.m. I don’t need to be in her wedding. I have already purchased the dress. I just feel this is extremely unreasonable — you spend so much money to be in someone’s wedding and there is no appreciation and they deem it acceptable to treat you with demands and ultimatums?

| Inevitable_Ad_6998

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Princess bride and her frogs

Tiara on bride's head
Shutterstock /HW Photowork

So my cousin has a wedding in less than two months. At first she sent everyone invites with some leafy design and told us to choose our dresses and costumes according to those leaves' colors.

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There were a whole bunch of different greens, so fine, whatever. I looked more at minty shades, it’s a summer wedding and I wouldn’t want to blend with trees and grass and all of that. But no. Next thing I know, the bride sends new invites with a new dress code. Green grass and lemon yellow. Sheesh. Good thing I didn’t buy a dress by then.

So my relatives and I discussed the colors and figured we could choose different shades of grass or something, so we wouldn’t blend together in a one big naked Shrek. Some time later she sends new invites.

Yep, you guessed it. She added pictures of exactly two shades of green and one yellow we are allowed to wear. We will look like one big frog and she’ll be like a Thumbelina in her white wedding gown.

| Annelieze

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Ring toss

Wedding ring being thrown in trash can
Shutterstock /LanKS

I've been a wedding vendor (hair and makeup) for over 10 years now and I can probably start my own subreddit with the stories that I have. One that comes to mind happened a little over a year ago.

My team and I were on location at the hotel where the bride was staying, getting her all done up for her reception event. She had a big gap between the ceremony and reception and opted for an entirely different hair and makeup look than her ceremony.

After we were done, we started packing up, at least my team members did. I typically stick around for any last minute touch ups. Big mistake. This bride's husband walks in, they start chatting, she looks at his finger and asks where his ring is. He said something along the lines that it didn't fit right and he was afraid he would lose it.

This girl starts screaming, crying and shaking, saying things like, “if you don't want to wear the ring then I'm not wearing mine either” and “what's the point of being married — should just annul this wedding.” She takes off her ring and flings it at him.

The groom walks out. At this point, I didn't know what to do — her makeup was running, I had to either leave quickly or stick around and clean her up — but she was like a ticking time bomb. Her mom was in the room and went up to her to console her. She lashed out on her mom.

Finally, her father comes in and whispers a few things to her, calming her down. And then I was asked to fix her up. I did my job, and then ran the hell out of there before another meltdown occurred.

| bridalmakeupgalny

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The wedding DJ

hand-printed sign reading
Maria Dryfhout / Shutterstock

I worked as a caterer and a wedding DJ for about 15 years.

I was DJ-ing a wedding in a shabby little reception hall out in the middle of the sticks for a redneck bride and groom.

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The bride was wasted by the time I started playing my set (around 8 p.m.) She came up to me right away and told me that I need to play the song “Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)” like every four songs, and I try to tell her that it's a bad idea but she insisted, so I agreed.

About an hour into the night I play the song for the 10th time and people in the crowd started to boo. Please note that everytime I played the song I passed it off onto the bride by saying something like "it’s time for a special request from the bride," so as to not destroy my reputation.

So people boo and start walking off the dance floor. Bride sees this and loses it.

She runs up to the stage and demands the mic. "Get back on the dance floor, or this thing is done!" Her guests ignore her. She yells again and no one pays her any attention.

She then marches over to the cake and gift table and flips it over, yelling "EVERYONE GET OUT OF MY WEDDING."

Her guests who did not seem all that surprised end up leaving. I still got paid so in the end it did not matter too much from my end but wow… Just wow.

| itsalltruesteve

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The toilet tantrum

Toilet paper image
maroke / Shutterstock

She slapped me during the reception.

Her dress had this massive organza skirt. It was beautiful but utterly impractically designed. It took at least three of us to hold up her skirt so she could use the restroom.

On the second trip to the restroom, with all of us holding this dress up while she hovered over the toilet, she ordered me to wipe her.

She. Ordered. Me. To. Wipe. Her.

I declined.

So she slapped me.

The skirt was dropped by all parties while I shouted obscenities at her. She screamed that if I didn't do this for her, this friendship was over.

She tried to apologize years later, and seemed surprised when I was not interested in rekindling our friendship.

| isstronglikebull

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Loose lips sink (relation)ships

A bride and groom kiss behind the bouquet of flowers.
@Andrew_Paul / Twenty20

Planner here — I’ve seen everything.

Bride invited her ex-boyfriend to the wedding because “he’s just a really good friend.”

During the reception, her husband of two hours went to the bathroom, and she plants a kiss on her ex. She notices that I saw and promptly reminds me to mind my own business.

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Two days later I get a call from the groom who informs me that the bride is extremely upset with my “unprofessionalism” and wants a refund. She wasn’t happy that I “made a scene” by running outside to tell them about the bill, in an effort to save them from additional charges.

I asked him if he was aware of the scene she made when she kissed her ex-boyfriend on the dance floor while he went to the bathroom. He hung up.

| imabigdiva

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The FBI got involved

Amazon delivery
@kayp / Twenty20

The bride had me charged for fraud.

I'll explain. I was a bridesmaid for a pretty laid-back bridezilla. Her only request was that she had asked me to order items on her behalf from Amazon. I would place the order using her account, and have the items shipped to my house for storage.

I stored a giant pile of her wedding goods in my apartment for months. It was a huge inconvenience.

After the wedding was over she called Amazon and said that someone had hacked her account and used it to order wedding items. She got a chargeback on all the items on her credit card, and I got a call from the FBI.

Tina if you're reading this, that was rude. I thought we were friends?

(I had written proof, thank goodness.)

| carlywithak

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Heart attack

Happy father leading his daughter to the altar. Dad is proud of his beautiful daughter. Wedding ceremony
Hrytsiv Oleksandr / Shutterstock

The father of the bride had a heart attack.

As he was being carried out on the stretcher to the ambulance, the sobbing bride yells, "How could you ruin my wedding like this?!"

Really?

| Remberzz

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Every rose has its thorn

wedding roses
@chibelek / Twenty20

My wife's best friend is a florist by trade. She gifts her services to decorate her friend’s wedding. Big cost savings. Wedding goes as planned and all is good.

Afterwards, the bride and her mom get annoyed at florist friend who didn't give a gift in the wedding card: "She didn't even cover her/husband's plate."

Let's conveniently forget the $1,000 in floral products gifted to the wedding. It's a rift that's never healed between them since.

| Hardatit

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Liar, liar

Young irritated girls at a loss from the actions of a friend, arguing in cafe and drinking coffee, panorama, copy space
Prostock-studio / Shutterstock

The short story is that she lied.

She lied to the venue about the number of guests that were attending, effectively packing us like sardines.

She lied about having a "day-of" staff. That meant that all the groomsmen spent the day hanging flowers, running to get kegs and waters, pouring the champagne for guests, and setting up the entire venue the day before.

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She lied to the hair and makeup personnel about the number of people who were obtaining services in order to get them to come to the site. This forced guests to get hair and makeup done in order for "the bride not to have to be charged extra."

She lied to the catering about the number of guests — this caused them to run out of food and alcohol.

All in all, I think her lies saved her $1,500, but cost her close friendships since her attitude toward the whole situation was indignation instead of being apologetic.

| yelloworchid

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No blondes allowed

Blonde bride
@ashleyarrambide / Twenty20

Bride was blonde. All bridesmaids except for me were brunette. She asked me to dye my hair brown for the wedding because she “wanted to be the only blonde.”

I suggested that instead I just give up my bridesmaid spot.

Thankful to this day that I said that. I heard the dresses and bachelorette party cost all the other girls more money than I make in a month.

| kmmurky

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Meddling momzilla

Positive senior woman talking on the phone
Dragon Images / Shutterstock

How about momzilla? I was the planner for a wedding and had been working with the bride and groom. A few months into planning, the groom’s mom calls me to change the date of the wedding. I thought it was kind of weird and called the couple to confirm the change. NOPE! Couple did not know anything about the date change and said to completely ignore the groom’s mom and call them if she tried to get in contact.

| girlfridayfail

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My boss's wedding

Businesswoman
@LinaVeresk / Twenty20

My first job out of college, my boss got engaged and asked me and three colleagues to be her bridesmaids. I had only known her for a short time, but I didn't feel comfortable saying no because ... well she was my boss.

In addition to being in a wedding for someone I barely knew, there were so many horrible things about this nightmare bridezilla wedding.

First, I ended up hosting both her bachelorette and her shower because no one in her life planned anything.

She showed up to her own shower an hour late, hungover, and wearing pajamas when she demanded that everyone dress for a luncheon.

She ordered our dresses from Etsy and they looked like seafoam green raw silk pillowcases with holes cut for the arms and head. They tied in giant bows at the back and we all looked like literal infants.

She wouldn't let us wear heels with said "dresses" because the groom was kinda short and we all had to buy new flats in a specific shade of gold.

She wanted us to wear our hair in a really ugly, extremely complicated updo — and said we would have to pay to have one of the hairstylists to do our hair (we refused).

The wedding was on a Sunday and the venue was far and inconvenient. No, it wasn't a long weekend.

The rehearsal dinner for this Sunday wedding was Thursday and started at 4 p.m., requiring everyone to leave work in the middle of the day.

She forced us to stay at an expensive hotel in the area the night before the wedding for no apparent reason and refused to pay for our hotel room.

| gabygygax

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Bride's big day(s)

The bride counts the money. Wedding expenses. Bride with a piggy bank
illustrissima / Shutterstock

Bride had two weddings. Pretty different financial backgrounds between us.

She had one wedding in the local state where she grew up and one destination wedding a month later.

She couldn't decide which dress to get, so she bought three.

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I was maid of honor at the local event and was supposed to be part of the destination wedding. Had to overdraw my bank account to attend and cover expenses; I was really in awe at all the extravagances.

It was a three-hour ceremony with two venue changes. "I want what I want!" and "It's my day!" still ringing in my ears just thinking of it.

She went into $60K of credit card debt for her perfect day(s) — she told me the day before that she had not informed the groom.

| gigatroness

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With friends like these

Attractive young bride toasting with champagne and talking with her beautiful bridesmaids while standing outdoors together
g-stockstudio / Shutterstock

My best friend just got kicked out of being a bridesmaid because she couldn't spend the $1,500 to go to the bachelorette party — all the other costs were killing her. The bride told her to take out a credit card to pay for it.

One of our friends made the best comment over the situation: "She (the bride) just did you the best favor ever kicking you out of the bridal party."

| awayfrommymind

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'Til death do us part

White wooden crosses in the forest grave yard.
M.Pakats / Shutterstock

I worked as a bridal fitting assistant in a wedding dress shop.

Probably the worst I ever saw was a woman who claimed her fiancé had died so she wanted a refund. Then she came back in demanding the same dress back because they'd made up. Turns out he wasn't dead after all.

| hippiebanana

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Destination wedding

Young couple kissing at wedding reception
Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock

Went to a wedding in Cuba once (live in Canada) and after paying to fly and stay there and getting a suit (wasn’t wedding party, just a close friend), I only gave a $100 cash present (since the rest of the trip easily cost me $1,300).

