10 ex-Maids of Honor share their worst wedding horror stories.

Being a Maid of Honor often means planning the bridal shower, bachelorette party, holding anything the bride throws in your face for the entire wedding day and wondering how you could possibly be a member of so many group chats and color-coded email threads...

So, when a frustrated ex-Maid of Honor needed a little cheering up, she asked fellow formerly scorned internet strangers to give her a boost:

I just had to remove my best friend (bride) of 15 years because of how she treated me (maid of honor) on wedding day and afterwards. I need y’all to lift me up a little!

Of course, members of the gloriously petty and judgmental Reddit group, 'Wedding Shaming' were more than happy to oblige and a beautiful venting session began. What's the point of being an unpaid employee to a bridezilla if you can't complain about it on the internet later?

1. The Hawaiian-themed nightmare...

This was a long time ago but I had a friend who had a Hawaiian themed wedding. She told me there wasn’t a maid of honor so it was a little confusing who was supposed to throw the bachelorette party and the bridal shower but we kind of split tasks between me and another girl because we were her oldest friends.

So For her bridal shower, I made Hawaiian center pieces and homemade thank you cards with her them and paid for all the postage so writing thank you notes would be easy for her.

The day before the bridal shower she called me and said, are you serving alcohol at the bridal shower? I said no, but since it’s at 1pm I figured if someone wanted a drink they could buy it themselves as 1 pm is still early. Well she flipped out and said she wanted an open bar (I had just graduated from college and was like 23) so I said I couldn’t afford an open bar but I would make punch and buy 3 boxes of wine.

So I did. I spent hundreds of dollars on not only her bridal shower and all her demanding details but my dress, shoes, a gift etc. I knew she was a little high maintenance going in but we had been friends since kindergarten so I really just wanted her to have a good time and I was committed to just doing whatever she wanted within a reasonable price.

She is a DIYer and a great one at that so we all tried to go with her theme for everything. A couple days before the wedding, there was still a lot to do and we were going to have a bridesmaid hang out but she was stressed out so I told her I’d paint the sign she wanted done while she hosted the get together with the other bridesmaids.

Also, the whole time she kept saying things to me like, “I know I dont have a maid of honor but you’d be it. I just don’t want anyone to feel bad.” And she would basically tell me the other girl would get jealous and so mad if I didn’t choose her so that’s why she’s not choosing anyone.

Anyway. I felt I went above and beyond as a bridesmaid. And I didn’t mind doing any of it but The supplies for the centerpieces I made for the shower were really expensive so I tried selling them online and made some of them into necklaces and hair pieces.

Well she flipped out. Said I stole her idea and Hawaiian things are her idea and I’m basically copying her by making things and selling it as if it was my idea. I gently reminded her that they were just from the center pieces and I dont plan on making it a thing I just spent a lot of money and was hoping to get some back.

Then she went on about how everyone wears Hawaiian stuff now even her mom is copying her and she was the first one to start wearing it and now I’m selling it and everyone is going to think she was copying me.

After I told her I was just trying to make a little money because I’m broke as a joke she came back with how money shouldn’t be an issue for her wedding and I agreed to be a bridesmaids and just really berated me about it. I was absolutely shocked. I never actually sold any of it anyways )I think one pair of earrings) so no one obviously cared about the Hawaiian crap.

And it turned out she told everyone the other girl was the maid of honor and not to tell me because I was her oldest friend and I might get mad. (I literally would never have cared as the other girl and her were closer in college anyway whereas she and I were more grade school friends.

I just wanted to know at one point who it was just because I wanted to make sure she had a bachelorette party and no one seemed to be leading anything. And she kept telling me it would have been me of the other girl wouldn’t have been jealous so that’s why I reserved the place. And she had told me she wasn’t doing a maid of honor to keep the peace with everyone.

