10 Wedding Stories That Show the Marriage Was a Disaster Waiting to Happen

Even the most carefully planned weddings can take unexpected turns, revealing surprising truths that shock everyone, even the couple. A relationship might look perfect on the outside, but what’s hidden beneath can surprise the bride, groom, and their closest loved ones. Sometimes, the person you trust the most isn’t who you thought they were.

• I was at a wedding that was going perfectly until something happened that no one could believe. Right in the middle of exchanging vows, a phone started ringing loudly. The whole room froze as everyone realized it was the groom’s phone.
  But instead of quickly turning it off, he answered the call. Right there, during the ceremony. To make matters worse, it was his mom on the other end. The bride’s face went from shock to fury, and the guests just stared in disbelief, not knowing what to do.
  The whole vibe was ruined, and it felt like more than just a bad moment, it was a sign. Unsurprisingly, the couple ended up divorcing not long after.
• The groom and his groomsmen broke into a full “Time Warp” dance from Rocky Horror Picture Show in the middle of the wedding, while the bride sat there stone-faced, clearly unimpressed.
  In the end, they were just two very different people. The marriage lasted about a year. Hrekires / Reddit
• “I was the maid of honor. Me, best man, and the couple went into a separate little room to do the signing stuff. Bride excused herself to go the bathroom and the groom started making pretty mean remarks about her cooking (something she’s passionate about) to the officiary. She came back, heard they were talking about cooking family meals together, and gave him the warmest smile, thinking he had praised her. He scoffed awkwardly and changed the topic. That always stuck with me. He wasn’t laughing WITH her but AT her, behind her back. They lasted 7 months.” Kraken_of_BeverlyRd / Reddit
• At the reception, the bride’s “work friend” was slow dancing with her and blatantly feeling her up in front of the groom, family, and friends. She left the groom the day they returned from their honeymoon—and kept all the wedding presents! Mischeese / Reddit

• “My male cousin had a beautiful wedding with about 300 guests. During the reception, the bride’s father showed up in a chicken suit, parading around and making a spectacle. Everyone on our side of the family felt like he was mocking the event, even though the bride was laughing it off like, ’Isn’t my dad so much fun?’
  A couple of months later, she posts something about how ’No one will ever live up to my father, I can’t stay in this marriage.’ My cousin’s a good guy, too.” dart1126 / Reddit
• At one point during the wedding, my friend couldn’t find her new husband. He was missing for about 30 minutes, and when we finally found him, he was in the parking lot kissing his so-called “sister.” It turned out, of course, that she wasn’t his sister at all. I felt terrible for my friend.
• My friend didn’t know her future MIL, having only met her briefly once or twice. But her true colors came out at the wedding. During her toast, she mostly talked about her son, saying how lucky my friend was to have him and how she now had to put him and his family first because he “chose” her. I instantly felt sorry for my friend.
  Sure enough, a year later, they divorced due to issues with his family.
• I attended my colleague’s wedding, where there was a pastel dress code that everyone followed—except for one woman in a bright red dress. The most shocking part came during the bouquet toss. This woman didn’t catch the bouquet but started fighting with the woman who did. It was bizarre.
  Later, we found out the groom had been cheating on the bride with that same woman. The marriage lasted only two months before he went back to her.

• When I arrived at the venue, there was a sign that said, “Welcome to [Bride]’s Wedding” with “featuring [Groom]” in smaller text underneath. They did a ring-warming ceremony where the rings were passed around for everyone to make a silent wish for the couple. I closed my eyes and thought, “May your divorce be relatively painless.” canyamaybenot / Reddit

• My friend’s wedding was perfect until the cake arrived. When the bride saw the topper, her face went pale. The figurine on top didn’t look like her at all. While she had long black hair and blue eyes, the statue had short red hair and brown eyes—it resembled the groom’s ex-wife.
  It turned out the groom had reused the cake topper from his previous marriage. The bride was devastated, bursting into tears and running out of the room. Unsurprisingly, their marriage didn’t last long after that.
• “Before my wedding, I’d asked my husband to practice dancing with me because I’m uncoordinated, due to a disability. He blew me off and said we’d be fine. As we were dancing, he spoke in my ear, not even quietly. ‘What are you doing? What’s wrong with you? You’re embarrassing me!!’ We lasted 2 years. Leaving was the best decision I ever made.” Edavis050694 / Reddit
• When I arrived at the venue, there was a sign that said, “Welcome to [Bride]’s Wedding” with “featuring [Groom]” in smaller text underneath. They did a ring-warming ceremony where the rings were passed around for everyone to make a silent wish for the couple. I closed my eyes and thought, “May your divorce be relatively painless.” canyamaybenot / Reddit
• “At our reception, the groom pulled out his phone and started watching UFC instead of dancing with me. Spoiler: I was the bride. We didn’t last, lol.” Luna_Soma / Reddit

We all imagine perfect weddings, but reality often brings surprises. These 12 weddings uncovered shocking secrets and scandals, turning what should have been joyous occasions into unforgettable events.