The bride’s family had the nerve to email me asking why I only gave $100 as a present, especially since I had the privilege of seeing the wedding in person (was a guy just out of school at his first job less than a year).

| orswich

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Call me 'Mom'

Bride closes her eyes hugging mother tender
IVASHstudio / Shutterstock

I recently attended my father’s fifth wedding in August of this year, of which I was not asked but required to be a bridesmaid. About 24 hours after the wedding, my new “stepmother” was screaming at me in front of the entire wedding party for not referring to her as my mother.

Keep in mind, my real mother is very much alive and we are very close.

| ConspiracyBarbie

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I do (but I don't want to)

notebook
@shotbycec / Twenty20

When my friend was a bridesmaid, she received an astonishingly detailed itinerary of how to behave on the wedding day, with notes like "9:52 a.m.: Compliment the bride on how she looks on the most important day of her life."

On the actual wedding day, the bride repeatedly got angry with my friend for not adhering to the itinerary. This was after several months of the bride expecting my friend to be available at a moment's notice to take care of any wedding chores.

They haven't spoken since the wedding day.

| chestnutmoss

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Clean freak

Wedding Setup
mambographer / Shutterstock

Caterer. Mother of bride found a single spot on a knife on a single setting. Demanded that the entire reception ($60K) be free.

She was not writing the check so she was shot down pretty quickly. But there was much rage.

| remorsefulsurvivor

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Expensive taste

empty wallet
@hannievanbaarle / Twenty20

Picked $400 bridesmaid dresses. Destination bachelorette that cost over $1,200. Insisted on a super expensive spot for the bridal shower. Registered at William Sonoma.

I was a broke college student, but managed to pay for all this junk and give a gift.

| notatumor1990

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Makeup your mind

bride putting makeup on
@Elisall / Twenty20

She said from the start she was going to pay for makeup to be done on the day.

Two weeks before the wedding, said I needed to drive two hours to go buy a really expensive makeup brand for myself to wear, which I did, even though I was broke from Christmas shopping.

Then I was criticized for not giving a gift, despite being told “being a bridesmaid was gift enough.”

| ajlawford

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The band played on

Elegant string quartet playing in luxury room at wedding reception in restaurant. group of people in black performing on violin and cello at theatre orchestra, music concept
Bogdan Sonjachnyj / Shutterstock

I'm a violinist who plays in quartets at weddings.

One October, my group was to play at an outdoor wedding.

It was 45 degrees Fahrenheit outside. The bride refused to move the ceremony inside (there was a very nice facility to do so; this was at a fancy hunt club), even though we and her guests were freezing.

Her poor bridesmaids wore strapless dresses with no shawls or anything to keep them warm! It was awful, and my group actually had to put in our contract that we will not play an outdoor wedding if it is below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, as it can ruin our instruments.

On top of that, the bride never thanked us, and apparently everyone got so drunk at the reception, the venue kicked everyone out early.

This is a venue that probably cost close to $10K to rent out for the day/night.

| breannabalaam

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She didn't plan for this

Hands Checking on Wedding Planner Notebook
Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock

My brother's girlfriend works with a well-known local wedding planner, and had been working many weddings with this planner. She finally worked solo one day with this massive bridezilla (she found out that day).

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The couple had hired her a couple weeks before the wedding and clearly had no clue what the job is supposed to be. When she showed up early in the morning on the wedding day (for an outdoor wedding down a hill from the house that was locked for hours), she was met with essentially an entire antiques market. The bride wanted a rustic Pinterest look, but had gone overboard and bought way too many tacky items.

The entire day was horrendous, with this planner working without eating until about 11:00 p.m. The bride had wanted a wedding planner AND a decorator.

After the wedding, she complained to get her money back.

| Anonymous

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Bride's special ... year?

Closeup photo of young bride shouting on mobilephone.
StockLite / Shutterstock

A bride once called having a meltdown because her friend got engaged as well and was planning to get married in the same year as she was ... Apparently it was her special year and not just a day.

She threw a huge fit that this girl was only getting married to "steal her thunder."

Yes, because no one else can have a life at the same time as you. Her friend's date wasn't even in the same month or season. Hers was in October and her friend’s was in June.

| sillykitty1990

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A total knockout

Businessman fighting with his coworker in office.
Momentum Fotograh / Shutterstock

Friend is a photographer. Does weddings. Got punched in the face by the groom because the groom decided that the photographer was "taking too many photos of the bride."

Weddings seem to bring out the worst in humanity.

| Anonymous

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Callous and catty

Bride: Bride On Couch with Annoyed Look On Face
Sean Locke Photography / Shutterstock
This spoiled bride couldn't stand not being the center of attention.

My dad had the audacity to die six weeks before the wedding, and she couldn't understand why that superseded her wedding details for me. I met my husband at her wedding, haven't spoken to her since.

| Anonymous

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Evil stepmom

sandra oh greys anatomy bridezilla
GIPHY
Hmm. Wonder why it didn't work out.

My Dad remarried. Come the wedding day, his (soon to be ex-) bride stepped out of the limo, and pushed me away from her when I tried to give her a congratulatory hug (I was 11).

That part of the wedding threw me off, and sure enough six months later they were divorced.

| wishery

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Seeing green (beans)

green beans
@jijieforsythe / Twenty20

This was the most expensive wedding I had catered up to that point. Around $100K. The bride went absolutely crazy because she was given cut green beans as opposed to French-style cut green beans.

She was rude to everyone and spent the entire reception screaming at her new spouse. He looked miserable and beaten down at his own wedding.

Three months later, she never made the final payment on the food or the venue. Why? Because she couldn’t afford it — her divorce lawyers were costing her a fortune.

| Rachernobyl

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Grotesque groomzilla

Newlywed coupe sitting on a sofa angry at each other in a middle of an argument. Young couple problem concept outdoor.
andreonegin / Shutterstock

Late to the party, but my ex-husband was the groomzilla. I didn't mind him being more involved than most men because it was my second wedding, but he ended up taking total control.

I chose my dress and that was it. The rest was him.

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The one thing I really really wanted was live music at the ceremony; I had to beg for months. He finally relented, and then changed his mind during the ceremony.

It set the tone for the rest of our marriage, which only lasted a couple of years.

| countryblumpkin

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Sassy sorority sisters

Wisconsin Rustic Barn Bridesmaids.
@toellnma / Twenty20

My sister had 10 bridesmaids. Most of them were her sorority sisters from college.

They wanted to plan an elaborate weekend for the summer, but most of them were still in school and unemployed.

When I asked “Hey, who will pay for this?” my sister got annoyed that I even asked.

| SashWhitGrabby

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That makes saying the vows complicated

OMG. Pretty beautiful excited surprised woman bride girl covering her open mouth with hands, over light blue background. Positive face expression
HBRH / Shutterstock

We weren’t allowed to talk directly to the bride ... like at all.

Her mom and maid of honor were the only ones allowed to talk to her.

| specialendeavor

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Drunk in love

bride taking a big swig of alcohol before wedding
GIPHY
Say a toast, don't get toasted.

Wedding starts late because groom hit the bar during the day.

Bride is mad that her new husband is slammed before dinner, so instead of helping him sober up ... she proceeds to get super inebriated as payback.

It was a Tuesday.

| wasteddingo

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The bridesmaid contract

A young, professional asian woman signing papers while sitting at a table in a modern office.
@crystalmariesing / Twenty20

We had to sign a contract vowing things like:

  1. We wouldn't get any fake tans because no one was allowed to be tanner than her.

  2. No false lashes, her lashes were to be the longest.

  3. No teeth whitening done. Her "smile was to shine the brightest" (exact from quote from the contract).

  4. $400 bridesmaid dress, $100 shoes and $250 rented jewelry we had to buy on our own, despite the fact her family was loaded and I was broke.

Looking back, I wish I would've had the courage to just decline. It was awful.

| accomplishedolive

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Extending the guestlist

Delicate green envelopes with soft pink bows. Wedding invitation cards. Autumn Wedding Invitation.
Ale_Koziura / Shutterstock

My best friend’s wedding shower was a nightmare.

Originally, she wanted to host a wedding shower for just 10 guests. My parents aren’t well off, but they offered to host it for her, since she had been a longtime friend of mine.

Three days before the shower, she told us that the guest list was actually going to be 45 people. When we told her that we couldn’t accommodate that many, she asked us if we were purposely trying to ruin her big day.

I dropped out of being a bridesmaid for her wedding and we never spoke again.

| Anonymous

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Labor pains

I work with a man who was married a few years ago. He and his wife-to-be spent a year planning their lavish wedding.

A few months into the engagement, they found out that the bride’s cousin, a bridesmaid, was going to start IVF (in-vitro fertilization) to hopefully become pregnant. She and her husband had long struggled with infertility, and could finally afford to begin IVF.

The engaged couple was furious with the cousin for not waiting to start her family, because they didn't want her to be hugely pregnant on their big day.

What ended up happening? The cousin made it to the wedding, and ended up going into labor the next day.

No problem, right? Wrong.

As my co-worker was telling me this story, years later, he was still bitter about it, telling me how selfish they had been to not wait, and how much the nine-month pregnant woman at the wedding and the excitement of the birth the next day had taken away from their “special day.”

| Anonymous

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Love, honor and o-beige

Assortment of dresses hanging on a hanger on the background studio. Fashion wedding trends. Interior of wedding shop.
Sergii Sobolevskyi / Shutterstock

My friend was a bridesmaid at her college friend’s wedding. One day when I visited her, I saw her fuming over a beige gown.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

“That’s what I’m wearing to K’s wedding.”

“Umm, okay. What’s wrong with it?”

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“When we went bridesmaid dress shopping, she asked me what color I should pick for the bridesmaids. I told her to pick anything but a nude or a beige color because it would look really dull on us.”

I bet you can already see where this is going.

On the night of the wedding, K’s husband told my friend that K purposely picked a dull colour for her bridesmaids, as she wanted to look the prettiest that day.

| Sindhu Satish

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Drink it in

wedding drinks
@rmalo5aapi / Twenty20

After the ceremony we headed to the cocktail hour, and the wedding party stayed behind to take pictures. We had to wait for almost two hours for the bride and groom to show up (so that the reception could start).

Fortunately, there was an open bar. All of the guests (I’d say around 50 or 60) went to the bar and got a drink. One drink. (This is important.)

When the bride and groom finally arrived, one of the waiters approached her father and let him know that his deposit on the open bar had been met — did he want to close the bar or put more money down?

The bride overheard this and LOST IT.

She proceeded to stand up on a chair and start screaming at everyone there about how rude and selfish we were for taking advantage of the open bar.

Her dad tried to hush her by telling her it was okay, but she wasn’t having any of it. She picked up a bowl, threw it on the table, and yelled that each of us were going to chip in and pay for the drinks we had had.

So, we joined the majority of the guests — we walked up to the bowl, dropped a few bills in, walked over to the gift table, picked up what we had brought and left.

| Rhoda Engelauf-Allen

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Skinny love

Woman in a wedding dress getting measured
Rob Marmion / Shutterstock

Between the time I agreed to be a bridesmaid and a couple of months before the wedding I lost some weight. She got angry at me because she wanted to be the skinny one and threw me out of the wedding party.

| Anonymous

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A real piece of work

bride groom fighting
Microgen | Shutterstock

Groomzilla story here.

