Former Bridesmaids Revealed The Worst Things That Happened To Them At Weddings, And It's Messy
by Liz Richardson · BuzzFeedA while back, we wrote posts where former bridesmaids shared the worst things that happened to them at weddings — and honestly, they get wild. So, here are some of the most shocking situations they shared (plus even more stories from readers!):
You can read the previous posts here and here.
1. "I was asked to be a bridesmaid in my sister-in-law's wedding. Mind you, I was asked only as a backup. Someone else couldn't do it; I was asked months after everyone else. A week before the wedding, my SIL is texting my husband that he 'can do better' and that he's too good for me."
"I was also seven months preggo at the time. I refused to be a bridesmaid — and she was mad at me."
2. "I was asked to be a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding. We planned things together and talked almost daily. Then, I found out at a mutual friend’s house that they all went and bought bridesmaid dresses without me. I said something about it, and the other woman said, 'Yeah, [bride] wanted me to tell you that you aren’t in the wedding anymore. She doesn’t think you’re pretty enough and wants good photos, but she would love it if you were the guestbook girl!'"
"I’m not friends with that bride or the mutual friend anymore."
3. "We wore strapless dresses. I didn’t realize my bra was showing slightly above my dress on one side, so the bride’s mother put her hand up my dress and lifted it right up to my bra in front of everyone at the wedding to pull my bra down a little. Wrong on so many levels."
4. "My husband and I were asked to be a groomsman and a bridesmaid in a wedding. After agreeing and going to my dress fitting, I found out I was pregnant with our first baby. The dress could have easily accommodated my belly, but I was removed from the wedding party because it wasn’t appropriate to have a pregnant person in the wedding party (even though I was married)."
"The kicker is that I got removed, but my husband remained in the wedding."
5. "I was thrown out of a wedding because I have a chronic illness, and medication caused me to suffer two mini-strokes in a week. I was signed off work and in the hospital and wasn't allowed to drive or be unsupervised. I had to come off all my medication while we figured out what happened, so I was in a lot of pain 24/7. My friend became incredibly frustrated that I wasn't dedicating myself to her wedding, said it didn't seem like it was my priority, and I didn't reply to messages quick enough. When I was in the hospital, she got her mum to message me because I didn't reply to her!"
"Then, she was mad when I said I couldn't go abroad for her hen do because I wasn't well and couldn't afford it. I went to her house for a hen do (my mom had to come with and drive me), and she ignored me the whole time. Her mom quizzed my mum as she didn't believe I had two strokes. She ultimately emailed me to tell me I could be a guest, but I wasn't reliable enough to be bridesmaid. I told her to ram her friendship."
6. "I should have known my ex-friend would turn into a flake as she'd been that way our whole friendship. First, she met her fiancé on a dating app but didn't want anyone to know. I was sworn to secrecy. Then, he proposed with his (deceased) mother's beautiful antique ring, and her mother threw a fit that he didn't buy her a new ring. She asked me to be a bridesmaid, and I was happy to say yes. A few months later, when I asked what planning was going on, she said she needed me not to be in the wedding party because her longtime friend refused to be there if I was in the party."
"I wasn't going to argue; I hadn't spent any money yet, so I was fine with just being a guest. After being uninvited, we never had another conversation. She ghosted me. I chalked it up to her being a total fake. Then, I got a friend request from her on social media with a totally new name. I guess that the first wedding didn't happen, or they divorced."
7. "I was a bridesmaid at my oldest friend's wedding. Her sister was the MOH, but she lived in a different state and wasn't able to host/attend the bridal shower. I agreed to host it and spent much time making it perfect for my friend. I held it at my parents' house to save money, but I got food catered and paid for many decorations to match her winter-themed wedding. I even stayed up late the night before painstakingly baking and decorating cupcakes. I probably spent close to $500 on decorations and food. The day of the shower, everyone practically ignored me."
"The other guests treated me like some random worker at a venue. My friend would try to include and talk to me, and one of her other friends would always cut me off and talk loudly over me. I was so frustrated with the whole thing. That one loud friend of the bride-to-be didn't even go to the wedding."
