Hey there, wedding-goers and party animals! We’ve all been there – the morning after a wild wedding celebration and pondering the age-old question: “Did I mess things up at the wedding last night?” Well, fret not, because in this article, we’re diving headfirst into the hilarious world of wedding guest etiquette (or lack thereof). Whether you’re the life of the party or just wondering if you accidentally offended the bride, we’ve got you covered. Let’s explore those cringe-worthy moments and figure out if these people were indeed complete a**holes on someone’s special day. Don’t worry; it’s all in good fun! All content has been edited for clarity purposes.
Table of contents
1. “You’re Just Making Yourself Look Stupid”
“I was previously an addict. I used substances until I was in poverty, and my older sister helped bail me out more than once. My sister was my best friend, and I knew it hurt her a lot to see me struggle.
Two years ago, my sister met her fiance. At that time, her fiance only knew me as her ‘junkie brother.’ My sister’s fiance wasn’t my biggest fan, considering how much trouble I put my sister through. Despite this, she still invited me to her wedding 6 months into recovery.
When I went to her reception, I saw my sister’s fiance, now my brother-in-law, greeting people as they walked inside. When I walked by, he pulled me to the side before everyone and started patting me down.
He mumbled, ‘I need to check you to make sure you’re not bringing anything you’re not supposed to have.’
I instinctively pulled away and said, ‘Don’t touch me.’
‘You need to calm down,’ my BIL replied, ‘If you want to be here, I need to do this.’
‘You’re being ridiculous,’ I said, pushing past him.
My BIL stopped me and said, ‘I don’t want to kick you out, but I will if I have to.’
‘Are you trying to look tough right now?’ I asked, ‘Because I think you’re just making yourself look stupid.’
At this point, I was getting increasingly angry and practically yelling in my BIL’s face. Bystanders eventually noticed and pulled us apart.
‘You need to drop it,’ a bystander said.
‘Sure, I’ll drop it,’ my BIL replied, ‘But when he gets out of hand, he’ll be your problem. Not mine.’
Afterward, I went to find my seat. After the reception, a lot of my family members said I should have just let my BIL pat me down rather than ‘being rude’ and having ‘something to hide.’
I didn’t think my BIL had the right to pat me down, especially in front of a massive group of people. I didn’t know my reaction was over the top, either. If anything, he was the one being awful by starting drama so he could look tough. My sister refused to take either of our sides.
Should I have let my BIL pat me down, or was I in the right for defending myself?”
2. “I’d Already Ruined Her Daughter’s Day Enough”
“A few weeks ago, my best friend ‘Kyle’ got married. I just bought a house and my wife was expecting our son a few months after the wedding. So, as any good friend would, I let Kyle know I was limited in what I could contribute to the wedding financially. I went to his bachelor party in Maine, rented my tuxedo, and paid for the rehearsal dinner meals for my wife and me. I helped in every single way I possibly could have.
Kyle’s now wife, then fiancee, texted me multiple times each day about wedding updates. Fine. I didn’t always respond. It eventually got to the point where if I didn’t respond at LEAST once per day, Kyle would call me. I had a full-time job and was re-doing some rooms in my house, so I was busy. Plus, the texts were about the stupidest things.
For example, Kyle’s fiancee texted me and said I wasn’t allowed to talk about my wife’s pregnancy. She wanted all of the focus on her, not my wife. His fiancee even requested that my wife wear a downplayed dress so her pregnancy wouldn’t be visible. Then, she texted me and told me she wasn’t going to order special food for my wife, despite my wife NOT requesting anything special to eat. His fiancee also claimed I wasn’t helping Kyle enough, and said if I were a ‘true’ best man, I would have offered to pay the bar bill.
I could handle all of this, however, the worst text I received from Kyle’s fiancee was about my best man speech. She said she needed to ‘approve’ the speech before the rehearsal dinner, and told me I wasn’t allowed to say any inside jokes or stories about Kyle.
I got so aggravated, that I ended up speaking to Kyle to see if he could reason with his fiancee.
He explained, ‘Sorry, there’s nothing I can do. You’ll just have to play ball on this one. It’s her day, so cut me a break. I’ll be dealing with her the rest of my life.’
On the day of the wedding, all Kyle and the bride did was scold me, berate me, and bark orders. I’d had enough, so I went down to the bar for a drink. The bride’s mother was there, and she warned me not to get drunk because I’d ‘already ruined her daughter’s day enough.’ Final straw.