During toasts, the groom took the mic and jokingly said, “Welcome to my first wedding!”

It was a cringeworthy moment and didn’t get a lot of laughs. Mostly awkward silence. I didn’t get a look at the bride’s face, but she must have been mortified.

Anyway, the groom was a real piece of work in other ways, too. They divorced after a few years.

| Dan Rosenberg

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Toss the bouquet (and your hands in the air)

Women's hands trying catch four beautiful brides bouquets of roses pastel colors on clear blue sky background, horizontal photo
Volodymyr TVERDOKHLIB / Shutterstock

I work in a flower shop.

We had a bride and her mother show up at 9 a.m. They wanted to order a full set of flowers for the wedding party, and the wedding was scheduled for noon.

Yep, three hours from then, and they wanted them ready by the time they were done with their makeup appointment at the beauty parlor a few doors down.

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All the flowers she wanted require at least three weeks to ship from our suppliers. The bride was absolutely gobsmacked that we didn't carry extremely expensive and highly perishable flowers at all times.

My boss told them that they would be limited to what we had in stock. The bride and her mom kept arguing that we should have those specific flowers in stock.

The bride started whining that we were going to “ruin” her big day. My boss told her she had ruined her own day by not ordering her flowers before her actual wedding day.

The mom tried chewing out my boss for her lack of customer service skills. My boss told her that she was welcome to try the shop down the street.

The mom said she'd do just that, and reassured the bride that she'd have her flowers done by the time her appointment was over. Both women stormed out.

I figured that was that, but my boss told me and the other girl to start on six simple boutonnières. Meanwhile she threw together a ribbon-wrapped bridal bouquet with some white roses that were nearly past their prime.

Sure enough, twenty minutes later the bride slunk back in and meekly asked if we were still able to assemble what they needed. We did. We also charged her a very large bridezilla tax — ahem, “rush fee.”

| Haceldama

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Dress rehearsal

Female making adjustment to wedding gown in fashion designer studio. Bride wearing her wedding gown with female dress designer making final adjustments on dress.
Jacob Lund / Shutterstock

My mom and I saw a great bridezilla freak out while shopping for my wedding dress a few years back. We were in a small, local shop when another mother-daughter duo came in.

The mother said they were here to pick up her daughter's dress, so the attendant looks her name up in the computer, frowns, and says, "Ma'am, you never bought the dress."

"What are you talking about?"

The attendant shows the lady the notes on her computer screen. "You said you wanted to think about it, and asked if we could hold the dress. We held it for two weeks, but when we didn't hear back from you, we assumed you didn't want it."

"Well, we want it now."

"It's been over eight months," the attendant explained, "We sold the dress a long time ago. But I can order you another one, and have it expedited here in a few weeks."

And like a volcano of entitlement, the eruption began.

"This is unacceptable!" The mother shrieked. "We have her alterations scheduled in two hours! The wedding is a week away! I can't believe you sold her dress!"

The bride, meanwhile, is slumped against the desk and sobbing.

My mom and I are just open-mouthed staring at this point. The attendant was trying to be diplomatic, but is clearly as baffled as we are. "Ma'am, we had no way to know you wanted it. You never called. You never put down a deposit. The dress isn't yours until you pay for it."

After some more screaming from the mother and wailing from the bride, they left. The shop attendant came back over to us and I asked her, "Does that kind of thing happen a lot?"

The poor lady was just deflated. "All the time," she said.

It baffles me to this day.

| Atomic_tango

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Color clash

Quartet of classical musicians playing at a wedding outdoors near the river
Siberia Video and Photo / Shutterstock

Wedding band member here.

Had a bride flip her lid on me and my bandmates because our instruments weren't white or salmon colored to fit in with the decorations, and she was saying we would ruin the photographs.

Even though I was playing during the reception and all the photos were already taken.

| OrbitalCheese

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Cake face

angry bride with cake on head
Roman Shathkin | Shutterstock

I once worked in a bakery and we had this bride freak out that her cake wasn't right, and proceeded to smash it to bits with her fists. The thing is, it was another couple’s cake. She smashed the wrong cake.

The cops allowed her to wash her hands before placing her in handcuffs.

| foxlust

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No love for old blue eyes

angry bride
Maxim Sjmeljov | Shutterstock

The groom had planned and practiced singing a Frank Sinatra song to his new wife. During the reception, he took the mic and, with the band backing him up, began singing the song.

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His new wife suddenly stomped across the dance floor and up on the stage, grabbed the mic from him and said, "I hate that song. I don't want to hear it." They divorced a year later.

| AverageJoe5555

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Totally fabricated

woman hands close up sewing a wedding dress, white material decorated with lace, tailoring clothes, white fabric
Ina ART / Shutterstock

When I worked at a fabric store, if I heard someone mention the word “wedding,” I would intentionally go to another department to work.

Without fail, every bride to walk in needed 25 yards of a discontinued fabric, she wouldn’t have the SKU (just a little sample piece), and it would take hours to resolve.

If you couldn't magically summon an identical product out of thin air, she'd flip out because her wedding was in three days and now there were no table runners.

After a while, you just stop feeling sorry for them.

| standbyyourmantis

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T.M.I. bride

Portrait of beautiful bride talking on mobile phone on wedding day.
@9_fingers_ / Twenty20

I was supposed to be a bridesmaid in a wedding of a male friend. I had tried to befriend the bride because the groom was a childhood friend.

She was a total drama queen.

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She used our wedding chat to constantly discuss all of her problems with the groom — the ring was too small, they never talked about finances before getting engaged and now she's not sure he makes enough, can you get a prenuptial agreement for children you don't have yet?

I could write a novel about it.

Keep in mind that we were all friends with the groom long before we met her, but if we didn’t back her up, she’d say that we were "bad friends."

Eventually I was replaced as a bridesmaid, did not attend the wedding and do not speak to either of them anymore.

| notplus8

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Don't rain on their parade

An attractive woman bride in a fashionable wedding dress with an umbrella stands in the rain on sea
@lizaastark / Twenty20

Bride and groomzilla story here.

They had an outdoor wedding with no back-up plan (in case of rain) on the shores of Lake Michigan.

It poured rain that day, but the happy couple requested no umbrellas because they wanted to be able to see the faces in the crowd.

Well, they were able to see the very wet and angry faces of people whose clothes were ruined while the bride and groom stayed dry under the gazebo.

| MajorMustard

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It's not a competition

bride and groom kiss
Jack Frog | Shutterstock

I was a bridesmaid and my husband was a groomsman.

The bride banned us from looking at, speaking to or dancing with each other for fear of “out-cute-ing” the happy couple. We'd been married for 5 years at this point.

We complied with her wishes, but the request alone was outrageous.

| themackeroll

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Totally tan

tan girl
@stephanie.johnson0711 / Twenty20

She demanded that I grow my bangs out months before because, "I don't want anyone's hair blowing in the wind, it all has to stay perfectly still."

Also, I'm quite pale so she insisted I had to get a fake tan.

I originally bought a pale tan color to look more natural, but on the morning of the wedding she made me pile it on. It was pretty hot that day so subsequently, it stained my pale pink dress.

| gooperchickenface

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Blonde ambition

Offended and angry bride frowns looking at camera. Emotional model.
irinabdw / Shutterstock

I was a bridesmaid for a high school friend.

At the time, I had bleached my hair blonde, and it didn't turn out well. Before the wedding I had it changed back to my original color — the color I’ve had all my life (except for the awful month or so of bleach).

I showed up for the wedding ceremony, and the bride had an epic meltdown, because, “now all her bridesmaids wouldn't be blonde!”

Apparently, I wasn't asked to be a bridesmaid because she wanted me, just my blonde hair.

| rusty0123

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Maid of honor, made to do chores

Senior man pulling out some weeds at his huge garden during spring time, clearing garden after winter (color toned image)
Simon Kadula / Shutterstock

I was the maid of honor.

She demanded that I come pull weeds out of her parents’ yard a day or two before the wedding because the reception was at her parents’ house.

I had already gone through multiple ridiculous requests the week leading up to the wedding, so this one I put my foot down and said no.

Got through the wedding. No longer friends. She did send a gift when I got married. A centerpiece from her wedding, that I had helped make.

| radiolyss

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Shave the date

groom
Valery Petrushov | Shutterstock

My sister-in-law insisted that I shave off my beard for the photos — a beard I've had for over 10 years, and will probably have on my dying day (I look like a toddler clean-shaven).

She was eventually talked down by my brother, who pointed out that in a year it would look like they had a complete stranger in all their wedding photos.

| nowadaykid

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Pucker up

bridal and groom parties
IVASH Studio | Shutterstock

She was a typical bridezilla, but it was during the photos that it all went real crazy.

During one picture, her and the groom were taking a kissing pic and decided that all the bridesmaids and groomsmen needed to be doing the same.

Despite much objection, we all had to kiss these girls we didn't really know, and the whole thing was super awkward.

| sbashe5

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Her goose was cooked

sad girl in anticipation of an order
AlikeYou / Shutterstock

The hotel brought the wrong main meal during the reception, and rather than just shrug it off and get compensation later, the bride insisted they re-cook the whole thing from scratch.

For 100 people.

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This essentially brings the reception to an end as now all the guests have to wait an extra three hours to get dinner, pushing back the speeches to the end of the night.

The evening guests waited in the bar all night, then went home without ever seeing the happy couple. There was no time for dancing.

| sizemattersnot

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An epic meltdown

portrait of the bride shouts loudly covering his ears with his hands, furious. Natural light. Eyes closed
Viacheslav Boiko / Shutterstock

Last weekend, a bride walked into the church four hours early. 30 people were in the middle of prayer.

In her super short makeup robe, she freaked out because the church wasn’t set up for the wedding yet, so she picked up a chair and threw it at a trash can.

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Don't step on my shoes

Bride dresses shoes before the wedding ceremony. bride morning. Closeup detail of bride putting on high heeled sandal wedding shoes.
Andrii Medvediuk / Shutterstock

My cousin married a vapid dolt.

The night before the wedding, she found out the flower girl had the same shoes as her, in a much smaller size. She flipped her lid and made the mother of the flower girl buy different shoes for her before the ceremony.

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Bogey bride

Bride and groom driving a golf cart
Karen Grigoryan / Shutterstock

I worked at a golf course that did a lot of weddings.

By far the worst thing that a bride did was send her guests to the reception venue with no food or drinks, while she drove around after the ceremony to take pictures.

People from out of town had nowhere else to go, so they would bring their kids or elderly relatives to a golf course clubhouse. Meanwhile, the wedding party didn’t show up for at least two hours.

One time, a bride and groom drove around for almost five hours after the ceremony and showed up inebriated, then threw a fit that roughly half their guests had left.

| soundslikesally

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A spooky ceremony

Halloween bride
@nataliejosettepi / Twenty20

My sister got married last year.

First, she got married on Halloween for no reason other than she got a discount on the venue.

So even though it's my favorite holiday, and our kids wanted to trick or treat, we all had to haul ourselves to her wedding — which was more than two hours away.

I am one of four sisters. She initially asked all of us to be bridesmaids, but ended up with one bridesmaid, because only one of us could afford it.