8. "I was a bridesmaid in my older cousin’s wedding. When she asked, I was in the middle of a weight loss journey. I didn’t have to get my dress for another nine months, so it shouldn’t have been a problem. Fast-forward to my final fitting, and the bride came with us. At this point, I lost a little over 30 pounds, and the bride was furious. When I stepped out in my dress, she demanded to know what size it was and then freaked out when she saw it was the same size as her dress. The day before the wedding, she called to tell me I wasn’t allowed in the bridal party or at the wedding because: 'You’re just as skinny as I am, and now I won’t be the thinnest one.'"
"Needless to say, she’s an estranged cousin now."
9. "My friend was kicked out of a wedding party because she couldn’t afford everything the bride was asking for. The bride had been in her wedding and all she had asked for was for her bridesmaids to buy their dress and shoes (she even offered to help pay for them). So, this bride’s wedding is coming up, and she asks my friend to help pay for the hotel the night before the wedding, the bachelorette trip, hair, and makeup, on top of the dress and shoes."
"My friend didn’t feel comfortable going on the bachelorette trip also and offered to help with the wedding in other ways, but the bride refused and said that the bachelorette is required for weddings and a bridesmaid’s attendance is mandatory. After buying her dress and shoes (nonrefundable), the bride kicked her out of the wedding and went off on her."
10. "This just happened a few weeks ago for me, so I'm still pissed!!! I'm a bridesmaid for my cousin's wedding, which will be in Vegas. Mind you, I'm unemployed right now, but I still do DoorDash on the side, so I don't have a lot of income. I created her invites and wedding website, went to fittings, etc. Meanwhile, her 'best friend' did nothing but give her petty comments and make her feel bad about the wedding, which I heard about. My cousin's sister and I planned the bridal shower and hired a party decorator, which was fully catered. Games, gifts, music, and all, plus her sister and I were both sick the week of the party. I took a test, and it wasn't COVID, but I found out a day later that it was!!!! Thank God no one else got sick. It was a miserable experience for us, the hosts, but we hid it well, and everyone had fun. However, after that night, my cousin stopped speaking to me and her sister."
"She didn't check on us — nothing, not a peep. Come to find out that she told her friends including the 'best friend' who did nothing, that it didn't look like we spent any money on the party; she wanted more, and she was sad. Basically, the party sucked! She still hasn't spoken to me since that day. I don't want to go to the wedding, but I already spent money on the ticket. I feel so hurt and used. 😭😭😭"
11. "A friend of mine got a surprise haircut from the bride. My friend has very full curly (4A) hair, and she and the other bridesmaids were at the salon trying different styles for the bride's approval. The bride suggested that my friend straighten her hair, cut it, or wear a wig so she looked like the other bridesmaids."
"My friend said she couldn't do it, so the bride took it upon herself to help motivate my friend, and she just picked up the sheers and cut a huge chunk of my friend's hair! My friend was horrified and refused to be in the bridal party. The two have not spoken since."
12. "I've been kicked out of two weddings. The first one: My boyfriend at the time and I were asked to join the bridal party after the fact because the bride wanted a bigger bridal party to look better. She and her future husband barely knew my boyfriend. The weekend of her bridal shower was my anniversary with my boyfriend. He planned on proposing, so he made plans for a weekend getaway. I was kicked out of her wedding and not even invited because I got engaged instead of going to her bridal shower."
"I paid for the dress, never got the dress, and never got my money back. Also, I was not in a good place mentally or financially, so I could not afford everything. Her fiancé's brother's girlfriend replaced me. Years later, the bride told me she wished she just paid for my dress because she didn't like her, and they broke up after the wedding anyway.
Other times, I was supposed to do a Bible reading in German since I was the only one they knew who knew German, but her brother dumped me, so they had to do without. Another, I was recently dumped by my cheating fiancé, so I wasn't invited to the wedding anymore as I was bad luck.
And with my sister's wedding, I fought with her best friend the whole time. Now, I've been with my boyfriend for almost nine years. I'm thinking I have bad luck for weddings."
13. "I was a bridesmaid for my ex's sister's wedding, where there was no budget. She was in academy at the time, so her mom and I did a lot of the research and planning over the eight months she was there. When she got home, I was the only bridesmaid who went with her to all her appointments, fittings, shopping, and everything. I wasn't working at the time, so I spent two years on this woman — from planning the engagement and showers to every detail in between — while the maid of honor was pregnant and couldn't be bothered. A month before the wedding, she held a BBQ for everyone involved, including my ex's new girlfriend (he cheated on me, so we broke up, but I didn't want to let his sister down). After the BBQ, I was helping her with the bridal party gifts, and she said, 'Nobody wants you in the wedding, so you're out. You can go now.'"