I had a gift for Kyle and the bride, $300 inside of a card, but I didn’t end up giving it to them. Instead, I used my friend’s EXACT wording about ‘having to deal with the bride the rest of his life’ in my speech.
I finished the speech with, ‘I truly wish you two the best. I’ll always be there for you, Kyle, especially during your divorce.’
Was I wrong despite how my friend and the bride treated me?”
3. “Everyone Was In Total Shock”
“A while back, my friend asked me to be a member of her wedding party. Despite this, I was the ONLY person at the ceremony who wasn’t allowed to bring a guest. This was an outdoor wedding with unlimited seating, so it wasn’t about not having ‘enough space.’
When I asked my friend why I wasn’t allowed to bring anyone, she said it was because my relationship wasn’t ‘serious’ enough, despite my boyfriend and I being together for a year. Only engaged or married couples were invited.
My friend continued, ‘Plus, we don’t want some random guy in the back of our wedding pictures. You might not even be with him in a few years.’
The thing was, my boyfriend, wouldn’t have posed for any wedding pictures in the first place. At the most, he would have been in the background of some crowd shots.
At this point, there had been no conflicts between my friend and my boyfriend. He was nice and mild-mannered, and he was truly the type of person who got along with everyone. I didn’t think the issue was about him.
So when I got to the wedding ceremony, I found out literally everyone else there was allowed to bring a guest. It wasn’t just married couples there, but there were couples there who had been dating for less time than my boyfriend and I were. This is when I started getting upset. I tried to smile and play my part during the ceremony, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of being upset at my friend.
Then came the reception, which had WAY more people than the wedding ceremony. This was where all of the ‘distant friends’ were invited. Yet again, everyone there brought a guest. I was placed at the table as the one single person, and everyone else at the table was a couple. Some people at the table were other members of the wedding party, but others were random distant acquaintances.
When people started asking me where my boyfriend was, I told the truth.
‘The bride said he wasn’t allowed to come,’ I explained.
Everyone was in total shock. Unfortunately, I started letting my attitude show and started acting rudely, because I was humiliated.
Then, I was ‘brought into conversation’ with the bride and groom’s male friend, ‘David.’ I was previously told about how David had a crush on me, but I had already made my disinterest clear, even if I were single. The people who brought us into conversation were standing around while staring and giggling at us behind their hands. It was like they thought they were matchmakers. However, I didn’t feel bad for David. He was a participant in the whole ordeal, so I started being rude to him, too. Afterward, everyone went silent and the situation became awkward.
I went back and finished my meal, and as soon as I was done, I picked up my purse and left. I went straight to my boyfriend’s house and skipped most of the reception, cake cutting, and speeches.
When the wedding was over, my friend told me she was ‘hurt and confused’ as to why I left so early. I never replied to her.
Was I in the wrong for being upset at my friend for not letting me bring my boyfriend to her wedding?”
4. “She Shouldn’t Have Expected Special Treatment”
“This incident happened when my son, ‘Jake,’ was 27 years old. Jake’s stepmom, ‘Nancy,’ came into his life when he was 16 years old. His mother passed away when he was 13. Jake never really considered Nancy as his mom, He refused to let her get close, and he shut down every attempt she made to have a close relationship. Jake even moved in with his aunt months after Nancy and I got married.
As years passed, Jake and Nancy started reconciling and seeing each other more often. He invited us to his wedding which took place a few days ago.
When Nancy and I arrived, the atmosphere was great. However, later on in the night, Nancy told me Jake denied her a mother-son dance. Instead, Jake chose his aunt to dance with him. I couldn’t help but feel irritated and upset at my son’s choice. As a result, Nancy and I both got up and left without saying goodbye to my son.
Afterward, I kept getting calls from family members asking why I left. Jake called me later on, and I explained to him why I left.
Jake got mad and said, ‘Dad, this was MY wedding. My aunt is a mother to me, and Nancy shouldn’t have expected special treatment.’
‘It’s not special treatment,’ I replied, ‘It’s a tradition. You hurt Nancy’s feelings for no other reason than the sake of being malicious.’
Then, he got offended and accused me of ruining his day and causing a scene. My entire family sided with Jake and thought I shouldn’t have left no matter what.
Was I in the wrong for taking my wife’s side over my son’s?”