She wanted us to buy $4,000 dresses, with custom-made jackets and wanted us to throw her a bachelorette in Las Vegas.

| Anonymous

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Turtle bride

turtle cake topper
zimmytws / Shutterstock
Turtle-y cool.

In her religion or culture or family (I don't really know) turtles were a symbol of good luck, and mere weeks before the wedding she came up with the idea to have turtles at the reception.

How you ask?

She wanted live turtles walking around the reception hall with lit candles glued to their backs. Lit flaming candles.

She saw no issues with this plan.

We tried to explain that the turtles could get crushed or stepped on, that it was cruel to glue candles to their backs and most importantly that a lit candle at ground level could start a fire.

She threw a fit of epic proportions.

We finally came to a solution of adding turtle themed things to the table decorations.

Because that wasn't good enough for our bridezilla, we teamed up with some local reptile wranglers to line the walls with giant aquariums that had live turtles swimming in them.

We had to have a staff for the turtles and extra insurance for the hall. But we pulled it off for the turtle bride.

| sarabeth616

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A never-ending to-do list

to do list
nd3000 / Shutterstock

Six years ago my childhood friend got married.

Her requests:

  • Refused to "approve" any shoe I picked, after claiming I could, "pick any shoe I wanted."
  • Dis-invited my parents after sending invitations.
  • Required we buy expensive makeup to cover up our visible tattoos.
  • No up-dos (I have long hair, this does not ever work out well. Ever.)
  • No pedicures or full sets of acrylic nails.
  • Demanded $3,000 in cash gifts for her honeymoon to Walt Disney World. She was offended when she realized no one was going to pay for that.

I ended up pulling out of the wedding and ended the friendship.

Their marriage lasted two years.

| rtasoiaa

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Flustered photographer

photographer angry
Aaron Amat / Shutterstock
Just let me do my job.

I was a wedding photographer and encountered a momzilla.

The bride's mom comes up to me at the beginning and tells me not to take any pictures of the groom's family. She said that they didn't help pay for the pictures, so they shouldn't have any pictures taken of them.

I told her that's not how it works and that I didn't feel comfortable doing that. She bickered with me a bit, and then left in a huff. Then she came back and said, "Well, just don't take pictures of his mother."

I ignored her request, and after a few drinks they were all dancing together.

| zohso

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Bride in the bush

bride groom camp
Benevolente82 / Shutterstock
A campground wedding? We heard it was in tents. (Get it?)

The bride wanted an unconventional wedding.

As in, a three-day-long campground potluck wedding for which the whole family was expected to fly cross-country, from New York to California.

We had to bring our own tents, sleeping bags and a hot homemade dish that you'd have to haul across 3,000 miles.

We respectfully declined to attend.

Another happened at a wedding I was blissfully not invited to, but my boyfriend was.

The bride forced the groomsmen to buy $4,000 Armani suits, but "couldn't afford" a traditional reception. Everyone who wasn't immediate family got kicked out right after the ceremony.

It's incredibly tacky to be so inconsiderate to your guests.

| Anonymous

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It's my party and I'll pay if I want to

happy  beautiful girlfriends having a great time at the hen party. Attractive young women bride floating on a big inflatable swan in pool.
Ulza / Shutterstock

My sister-in-law was a bridezilla.

She wanted both a bachelorette party and a bridesmaids' weekend at the spa with multiple activities (chocolate making, fancy champagne bar and dinner) for which we were expected to foot the entire bill.

I was a poor graduate student at the time and couldn't afford to attend. Ended up getting fired as bridesmaid a week before the wedding.

| dahliafluffy

I'm going to a wedding this summer. Not only is it a three-day event that involves camping and staying at the site for that long, the bride is asking for help setting up and bringing stuff.

I will only be driving down for the ceremony.

I think it's pretty tacky to force your guests to provide free labor for your wedding.

| abqat

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She wanted a free wedding planner

bride yell
yurakrasil / Shutterstock
What do you mean the world doesn't revolve around me?

The bride wanted her bridesmaids (of which there were nearly a dozen) to not only plan her a shower and bachelorette, but also plan the wedding. Seriously.

Each person was given a task like, "narrow down and present top three photographers." Others were tasked with arranging the flowers, calling DJs and so on.

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I was on the verge of tears about how stressed I was planning a wedding that wasn't even mine. None of my florists were acceptable. We live in a suburban area — there aren't that many to pick from.

Needless to say, the majority of us are no longer friends with this bridezilla.

| beachy5313

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In sickness and in debt

price tag on dress
Minerva Studio / Shutterstock
Wait, how much?!

The bridesmaid dress she picked out for me was $2,400.

I couldn't afford it and gently told her so. I found a similar dress with fabric that was the same color, so I asked her if it was okay if I wore that instead.

She cussed me out, told me I was ruining her wedding, that her "vision" required me to wear that dress. She asked if I couldn't just open a credit card to charge the dress on.

When I told her no, she cut off all contact with me, claiming that if I was a "true friend" I would make the finances work. She's never spoken to me again.

| Anonymous

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Not the time or place

bride cry friend scolding
CREATISTA / Shutterstock
Why did you wait until the last second?

The bride stormed out of her parents' house (wedding was on her parents' farm), in her underwear screaming about how the groom had ruined her life, she hated him, hated her dress, hated her hair, hated the whole wedding and how she was in love with Jeff (the groom's best man and cousin).

The wedding party just stood back and watched while the whole thing went down.

After a few minutes, I took a pizza box, rounded up my boyfriend and his sister and we decided it was probably a good time to head out.

We drove back to the hotel and stuffed our face with pizza.

| canadianmaplesyrup

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What a keeper

bride groom fighting
Ljupco Somokvski | Shutterstock

I saw a marriage fall apart before it even started. It was the most embarrassing moment I have ever had the misfortune of witnessing.

The bride arrived at the wedding — which was a huge event. Massive church. 300 guests. Everyone was seated and waiting for the bride’s grand entrance.

Suddenly the wedding music starts and everyone stands. By unhappy chance, I was seated behind the groom.

He turns around and as the bride is within earshot he said, “What the heck are you wearing?” The bride looked at him, understandably annoyed, and they started to bicker. The priest had to intervene. Nobody knew where to look.

The bride suddenly took off her veil and threw it on the floor yelling, “Well if that’s the way you feel, this is over!” and marched out screaming, “It’s off! It’s off!” The groom was left standing there with a red face.

For a brief moment everyone just stood there motionless. The groom disappeared momentarily. He returned looking disheveled and announced the wedding was off. We all left utterly shocked.

The reception went ahead however. It had been paid for and the bride’s mother, who said it would be a shame for all the food and drink to go to waste as it had already been paid for.

Quietest dinner I’ve ever attended.

| Rhys Hoffmann

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A dress for every day of the week

Attractive young woman is selecting bridal gown
Olena Yakobchuk / Shutterstock

One of my oldest friends turned out to be kind of a crazy bride.

The bridal party was twenty people — ten bridesmaids, ten groomsmen.

We were basically the unpaid wedding staff. We set up and completely decorated the venue for a 200-guest wedding.

The bride and her mother didn't want to pay the venue staff who would normally do this. What did they spend the budget on instead?

Seven wedding dresses.

Yes, throughout the course of the very long wedding ceremony and reception, the bride changed into all seven dresses. No, it wasn't a cultural thing.

They were seven nearly identical white satin dresses.

| kochirachira

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An impromptu cookout

Woman holding fruit tart taken straight out of oven
Agnes Kantaruk / Shutterstock

I was one of ten bridesmaids.

We were at a fancy venue, and it was a requirement that you use the catering staff in place. That didn't stop the mother of the bride from micromanaging in the kitchen.

We walk in, and she is yelling at the kitchen staff, telling them how they should be doing things. She sees us, and starts giving us tasks.

"Peel, chop!"

So there we are, sweating profusely, peeling and chopping.

Quick mental picture — I'm wearing a bridesmaids dress, with a fully open back and extremely deep V down the front. It was a garish purple color with a neon bustier underneath.

Impractical, unflattering and the absolute last thing I wanted to be cooking in.

| Anonymous

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Unfashionably late

bridesmaid late clock
yurakrasil / Shutterstock

The bride was two hours late to her own rehearsal. This was very aggravating to all of the professional staff at the church who were required to be there.

It was equally aggravating to the restaurant staff who were expecting a large party at 7:30 p.m., that didn't show up until 9:30 p.m., at a place that closed at 10 p.m.

And then when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the bride was 90 minutes late for her own wedding because she was getting her hair done.

A full church, everyone waiting.

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She finally arrives. Doesn't even apologize. Just interrupts everyone trying to talk to her to say, "Excuse me, but this is my wedding! I needed my hair to be perfect!"

| theicecapsaremelting

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Sash and hustle

Bride, guests and bridesmaids at  wedding ceremony outdoors
IVASHstudio / Shutterstock

One of my "best" friends was getting married, I was to be a bridesmaid.

I was between jobs at the time so I ended up taking a temporary position at the company she worked for.

About halfway through the job, I got a great opportunity for a full time, permanent position in my field.

I couldn't afford to not take it, so I ended my temporary position with her company as gracefully as I could.

She took this as an insult and dumped me as a bridesmaid.

To spite her, I showed up to the wedding in a fabulous dress with a hot date. We went to the reception and drank/ate as much free stuff as we could fill ourselves with.

| rheabs

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Pink-slipped

bridesmaids
CrissLari / Shutterstock

Bride told me what color dress she wanted me to wear — cotton candy pink (ugh). So I buy an ankle-length, chiffon cotton candy pink dress. Before I bought it, I sent her pics to confirm this dress was acceptable. She gives me the okay.

The day before the wedding, I'm helping decorate and I see the other bridesmaids' dresses.

They are above the knee, empire waisted and black with fuchsia waistbands (like what a tween girl would buy for a school dance).

The bride had no intention of telling me I had the wrong dress. She was just going to let me show up and look completely out of place.

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Thank goodness the store had more of the black/fuchsia dresses in stock. Even though I am totally the wrong body type for such a dress — I'm 5'8 and very curvy, squeezing into a dress intended for a 15 year old.

It was bad.

| riversong42

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Party animal

bridesmaids bachelorette party
Africa Studio / Shutterstock

The bride wanted two bachelorette parties. One that was raunchy and a secret from her mother, and another that was family appropriate.

We were to provide presents for her at both parties.

Then we were told that we needed to also bring her gifts for the bridal shower, and help pay for the cost of food and decorations for all three parties.

This was all on top of buying the bridesmaid dress, shoes and accessories. I had to tell her that I couldn't afford to put on all of her parties and supply a gift for each of them.

She then decided to cuss me out, call me selfish and ended our friendship.

It was horrible.

| Anonymous

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Duking it out over digs

girl fight
Ollyy / Shutterstock

The bride wanted us to have that whole "mismatched bridesmaid dress" aesthetic without giving the bridesmaids (there’s seven of us) the option of actually choosing our own dresses.

What she did was choose seven dresses, send a photo collage of the dresses in a group chat and have us duke it out via text as to who would get what dress.

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It was so awkward and hostile. I only know a few of the other bridesmaids, and I had no interest in arguing with strangers over text as to what dress I was going to wear. So I just kept quiet and took whatever was assigned to me.