"She didn't say thank you or anything. She's now divorced, and her wedding involved her doing ballet and reading the form letter response from President Obama to her wedding invite she sent him."
14. "I was a bridesmaid in my brother's wedding, and at the time, I had cancer. I was in the middle of chemotherapy, was extremely nauseated, and very tired the whole time. The wedding was out of state and lasted over four days. I overslept the morning of the rehearsal, but I arrived only 10 minutes late. I was throwing up before the actual wedding, and I took a short nap in the nursery of the church before photos were taken because I couldn’t possibly stand up any longer. My brother came in, woke me up, and screamed at me that I was embarrassing, completely selfish, and non-supportive."
"My husband and THREE children were also there and in the wedding. Needless to say, we aren’t close."
15. "I was asked to be MOH for one of my high school friends, and although I was poor and in college, I still went all out for her events. I offered to buy her a bottle of champagne at the club for her bachelorette party, and she was so appreciative. I didn’t mind, until I got the bill — she had picked two bottles of the most expensive champagne they had, and I was on the hook for an extra $600."
"What really hurt about her wedding, though, was that I contacted everyone with a 'day of' itinerary and reminders for the big day about two weeks in advance of the date, and copied her on the email. She emailed me back, saying, 'I don’t know why you sent this out. The bridesmaids have had an email chain about this for a month.' Turns out, all the bridesmaids were making plans without including me. Needless to say, we’re no longer friends."
16. "My best friend got engaged when we were 20, and she asked me to be her maid of honor. I spent six months planning with her, going to bridal shops, florists, venues, tastings, the works. I requested certain days off to accommodate her. I threw her a bridal shower...everything seemed fine. Fast-forward to three weeks before the wedding, we are supposed to go together for our final fitting at noon, and I text her at 10 a.m. saying I’m excited — nothing. Text again at 11 and 11:30. I’m starting to worry and I keep calling her. She finally answers and says it’s hard, but she doesn’t want me to be her maid of honor or even a bridesmaid because I haven’t helped her enough. I’m shocked and angry and just tell her to have a good wedding and hang up. I got the deposit back on my dress and obviously didn’t go to the wedding."
"About nine months later, she called me multiple times, and I finally agreed to go meet with her. She replaced me with her hairdresser who got trashed and was flashing people at the wedding in front of everyone. She told me how, when she looked at the wedding photos, she hoped to see me in the background and couldn’t believe that I didn’t at least come. I was literally speechless and left. I haven’t talked to her since."
17. "I swear, it seems being a maid of honor can be the kiss of death for a friendship. At the time, I had a 1-year-old and 4-year-old, worked full time, etc. But I was happy to help my friend with planning her wedding until this happened..."
"1. She called me several times in the early morning hours — once at 2 a.m. because she couldn't decide what color her table sheets should be. And she knew I started work at 6 a.m.
2. Somehow, all her wedding things could never be on the weekends — always on the weekdays — and she expected me to take time off from work.
3. My husband couldn't come to her wedding, yet other peoples S.O.'s were. She never thought he was good enough (literally she told me he didn't meet HER requirements for ME).
Needless to say, we don't speak anymore."
18. "My now ex-best friend got engaged, and I was the MOH. She told me I could pick out any dress I wanted as long as it was the color gray. I showed her probably 10–15 dresses I liked; she said no to all of them, and then proceeded to pick out the dress I had to buy. The day of the wedding, there’s a huge fall festival happening in the town she chose to be married in, and she didn’t reserve any parking for the bridal party — just did it for her and her now ex-husband. So, I kid you not, I parked two miles away ON THE SIDE OF A ROAD because the town of the wedding was in the middle of nowhere, and all the parking spots had been taken. During the reception, I walked, at 8 p.m., by myself in the dark to go find my car and move it closer to the venue."
"Also, after that adventure, I came back to the reception to be bugged the whole night by a guy friend of hers. He kept trying to get me to dance with him or hit on me, and my friend didn’t do anything when I told her."