Luckily I liked the dress I got, but the whole thing was like a bizarre social experiment gone wrong.

| catbiscuit

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Nashville, Chicago, oh no...

bride crying sad
Dean Drobot / Shutterstock
There's no pleasing you.

She wanted to have two bachelorette parties.

The first was in Nashville.

She cried and missed her fiancé the whole time, decided she hated country music and therefore Nashville, was upset that it snowed and finally sobbed and laid down in the middle of the street after finding out that her fiancé and groomsmen went to a casino for the weekend.

So we plan a second bachelorette weekend, this time to Chicago a month later.

We get there ... and she spends the whole time crying and missing her fiancé, deciding she hates snow and therefore Chicago and finally sobbing and laying down in the middle of the street because no one told our waiter it was "her special weekend."

| catsintinyshoes

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Martyr of honor

stressed out bridal shop worker
teerayuth oanwong / Shutterstock
A quintuple threat: best friend/florist/photographer/family counselor/personal assistant

I helped her plan her whole wedding, on a budget of around $3,000 for the entire thing.

  • I made 120 lavender vanilla votive candles with custom lace and ribbon accents.
  • I made all the bouquets/floral arrangements. She ordered about 500 red and white roses. None of them were de-thorned or trimmed down properly.
  • I made the centrepieces.
  • I hemmed all three of the bridesmaids outfits.
  • I spent 60% of the weekend keeping her family from killing each other over petty arguments.
  • And I took photos at the reception.

I saw her maybe three times after the wedding, and she hasn't called me in almost a year.

| jsqueaks

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All that glitters is tacky and overpriced

trying jewelry
@shanti / Twenty20

She wanted us to purchase matching necklaces and jewelry.

Sounded just fine and normal, until we found out it was tacky, overpriced garbage from her sister’s jewelry business (she was one of the bridesmaids too).

The sister had convinced the bride to wear her jewelry on her wedding day in order to promote the business — which included promoting it to us, of course.

I didn’t buy anything from her, but she really turned on the sales pressure. It was an awkward thirty minutes of her trying every sales tactic in the book.

Thankfully, the bride completely forgot about the idea and I found a similar necklace from Forever 21. Wore that to the wedding instead.

| horsetailfeathers

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Beauty was a beast

bad makeup on a woman
Vladimir Gjorgiev / Shutterstock

I was a bridesmaid for a friend who was a consultant for one of those multi-level marketing beauty companies.

So on top of having to buy a very expensive dress, shoes and jewelry, and having to pay for all my own hair and nail appointments, she made us buy our own “beauty kits” through her company.

This included moisturizer, face wash, as well as an entire face of makeup for the big day and the brush kit to apply it!

We still had to pay her friend to actually do our makeup on wedding day, with this makeup we bought.

Oh, and did I forget to mention this was a destination wedding?

Yeah, needless to say I re-evaluated our friendship after the wedding.

| 1radgirl

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The micromanaging mom

Confused woman doing facepalm gesture, touching head with palm looking at phone. Epic fail, reaction
@DimaBerlin / Twenty20

I was maid of honor. I planned a modest bridal shower since the bride specified that she didn't want anything too extravagant.

Then one day I get a message from her mother, saying how rude it was that I didn't invite her extended family. She then invited about 12 extra people.

I was kind of annoyed, but whatever. I let her know that it was going to cost about $25 per person.

She then sends me a long Facebook message, saying that I was a horrible maid of honor because I wasn't footing the bill for everyone.

I explained that I was still a university student, and it just wasn't within my means. She wouldn't cut me a break, saying that I "didn't know basic etiquette."

It was such a nightmare, I never want to be a bridesmaid ever again.

| startissue

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Spoiled rotten

Wedding preparation. Girlfriends of the bride help her in my shoes marriage shoes
Karkhut / Shutterstock

Bride had three showers!

One for groom’s side, one for her side and one couples shower. Attendance and gift was mandatory for each.

Registered at top-of-the-line store only, with all designer items on list, nothing under $200.

Had to buy an expensive dress, dyed shoes to match and specific hair ornaments.

Wedding was at 4:00 p.m., bridesmaids had to be at her house at 8:00 a.m. so the photographer could get shots of every moment of prep for the day.

Bridesmaids got no lunch, no dinner. We had to wait on her, hand and foot. It was miserable.

Her and her husband are now divorced.

| whereeveriwander

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Seeing red

Redhead woman is resting on bright green lawn
@natabene / Twenty20

I have red hair, I’ve been a redhead my whole life.

When I was a bridesmaid I was accused of deliberately being a redhead "just to be difficult," because all the dress colors the bride wanted looked great on her blonde bridesmaids, but terrible on me.

Then she got upset because my tattoos were going to be visible, despite the fact that her sister (and maid of honor) also had a large visible tattoo that no one ever said anything about.

Also, kinda like being a redhead, the whole time I’d known her I had visible tattoos.

I’m not quite sure why she asked me to be a bridesmaid.

| disloyalmouse

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Jekyll and Hyde bride

bride angry
Marina Tatarenko / Shutterstock
This is her in a good mood.

I was so excited to be a bridesmaid for my best friend of 15 years, but the wedding process brought to light every negative quality she possessed.

Everything we did for her was never enough. Duplicates of parties that weren’t good enough, spending more and more money to bring her “vision” to life, accusing us of "ruining" her wedding.

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I wish I dropped out. I regret it so much. I spent so much money I truly didn’t have because I wanted to give her a good experience and make her feel loved, but she was just so nasty about it.

It’s been nearly a year and we haven’t spoken. I never received a "thank you."

| vivagypsy

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Held hostage

bored woman at a fancy party
Nicoleta Ionescu / Shutterstock
A 15 hour wedding? Hope you brought comfortable dancing shoes.

At my coworker's 400-guest wedding, she had the officiant make an announcement that no one was allowed to leave before the first dance (planned for five hours into the 15-hour-long wedding event).

She had an attendant stationed in the parking lot to note who did not comply, so that their friendship could be terminated.

| soundlife

My best friend's coworker is getting married later this year, and oh, man, this girl's got some problems.

She's very religious and "pure," which, if that's your thing, is fine. Whatever.

However, she told my friend last week that she doesn't want anyone at her wedding who was born out of wedlock. Which includes my friend, who is the daughter of a teen mom.

| babblepedia

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Shake it off

wedding dance
@mz.giulia92 / Twenty20

Bride and groomzilla.

They had demands for specific gifts, followed by repeated online admonishments to "not buy gifts off the registry."

Apparently, the groom has expensive tastes, and any gift you tried to buy him would essentially be garbage compared to the stuff he prefers.

They selected completely inappropriate songs to play too early in the evening (when kids and older adults were still there).

While I get that they both wanted to get down and dirty at some point, you save the more mature songs for the end of the night.

You may love Dr. Dre, but Grandma doesn’t want to hear gangster rap.

| attheeolian

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Not so in love

Young groom’s reaction to seeing his bride for the first time.
@jverdin20 / Twenty20

I was best man at my best friend's wedding. I was standing next to the couple at the reception and the bride was a bit loaded (groom was sober).

She said really loudly, "I'm not really that in love with you, but I think you'll be a good husband." The look on his face sucked all the joy out of me. He tried to laugh it off and told her to hush, but he was tearing up as they walked away.

I was so sad for my friend. They are still married after five years, but I never know what to think about them and I've never spoken to him about it.

| winkers

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The return of the nerd

nerd kiss hot girl
ZoneCreative / Shutterstock

I bartend weddings so I get to see like about thirty a year, and probably the craziest thing I've ever seen happened just a few weeks ago.

It was the end of the night, the bar was closed and the bride is leaning against the bar.

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Some really dorky guy comes up to her and starts telling her how he thought they always were more than friends, and how he always felt they had a deep connection.

As if to just shut this guy up, the bride pulls his face toward her, plants a big kiss on him, says, "There." And then walks away.

| philmorrisjunkie

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Sick sister

The drunk girl with a wine glass
Petrenko Andriy / Shutterstock

My sister was sort of a bridesmaid-zilla. She was totally inappropriate at the wedding, at least.

For starters, she got completely loaded in front of her two young kids.

Then, she spent the night flirting with one of the groomsmen who had a girlfriend.

Somehow, it became my responsibility to drive her home. At the beginning of the hour-long drive from the reception hall to home, she got sick and threw up on herself.

The kicker? This wedding was in December, so I had to sit with the smell of throw-up for an hour because it was too cold to roll down the windows.

| khulling

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Clear out your savings

Woman showing empty pockets without money.
life-literacy / Shutterstock

It was a best friend of mine who was very frugal, so I figured she was going to have a reasonable wedding and bachelorette party. I had shared my monetary concerns with her too — that I worked and went to school and couldn’t take off much time. She didn’t have that many friends so it was only me and one other girl as bridesmaids.

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She asked us to hand-make all her decorations for the wedding (I put in 15 hours a week hand-making decorations, all outside of working and going to school full time).

Then she planned a week long bachelorette party out of town, also asking us to foot the bill, not to mention our dresses. I wanted to find something affordable, but she picked designer dresses that we had to pay for ... never worn it again.

I spent nearly $1K on the whole ordeal, not to mention I did her hair and makeup for free for the wedding.

I just felt largely taken advantage of and unappreciated.

| SpectralShifter

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She didn't want to marry down

woman with geeky man
ZoneCreative / Shutterstock

Her wedding invitation was a big, heavy thing.

I RSVP'd via text, because I didn't know how long it would take for a mailed parcel to get to her. She freaked out that I wasn't doing it properly. It cost me $5 to mail it, but okay, fine.

I ended up getting a call shortly after she got my response telling me only my son and I were invited, not my husband. I asked why and she refused to answer.

I found out through a bridesmaid that the bride was embarrassed to be "marrying down." She was always the "hot one" of our friend group, and she thought her husband wasn't good looking enough. She decided to not invite any of the good looking husbands of her female friends.

| 2345pk

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Bring your own flask

man with flask
Just dance / Shutterstock
Heck, bring two.

Went to a dry wedding because it went against the bride and groom's supposed "religious values."

The bride refused to let anyone bring alcohol, and the wedding was in the middle of nowhere.

The ceremony took place, and the reception was several hours later. There was absolutely nothing to do.

There was no entertainment, no food and no drinks. There weren't even tables set up so people could sit down.

It felt endless.

Five hours later, the bridal party stumbles in. They're completely loaded. They had alcohol for themselves. I guess those religious values only applied to her guests.

I grabbed my wife by the arm and we left.

| vlaed

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A floral fiasco

woman with dead flowers
Lolostock / Shutterstock

I used to work at a bakery that did custom wedding cakes.

This bride's cake design included fresh flowers, so the day before the wedding, she drops off a bouquet and walks out.

My supervisor quickly noticed that her flowers were dying and looked terrible. The bride wasn't answering her phone, so we were at a loss. We use the flowers, but take pictures just in case she decides to complain.

The bride arrives to pick it up the next day. She literally screams in disgust upon seeing the cake. She yells at my supervisor saying that he ruined the flowers on purpose.

My supervisor tried to show her the photos he took, but it just made her even angrier.

She tried to pick up the cake and throw it on the ground, but thankfully her sister stopped her.

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Tony who?

bride talk to the hand
HBRH / Shutterstock

I attended a wedding in Las Vegas, and the bride really wasn’t handling the day well. Afterwards, we were all supposed to go to dinner at a restaurant in the Paris casino.

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The bride was walking through the casino in her wedding gown when a man standing near the bar congratulated her and offered to buy her and her new hubby a drink.

She gave him an angry, “No!” Then kept marching along.

My jaw dropped. I asked her if she knew who that was. She didn’t.

“That was Tony Bennett,” I said.

She blinked at me.

“The singer?!” I said incredulously. “He’s headlining the casino tonight!”

She was really embarrassed after that and she finally started to loosen up and be nicer for the rest of the evening.

| markdraws

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Covered up

woman in mosquito netting
Simone van den Berg / Shutterstock
Not taking any chances.

My mother in law is crazy.

Her favorite thing to do is make people deeply uncomfortable, and hardly anyone talks to her for that reason.

Anyhow, her one daughter had an outdoor wedding in 2002 — the summer when West Nile virus was all over the news.

So, to get attention, she threw a giant fit, and showed up to the wedding wearing a pith helmet she had brought back from Australia, in camouflage, with mosquito netting and refused to take any of it off. She is in all the wedding photos like this, the mother of the bride, looking entirely pleased with herself.

| Anonymous

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Kicked out of the picture

woman alone arms crossed
Aaron Amat / Shutterstock
Sure, I'll just stand over here until you're done.

At my cousin's wedding, the bride's brother's girlfriend was a bridesmaid. The rest of the bridal party were either close friends or family.

When it came time to take the wedding pictures, she made us take two of every one: One with the girlfriend and another exactly the same, except without the girlfriend. She wanted those extra photos as insurance, in case her brother and his girlfriend broke up. In her words, she "didn't want to look at pictures years down and see a stranger in all of them."

The girlfriend played along, but you easily could tell she felt really upset about it.

| Anonymous

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The bride wants it to be "her year"

bride head hands sad
Olesia Bilkei / Shutterstock

I am currently in the throes of bridezilla trauma with my sister who is getting married in October. Here are just a few of things she has done:

  • Told me over text that my younger sister and I were no longer allowed to be her bridesmaids because we weren't "enthusiastic" enough, referring to the fact that we have yet to buy her something from her outrageously expensive registry.

  • Told my sister that she had to dye her purple hair back to blonde, because it'll "take away the attention that's supposed to be on me."

  • I'm bisexual, and was ordered to bring a "normal" date or none at all — normal meaning a guy only.

She does all of this because it is "her year" and it's supposed to be all about her.

| syzgytooms

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A glass half full kind of gal

stylish happy bride and groom toasting with glasses of champagne and having fun with bridesmaids and groomsmen inside of retro car. emotional moment, space for text. wedding party
Bogdan Sonjachnyj / Shutterstock

A couple of years ago I attended a wedding of an old buddy. Wedding went fine, but the reception is where it went downhill.

The bride has a full glass of beer in her hand. She screams at her husband, "Get me another beer!"

He quietly says to her, "You have one already, so just finish that."

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She gives him the most deathly-evil-wife-glare I'd ever seen, takes her full beer, holds it up in front of her face, turns over the glass and dumps the full pint out on to the carpet.

She stares at him and then says, "Now I don't have a beer, so get me another beer."

| doctorhypothesis

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Living well is the best revenge

happy bride and groom
pha88 / Shutterstock

I was a bridesmaid in a bridal party and attended the wedding with my fiancé.

The bride refused to allow him to be in any of the informal friend and family photos, because, "Well, these things don't always work out, and I don't want to have guess who this person is ten years from now."

Well, it has been ten years and I am still happily married to that fiancé.

The bridezilla, on the other hand, has had repeated separations and is on her second divorce after an ugly breakup and a nasty custody battle. But hey, "these things don't always work out."

| randumname

It's not just bridezillas that the wedding party has to deal with — sometimes it's the grooms too.

Here, the traumatized bridesmaids and groomsmen of Reddit share the most outrageous demands they received during the weddings they’ll never forget.

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The literal groomsman

Close-up of a man's hand brushing off fallen dandruff on shoulder
Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock
Grooming the groom.

The groom asked me to "keep an eye" on his tux for signs of dandruff. (He had a bad case of it at the time.)

I told him to choose a light-colored tux, but the bride insisted the guys wear black — a color that, of course, showed every particle of dandruff.

So I placed a small brush in my pocket, and every so often would "dust him off" as discreetly as possible throughout the day.

| Back2Bach

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A little blood sacrifice

Woman in pain, touching her ear
pathdoc / Shutterstock
She made a pointed demand.

The bride bought us all matching earrings (the cheap, dangly kind from Claire’s, probably), and we were like, "Aw! Thank you!" being grateful for the gift. She said, "Yes, now all of you have to wear them."

My other friend, who was also a bridesmaid, whipped around to look at me knowingly, and that's when I spoke up to remind the bride that my ears weren't pierced (but that I was still grateful for the gift).

She made it clear that she did not care that my ears were not pierced and she used her trusted manipulation techniques to guilt me into trying to pierce my ears mere hours before the wedding.

I succeeded, albeit in painful and gory fashion. I had to go down the hall and ask her brother for his boutonnière pin; even he could not convince his sister that her day would still be lovely despite my lack of earrings.

So bride's brother and I went into the kitchen of the church and straight up "Parent Trapped" the piercings, which I actually performed entirely by my own hand.

I had to hold ice and napkins to my earlobes right up until walking out, since blood was still running from the backs of my ears.

Upon leaving that wedding, I 100% let that friendship fade into the background and we do not speak anymore.

| imhereforthekittehs

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A culinary crisis

Roasted duck with pear, marinated in red wine and mascarpone rose
Maksim Toome / Shutterstock
That's a lot of duck.

Got asked to stand up for a wedding during culinary school for a high school friend.

She wanted to know if I could help with dinner. I said sure and asked her what she wanted help with, figuring it was prep work.

No, she wanted me to handle the whole dinner. As in cooking for 200 people, as a 19-year-old having only done a year of culinary school.

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She also wanted me to help pay for the food I'd be making, as their gift. She wanted me to make Caesar salad and potatoes au gratin and roast enough ducks for 200, by myself, and pay for about half of it.

I was learning how to be a pastry chef. I explained, and she just stared at me blankly. I told her I could do the cake easily enough, but she insisted she wanted a “real” cake, from a bakery.

I told her there wasn't any feasible way I could do it, not only because that's crazy, but because I literally wasn't trained to do it, and I got disinvited from the wedding.

They apparently served bagged salad, boxed potatoes and roasted chicken from Walmart.

| notasugarbabybutok

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An all-inclusive package

Professional photographer holding camera with lovely wedding couple on display
New Africa / Shutterstock
Well, shoot.

I'm a photographer, and my cousin wanted me to shoot their wedding for free as a gift to them.

Wedding was also on the other side of the country, and they wouldn't be paying for my flight or room. My pricing typically starts at a few grand and goes up.

I was still willing to do it until my cousin wanted me to also throw in finished prints, 350 retouched pics ... basically about $3,000 worth of photo work.

Suddenly I came down with a case of "something else to do that weekend.”

She still doesn't talk to me, and that's just fine. She never really talked to me before either, come to think of it.

| VictorianGasbubble

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A risqué request

Women in heels, showing their legs
Vershinin89 / Shutterstock
She saw it on Pinterest.

My girlfriend was a bridesmaid, and the bride wanted one of those pictures where the bridesmaids lift their dresses suggestively and the bride pretends to act all shocked.

None of the girls were really down for it, including my girlfriend. Not to mention, the groomsmen and family members were hanging around.

The bride got really upset because she saw the same kind of picture on Pinterest a few days earlier and wanted to replicate it.

She stormed off in the middle of taking pictures and didn't return for about half an hour, delaying the reception and the hungry wedding guests.

| iamb3comedeath

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The token white boy

Cheerful young man
Majdanski / Shutterstock
He was a big hit.

I am an American living in Japan. I'm young and look very much like the classic Caucasian of Asian stereotypes regarding Americans.

One day, one of my local friends told me that one of her friends was getting married and wanted to invite me to be a groomsman at the wedding. I had no idea who these people were — although I thought I'd met the bride once at a party.

It turns out that, at least in the part of Japan where I live, it's prestigious to have a foreigner attend the wedding. It makes you look like you have international connections.

I was happy to do it and I love anything to do with Japanese culture, so I attended. And since I don't speak much Japanese, I was able to feign (without outright lying) that I was good friends with the bride and groom.

My friend tells me I was a big hit.

Some foreigners here will actually rent themselves out to be guests at weddings or attend birthday parties.

| Rongorongo2

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Best man … for life

Men shaking hands
SmartPhotoLab / Shutterstock
Big responsibilities.

In college I was a best man for a wedding where the bride demanded we all wear designer suits. I had to sell a guitar to afford just the rental. I had no money before, and after I had no money and one less guitar.

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Then, at the reception, the groom pulled me aside and told me it was my job as best man to make sure their marriage went well. I was supposed to check in and help them with marriage stuff to make sure they didn't get divorced.

I looked him in the eye and said, “I can't be responsible for your marriage.”

He didn't talk to me from that second until just a couple months ago. Six years after his wedding.

| bearded_booty

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The sister-sitter

Bored man sitting next to woman at a table
Roman Chazov / Shutterstock
What was she so afraid of?

I was assigned to make sure that the bride's perfectly well-mannered, calm, polite and downright delightful sister "behaved herself.”

The sister in question was a 40-something-year-old soccer mom who looked like the wildest thing she did was sampling grapes at the grocery store.

Through the reception, the bride kept making sure that I watched the sister like a hawk. You know, instead of dancing or enjoying myself.

I asked the other bridesmaids if they knew the backstory. Everyone knew the bride feared her sister's supposed outbursts. But no one had actually ever witnessed one in their 20+ years of knowing the bride.

| [deleted user]

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The things we do for love

bride and her sister smiling
popovartem.com / Shutterstock
We don't get to choose our family.

After my sister's engagement, she asked for my measurements, a photo of my tattoo and if I had any requests for the dress. I said that I needed to be able to wear a bra and if she didn’t want to see my tattoo, she should get a dress that covers it.

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She ordered a dress two sizes too small, backless, with a deep plunge front that couldn’t be returned or exchanged. She said, "Oh, you'll be able to fit in it by the wedding, right?"

I lost 15 kilograms to fit in it in nine weeks. The dress made creaking noises as I zipped it. Why ask for measurements if you're going to ignore them?!

Oh, and remember my tattoo? It was sprayed with makeup until it looked like a giant bruise and the body paint ruined my husband's suit. The tattoo was of our mother on her wedding day.

She made me get a very dark spray tan (then complained it was still lighter than the other bridesmaids' tans) and dye my hair (it was an auburn, chin-length bob, but I had to have a brown updo).

I refused to pay $300 for a full set of hair extensions, so I had to wear hair pieces. They looked like dead guinea pigs.

She still brings up how I ruined her wedding video by almost falling over in the background. We had to wear six inch stilettos. On sand.

| shinyshinyredthings

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Hogwarts house pride

Three beautiful european bridesmaids in red, yellow and blue dresses posing outside a church
Olia Sequeira / Shutterstock
The Sorting Hat has spoken.