19. "I was the MOH at my (former) best friend's DIY wedding. Her bridesmaids were MIA for 98% of it. I was the one who went dress and centerpieces shopping with her and did food tastings — her fiancé didn't even want to be involved. I almost lived at her house for months while we cut/hemmed table clothes, created the centerpieces, and did other DIY stuff and logistical planning. I took a week off to help cart all her stuff to his parent's house and to help make food for the rehearsal dinner."
"Due to wrist injuries, I couldn't help lift the tables, but I set up chairs and arranged the cocktail area. The day of, I put out several potential fires, so I was the last one to get ready. During cleanup, the bridesmaids disappeared, and I had to strike almost everything and sweep the reception hall by myself. I almost got locked out of the room where my clothes were! A year later, my friend told me that I wasn't very helpful during her wedding, and it made her sad."
20. "I was asked to be a bridesmaid in my sister’s best friend’s wedding. Seemed odd to me at the time because we weren’t that close but had the same group of friends. I went dress shopping with them and was actively saving up to buy a bridesmaid’s dress (I was in college at the time). Found out that I was no longer a bridesmaid and also not even invited to the wedding when I went to my sister’s house and saw her best friend’s save the date on the fridge."
"I asked her when she received it, assuming mine was in the mail. My sister acted surprised and was like, 'Didn’t she talk to you? You aren’t invited to the wedding?’ It was so rude!!! I called and texted this chick about it, and SHE NEVER RESPONDED."
21. "I had a (former) friend who did nothing for her upcoming wedding and phoned me crying asking for help. I just had my baby a few months ago and had a postpartum brain disorder, but she begged me, so I agreed and did EVERYTHING. I got her my own wedding dress seamstress on short notice, ordered her second dress, and for everything else, she would call me in the middle of the night. She didn't want to do invitations or a guest list (for a venue!) — which was a huge fight — so I printed all her invites on my printer, bought/made all the centerpieces, and stored everything at my house."
"She was horribly late for every appointment, complained about everything, and when I had to leave for a month after my brain disease diagnosis, she flipped out (even though everything was done) because I couldn't do her playlist — and she kicked me out as her bridesmaid. When I got back, she and her cousins showed up at my house and took everything.
I wasn't invited to the bridal shower, and although I did go to the wedding, I made a speech about how the first time I met her was when she had bought me a roast beef dinner when I forgot my lunch, and I always remembered her when I had roast beef. She never spoke to me again, and a mutual friend said it was because of my 'horrible speech,' and her family was mortified. She later said her 'real' wedding was her Toronto wedding, not the one I had helped with. She told everyone at work I took over her wedding and even ordered her second dress 'in my own size.'"
22. "I was a bridesmaid at my sister's wedding...it got so bad that I moved out of the house and stayed at my boyfriend's just so I didn't have to see her. I was in my early 20s, and our other sister and I were told we could pick out our own dresses because we didn't have to match the MOH. I found a strapless sweetheart long dress that was flattering for me (plus-size) — however, the only size they had was an 8, and I was a size 12 with size 14 boobs. Obviously, it was a bit tight, and the chest was way too small, but in my size, it would have been fine. I was told that I couldn't wear that because I shouldn't be 'advertising' myself at her wedding."
"And she said that I couldn't wear my Spanx bodysuit under the dress and had to wear pantyhose. I also couldn't wear certain clothes to the rehearsal dinner. It was bridezilla central, for sure."
And finally...
23. "I was a bridesmaid for a destination wedding at a beach. We had to pay for everything: flights, hotel rooms, dress, and food. The bride didn't hire a wedding planner but instead asked us to make decorations and organize everything. Nothing went OK. The ceremony lasted 10 minutes, the judge was late, the father of the bride decided he was against the marriage, no one had their seat assigned at the venue, the venue didn't know the wedding was planned at a different time zone and from a different location, so the service was late, the food was cold and bland, and half the guests didn't eat it. On top of that, the bride and groom didn't register for presents but instead asked for cash."
"At the end of the night, the bride got mad because many people were disappointed by such a terrible event that she said, 'Well I don't care if you're happy or not, it's MY wedding and you can leave whenever you want.' Needless to say, I no longer speak to that person anymore."
WELL then. Do you have a bridesmaid horror story? Let us know in the comments below.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.