My wife was in the bridal party of a mutual friend's wedding. The theme was a pop-culture mashup of video games, Harry Potter and Doctor Who.

The bridal party had to wear bridesmaid dresses in Hogwarts house colors based on a 50-question online quiz. Groomsmen also had to wear 10th Doctor converse sneakers (in their house colors) with their tuxes.

For that matter, everyone who attended was asked to take the quiz and come dressed in appropriate house colors.

Kinda ridiculous, but a fun wedding.

| ThatGrumpyGoat

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Cheesin' for no reason

Wedding photographer in action, taking a picture of the bride and groom
Olena Zaskochenko / Shutterstock
We assume they didn't make a pit stop at Alcatraz.

Bride wanted photos of the wedding party at every San Francisco landmark.

Four hours driving around, in a limo held together with duct tape, to cheese in front of each corny tourist spot.

She had a videographer along with us and wanted only the natural sounds recorded, so no one was allowed to talk.

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I had to pick up my wife and two-month-old to bring to the church ceremony immediately after, since the bride left me little time (and no offer to pick them up during the photo session).

We got stuck in bridge traffic, so I was 10 minutes late for the scheduled wedding start time. The bride kicked me out of the wedding and drove around again to reshoot all of the pictures.

| GalantGuppie

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Sweating for the wedding

Sporty young people lying on yoga mats and exercising at the gym
LightField Studios / Shutterstock
This was no simple case of dropping a few pounds.

I had a friend who was a bridesmaid, and the bride gave them a workout routine printed on pink card stock. "Sweating for the Wedding" to the extreme.

It had daily stuff to do, low calorie diet meal ideas, etc. I was shocked but I knew the bride and how vain she was.

The bridesmaid told me later that they all found out the bride had not made generic exercise sheets but individual ones. Each bridesmaid had specific workouts given to her based on what the bride thought they needed to work on. Never mind that the bride was not a trainer and didn't work in a gym.

I told her she needed to nope the heck out of that wedding.

| daniyellidaniyelli

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What the bride wants

Wedding to do list top view.
Prostock-studio / Shutterstock
Maid of honor or wedding planner?

The wedding was in nine months. She spent the next five months giving me tasks like pricing venues, floral arrangements, etc. to plan this wedding. Both the bride and groom didn’t have a lot of money to throw around, so I asked if they had a budget in mind.

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She sat down with me and started telling me about how she wants the groom in a baby blue velvet tux (from prom), bridesmaids all in purple and canary yellow chiffon dresses (eight bridesmaids in total), and the groomsmen in camo and royal blue.

She wanted a seven-tiered cake with "that white edible putty." She wanted a fried chicken dinner. And potato salad. Enough to feed 50 people.

She then told me that I, her maid of honor, would plan this wedding for her as my gift to them. Keep in mind that the question I asked was, “Do you have a budget in mind?”

After I asked again, she said I'd have to figure out all that money stuff.

I was working and going to school at the time. I told her I couldn't commit all that time and resources to this. She told me I was selfish and told me not to bother attending her wedding. She stopped talking to me and blocked me on social media.

| Sparky_Burns

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Rainbow connection

Bride and groom in bright clothes on the bench
maximus19 / Shutterstock
This couple went a little overboard with the theme.

The whole wedding was rainbow. Decorations, the cake, the favors, you name it.

I know what you're thinking, a rainbow theme wouldn't be too bad. You're wrong.

The bride had zero concept of hues, so there were neons, pastels and jewel tones all together in a small room. It was a multicolored circus, where we had the hideous fake bright blue and teal sunflower centerpieces mixed in with the soft mint green chair bows, and the violent hot pink, lime green and neon purple drapes hanging from the ceiling.

Never have I seen a grown man look so unhappy wearing a lavender waistcoat as I did when I was forced to dance with my matching groomsman.

And to make matters worse, despite having boning and full cups in our dresses, we all had to wear bras "to avoid slips.” After I got caught taking mine off and stuffing it in some random aunt's purse, the bride would check to make sure we were wearing them every hour.

Oh, and we weren't allowed to bring dates — which, once I got over the initial insult, was good because I would have died of embarrassment.

| canadienne_

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Wedding weights

The witnesses of the newlyweds hold the golden crowns in the church over the heads of the bride and groom. Back view
Stakhov Yuriy / Shutterstock
A testament to their friendship.

My best man had to hold a five-inch mini crown over my head nonstop for 40 long minutes of the ceremony — a feature of my bride's Greek Orthodox church tradition.

The maid of honor visibly outperformed him, with half as many right and left arm switches.

His shoulders burned for days.

| AWD_YOLO

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Bridesmaid blues

Bridesmaids looking disapproving
Universal Pictures

She asked 16 girls to be bridesmaids. In the year-and-a-half between the engagement and wedding, all but six dropped out (three were her sisters).

She wanted 16 separate shades of blue and 16 different styles of dresses for each bridesmaid and then threw a fit when the store didn't have that many options.

She demanded everyone pay for a week-long bachelorette party in Vegas (including her share) and then got mad when some people opted out.

Her parents gave her a $20K budget, but she ended up spending $100K and demanding they pay for it. They took out a loan and they are still paying it off.

She wanted everyone to have the same shade of hair, so she asked the two blonde bridesmaids to dye their hair (they declined).

She paid for nothing for the bridesmaids but demanded that we purchase specific shoes, jewelry, dress, hair, makeup, etc. On top of that, she wanted us to stay an entire weekend at the hotel she was getting married at.

All told, costs for the wedding — not including a gift — were well over $2K per bridesmaid.

| hotelgirl985

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She told the bridesmaids to sleep in the hotel lobby

couple near reception desk in hotel
FabrikaSimf / Shutterstock

The bridezilla had already made lots of demands, monetary and otherwise, over the last four to five months. By the time the wedding was over, bridesmaid one and I (bridesmaid two) just wanted to get home. The bride was staying in the hotel where the wedding was held, so bridesmaid one and I said our goodbyes and told her we were going to leave for home. The bride said no, we must stay with her until the flight in the early morning. So we stayed back in her hotel room just gossiping about the wedding. Then the new husband came to the room and wanted to sleep. We said our goodbyes again and tried leaving.

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The bride did not let us leave and told us to wait downstairs, she would come hang out. We waited in the lobby for about 30 minutes then texted her that, “We've called the Uber, have a good flight.” She suddenly got "concerned" for us and told us it's too late at night to take an Uber.

She told us to spend the night at the hotel lobby (not one with a 24h coffee shop, just a couple of couches and a weird receptionist) and leave at the same time as her flight.

We went home, and we still grumble about it to each other whenever we meet.

| Miserable_Bat3909

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The bride pushed too far

Bride and groom dancing with cash on the bride's wedding gown
Shutterstock / EvgeniiAnd

I have been friends with the bride for more than 15 years. But in the last four years I have been feeling disconnected from her. We have such different hobbies, interests and friends. Most of the time, she is not able to relate to any of my interests and she barely listens and ignores what I say.

When she got engaged, it made me extremely happy and I boasted about it everywhere. They started to plan their wedding and I was the one who was expected to help them and be the main bridesmaid. I was happy to help — I didn’t mind staying up late after midnight to be on the phone with her and help them choose a dream destination.

Day by day, she voiced ridiculous requests that made me feel really uncomfortable. The wedding place must have a big dining room for 150 people and cannot be separated because everybody must be able to hear the speeches and cry.

She got mad at one of her friends because she hesitated on going to Thailand for her bachelorette party due to her job and the upcoming peak season. I wasn’t thrilled either, because I know not everyone would be able to go due to each one’s financial, occupational or family reasons.

I tried to be diplomatic and persuade her that we can have it as an option and come up with an alternative solution, since I believe she would be happier if all of her friends could come instead of choosing a destination where half of them wouldn't be able to make it.

The last straw, however, was when she boasted that her fiance allowed her to spend all of his money on the wedding and that she is sorry that my boyfriend doesn’t do something like that for me. From that moment, I didn't want to spend time with her anymore and distanced myself from her. It has been almost three months.

| Daybeforetmw

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Revenge of the lazy eyes

Funny little girl in glasses scratching her head doubts, makes decision isolated on yellow studio background
ivan_kislitsin / Shutterstock

It was 1996. I was 12, and felt very dependent on my glasses. Like, panicked without them, security blanket-style, especially during the chubby, zitty years. My dad’s girlfriend, on the other hand, hated my glasses and was not shy about letting me know how dorky they were, and how contact lenses could “really improve things,” looks-wise.

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She insisted I remove them for wedding photos, but I protested. I claimed that my astigmatism gave me a slight lazy eye (a lie, but I can drift-cross my eyes one at a time, so she believed me) and asked to keep them on. She, however, decided I could “just concentrate” for a couple minutes without them.

I was pissed that I couldn’t look like myself in the photos, especially because the glasses weren’t clunky or bold like the trendy ones today. Just plain, small gold ovals. It was declared bullshit by everyone, and most people were Team Glasses, but stepmom was the bride, so she ultimately pulled the “but it’s my wedding!!” card, and got her way. No glasses.

So, in true fit of tween righteousness and pique, every time they asked me to be in a photo on their wedding day, I removed my glasses and… I crossed my eyes almost completely.

| newenglandnoir

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Texting the bridezilla

Close up of girl in wedding dress with pink nails texting on her mobile phone
L.F / Shutterstock

Bridezilla:

So with my wedding … are you still coming? Because I was thinking maybe you shouldn’t. Like I don’t mean to be harsh. But I thought you’d be over what happened by now.

But you cried today just because some lady had a baby, it’s just a bit dramatic and lots of people don’t know yet because apparently you aren’t ready to tell people. I think if you don’t tell people you shouldn’t come. Like I’m trying to be as nice about this as I can but people will be asking why you aren’t pregnant and I don’t want them distracted from making me feel special.

What happened sucks but I thought you’d had long enough to get over it so it wouldn't be a problem. Like maybe you should announce it on Facebook so people know.

Bridesmaid:

Uh. Okay I need a minute to process what you just said to me.

Bridezilla:

Don’t take it the wrong way. You know I’m right and you just need to move on. I want my wedding to be about me. I don’t want it to be ruined by you, no offense. You would do the same. If you don’t want to announce it then just don’t come.

Bridesmaid:

So let me get this straight. You don’t want me at your wedding because the fact that my baby died might ruin YOUR day. Like I just want to make sure I have this right. Because if that’s what you’re saying, that is super messed up, dude. As in, don’t worry about me being at your wedding because we won’t be friends. So I want to be sure I understand.

Bridezilla:

You’re twisting my words. I just want to be the most important person on the day. And if people see that you’re not pregnant, they will ask, and then it will take the attention off me. I just thought you could announce it now so by the wedding, no one will talk about it. I don’t think it’s such a hard thing to do.

Bridesmaid:

You know what. You enjoy your wedding without me. I hope the loss of our friendship is worth all of the attention you so desperately need. You giant trash pile of human.

| Rockytop555

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Breaking vases

Broken vase on tile floor
Shutterstock / badboydt7

I went to my cousin's wedding — let's call his fiance, Beth. The ceremony was gorgeous, in a garde with the couple under a vine-covered pergola. While the gentiles were having their pictures taken, I noticed the maid of honor having strong words with the bride.

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The groom's sister, a bridesmaid, let's call her Claire, told me that Beth was freaking out on the maid of honor to put back on the earrings that all the bridesmaids were wearing or she would ruin the pictures. The maid of honor was having a reaction to them. Claire said her earlobes were so swollen she couldn't put the backs on.

Dinner was inside, buffet style. I was in the ladies room when I heard yelling in the hallway. The bride was freaking out on her planner and the catering manager because there wasn't enough food, even though BOTH of them had advised to up the amount because at a buffet you can't control portion sizes. The chef says he can add more sides and salads for a fee, but she's basically screwed on the prime rib and chicken.

Somehow Beth had found out that in another dining room there was a 50th wedding dinner for a couple, and they were having prime rib too. She demanded he give her any remaining roast. He says no, so she then screams at her planner to get it for her or she's fired. I leave the ladies room because I want to see faces.

The chef is clearly astounded and the planner says there is no way that she's going to ruin her reputation or working relationship with the venue over a situation that Beth created by not following their advice. Beth grabs a vase of flowers off the side table between the restroom doors, smashes it to the floor and screams “you’re fired!”

| More_Hold4833

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How was I supposed to know the bride wore BLUE?

Young attractive happy Asian woman gesturing pointing at copy space, standing position at the office.
Butsaya / Shutterstock

So I (f18) was asked to play the harp at a family friend’s wedding. Normally, I would ask for payment beforehand, but since it was a family friend, they asked if they could just pay me at the reception and I told them yes. The dates worked out for me, and it was set in a church about one hour from my house.

I showed the dress I planned to wear to the bride when we went over the music she wanted and at the rehearsal, but only on a hanger. It looks like it would be ugly on a hanger, as it’s just navy blue with long sleeves and floor length, but it’s surprisingly pretty.

I got to the venue about four hours early, so my harp would have time to acclimate to the room. When I got there, the bride's mother came to give me my corsage, and when she saw me, she demanded I change my dress.

I laughed because I’ve known her for years, and then realized she wasn’t joking. I asked what was wrong with it and she said that the bride went with a non-traditional dress that was also navy blue. I panicked a little, because this is her wedding and I felt really bad, but she and her groom had approved it twice.

I told the mother, and she asked if I had any other color I could change into. I didn’t. She then told me to go to the bridal shop 20 minutes away, and buy a new dress. I refused, because those dresses would cost about what I was getting paid for this wedding, and I told her I couldn’t afford it. I felt bad, but she begrudgingly walked away.

The actual wedding went smoothly, and after everyone else had left the church and congratulated the bride, I stopped to talk to her. I explained what the mother said, and she said that it was fine and that they weren’t thinking when they approved my dress.

At the reception, when I talked to the mother about payment, she refused to pay me. I didn’t want to cause a scene, but the bride came over and heard us talking.

This time, she was also upset with me and also refused to pay me. I didn’t know what to do. As my parents were busy and couldn’t attend this wedding, I didn’t have anyone there to back me up.

I got my parents involved when I got home, and my dad talked to his friend (the father of the groom) who was there when they approved the dress, and he got the payment for me. I still feel really bad, but I don’t think there was anything I could have done.

| * signed_under_duress*

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Say no to the dress

Woman looking surprised at price tag on dress
Shutterstock / Nicoleta Ionescu

My college roommate asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. I agreed. Then the bridesmaid dress she picked out for me was $2,400. I couldn't afford it and gently told her so.

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I found a pattern for a similar dress and fabric that was the same color and type, so I asked her if it was okay if I made the similar dress, or perhaps we could go dress shopping together to find something in my budget. All of the bridesmaids were going to be wearing the same color, but she'd picked out different styles of dresses for each of us, so it wasn't as if I would stick out like a sore thumb.

She cussed me out, told me I was ruining her wedding, that her "vision" required me to wear THAT dress, and can't I just get a credit card to charge the dress on?

When I told her no, she cut all contact with me, claiming that if I was a true friend I would make the finances work. She's never spoken to me again. She'd been like a sister to me up until that point. One of the dresses she'd picked out for another bridesmaid was $300, by the way. I was pissed when I found that out.

| Anonymous

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No broke friends

Two women drinking at bar
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I had a friend that wanted a destination bachelorette party/weekend.

I was interning at the time for minimum wage/part-time so I was pretty broke. I saved and managed to make it work, but it was tight and I wasn't going crazy with the drinks and shots and whatnot like everyone else was.

She pulled me aside and almost kicked me out of the wedding because I wasn't being "supportive" enough.

| TinCanBanana

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Red with anger

Young woman with short, bright red hair smiling
Shutterstock / popcorner

Last year, I cut off 11 inches and dyed my hair bright red (formerly dirty blonde/strawberry blonde-ish).

The wedding was a year out (happened this past weekend actually) and the bride threw a fit. How could I so selfishly ruin her wedding by having short red hair when all the other bridesmaids had long blonde hair (like I used to have). She got over it since I wasn't changing my hair or paying for recolor/extensions.

| 86753ohnien

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No pink for me

Bridesmaids in pink dresses
Shutterstock / RomanSo

My sister was on vacation and saw this really nice, green dress and ended up buying it, thinking she'd wear it to her brother-in-law's wedding a few months later.

The bride was pissed and told her she needed to wear pink because that was the theme.

My sister's daughter was the flower girl and my sister even paid for the ugly, pink flower girl dress.

But she refused to wear pink herself, considering she wasn't even in the bridal party.

| Thatsallimgoingtosay

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No pain no gain

Woman sitting next to wedding dress looking tired
Shutterstock /LightField Studios

My bridezilla friend told me I wasn't allowed to take pain medication (for my lupus) at her wedding.

She was afraid I'd be "too out of it" to perform my maid of honor duties. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. is a long time to be on your feet without a break and without pain meds.

I sent them off to their honeymoon and drove the eight hours home in misery.

| Manateecups

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Dye your hair and empty your bank account

Blonde woman getting her hair done
Shutterstock /Michelle Aleksa

She asked me to dye my hair brown for the wedding because she “wanted to be the only blonde.”

I suggested that instead I just give up my bridesmaid spot. [I'm] thankful to this day since I heard the dresses and bachelorette party cost all the other girls more money than I make in a month. | kmmurky

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Table cloth nightmare

Table at wedding reception
Shutterstock /Iryna Mandryka

[The] bride started crying because the tablecloth was the wrong shade of purple. So, she thought the whole wedding was “ruined.”

Nevermind that she was marrying a nice man, all her friends had flown in for the wedding, her family was all there, etc.

But no, the tablecloth was the wrong shade. We spent an hour consoling her and fixing up her makeup, while the guests waited.

| smackkcat

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Long hair or no sister

Young woman with short hair in pink bridesmaid dress
Shutterstock / Selenophile

My sister is getting married soon and picked me as one of her bridesmaids.

I’ve always had short hair as I think it looks best on me, but I usually keep it chin length and not shorter. Last month when discussing wedding plans and the bridesmaids final look, my sister said that she expects me to get hair extensions for the wedding since my chin-length bob was “way too short” and that all the other bridesmaids had longer hair and my short hair would be odd and attention grabbing.

I told her that I won’t be getting hair extensions as I don’t like how I look with long hair and that I didn’t want to spend money on extensions that I’ll have on for one night only. That was the end of that conversation, but last week she texted me asking if I had picked the hairstylist for my hair extensions and that she wanted to see her previous work before I got them done.

I once again said I wasn’t getting hair extensions, she then replied saying that it “wasn’t up for discussion” and that I should pick or she’ll pick someone for me. So I went and found a hairstylist near my house and I sent her the Instagram page, she liked her work and texted back saying that it looks great and I should go for it so I went for it.

Except I cut my hair even shorter and got a pixie cut. I then sent her a pic of my new hair and she called in a panic asking if it was photoshopped, when she realized it wasn’t she hung up and I got a call from my mom asking why I’m trying to ruin my sisters wedding and that I was being cruel and difficult.

They’re still trying to get me to get hair extensions and my sister threatened to uninvite me from the wedding if I don’t.

| taaaawh

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The Language of Love

Close up of bride holding crown
Shutterstock / tomertu

My friend “Lexa” is getting married soon. She and her husband are extreme Game of Thrones fans. Because of their shared love of Game of Thrones, Lexa and her fiancé decided to have a Game of Thrones themed wedding. I am perfectly fine with the idea of a themed wedding. I am even OK with the Game of Thrones dress/costume for the wedding. The only thing I can’t seem to get behind is the fact that the majority of the wedding will be conducted in High Valyrian (for those who don’t know, it’s a made up language from Game of Thrones).

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Her wedding is also a destination wedding, and I’m finding it hard to justify going out of my way to go to a wedding that’s not even in a real language that I won't be able to understand. I mentioned that I was having doubts to Lexa and she got really mad at me because I had originally said I could go before I knew it was in High Valyrian. She’s also been sending me links to learn High Valyrian on Duolingo and I feel like even if I did show up, she’d be mad at me for not learning it. The reception will also be in High Valyrian and all speeches and toasts are expected to be in High Valyrian too

| Fluffy_Strain6713

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Oh baby!

Pregnant woman in pink dress holding flowers
Shutterstock / Kristina Igumnova26

I am a bridesmaid in my friend’s upcoming wedding next spring. She has “jokingly” told me multiple times that she will kick me out of her wedding if I become pregnant before her wedding (reasoning being she doesn’t want anyone to look pregnant in pictures? I’ve been noticing she’s been struggling with the idea of sharing attention on her day). I was married last spring, and haven’t even talked to her about wanting kids any time recently. To be honest, my husband and I just started trying within the last few months, and so far I am not pregnant.

I know that she has no right to dictate anything like this, but it is adding a layer of stress to me with timing (her shower and bachelorette are this winter, plus the wedding a few months after that). I am so frustrated with this wedding in general, and don’t want to talk to her about this piece since I am not actually pregnant yet.

I know it’s small and something I can avoid talking to her about, but it feels like a dark cloud over this process or like I’m doing something behind her back since I know her thoughts.

| giggglygirl

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Culture shock

Bride holding a present and cash
Shutterstock / ViDI Studio

One of my friends, Katie, is getting married soon, and while hanging out she mentioned that she will be sending us her Venmo so that we could “pitch in”' for the wedding.

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I was confused, so I asked her what she meant. She said that since she and her soon-to-be husband couldn't afford the wedding party, they were requesting people to cash in as well. I come from a culture where parents usually pay for their kids' weddings, or sometimes the soon-to-be wed do it for themselves or borrow money (which they return back).

I was confused and I asked Katie when will she return the money then, because I really didn't think we were so close that we could borrow money from each other and she probably got offended or something over that.

My other friend, Maya, who is also from my culture, then explained to me that it's apparently normal to chip in for your friends' wedding here. I again got confused and somewhat offensive, asking if it's a wedding PARTY, why do the guests need to pay then?

Katie really got mad and called me a jerk for embarrassing her in front of everyone. Her fiance later called me to say that I really hurt their feelings and now I am disinvited from the wedding.

I am wondering where I went wrong and if I was being ignorant. Maya is citing this to be some sort of culture shock.

| confuseddesiman

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