I was actually crushed our friendship ended that way for a long time. It was like breaking up with someone you truly cared for. But I was also done being treated like shit when I truly tried my best for her. Every other bridesmaid showed up with 50 bucks and was done with it. I was the one she called when she wanted something done so I dont know why she flipped out on me the way she did. Anyway. I haven’t talked to her since. - veiledwoman

2. The destination disaster...

My best friend since first grade was having a destination wedding. I was a single mother and had just bought my first house so I was super broke. But. I paid for the ticket. I was maid of honor. Her mother told me I could stay with them in their condo. I was also a single woman so I flew there alone. Remember, best friends since first grade. I grew up with these people.

As soon as I got there, her mother was being terrible to me. Had a major issue with me staying in their condo which was confusing because she offered it. I had no idea about the itinerary and wasn’t given an option to participate all week in their destination vacation plans.

But I did get alot of sh*tty remarks about how I was staying in their condo for free and how I couldn’t afford to do the activities with them anyway. The weird part is that her brother had his girlfriend with them, and the mother of the bride happily paid for every single activity for her and treated her like a part of their family.

While everyone was on vacation, I stayed behind with the bride to pick out decorations for the wedding. Because. Duh. I was there for her. Her whole family wouldn’t even help with anything. But I also spent alot of time alone just sitting on the beach.

I felt so so pathetic. I was the only person who was there and not in a relationship. Also, the family I had grown up with completely rejecting my existence. After the ceremony, the bride snapped at me to carry her train across super jagged rocks and up a mountain side so she could get pictures. Which I didn’t mind. That’s fine. But. She did not get one photo of me and her, as her maid of honor.

I left the island feeling like f*cking garbage. A garbage person. If I had been older, I would’ve rented a car and drove myself around and had an amazing solo vacation. I didn’t go to her baby shower X years later and then her mother gave me an ear full about what a bad friend I was. I didn’t give a sh*t. Blocked her. - MidnightLark33

3. The demotion...

My best friend of several years was engaged and asked me to be her maid of honor by sending me a really cute gift in the mail. For context, I live 2 hours away from her. When she asked me to be her MOH I was broke, didn’t have a car, and was working two jobs that meant I was working everyday of the week. I had also recently cut off my family because of their abuse and was living with my boyfriend. Still, I was thrilled for her and was excited to stand beside her on her day.

About two weeks into it, I started getting messages from other bridesmaids asking what my thoughts were for a bridal shower, bachelorette, etc. it was hard for me to focus on those because the bridesmaids lived by her and saw her a lot throughout the week while I only texted. After a month, my friend called me and demoted me to a bridesmaid because I couldn’t handle planning (totally agreed with her on this and was still happy to be included).

Fast forward another month, and she informs me a couple days before that she is planning to go dress shopping with everyone! On Thursday! At 2pm! I told her I was so sorry but I couldn’t make it because I had work. Thursday’s were when I worked both jobs and it was too late for me to request off since it was the week of. She told me to just call out sick but I needed the money. Plus I didn’t have a car to get to her anyway. She was mad at me and told me I had to be available to FaceTime her (fair).

After that, I was very stressed because while trying to be a good friend I was also actively job hunting and interviewing for positions that would pay me more. I ended up getting my first salary position and was ecstatic! I was very proud of myself after all the shit I had been through. When I told the bride I was hoping she would be happy for me since this meant I would have weekends free to do more wedding things with her. Upon telling her about this job, the first thing she asked was how much I was making. When I told her she responded with one word; “Yikes.”

I’m not sure if it was everything leading up to it or just that moment but I was crushed. I stopped talking to her for a bit because I just didn’t want to hear about her wedding and how great she was when she treated me like that. She finally texted me after a couple weeks asking if everything was okay and I responded honestly and said “No, it’s not okay. You really hurt my feelings.” Her response?

“Well if this is how you behave don’t even bother coming to the wedding. I have another girl lined up to be a bridesmaid.” Two months after the wedding she tried reaching out to talk to me. Nah sis. - sydneyyasmine

4. From engaged to 'engorged'...

I used to be a pro-MUA who did freelancing at weddings and I’ve seen more MOH/bridesmaids drama than I can remember. However, the one that will forever be burned into memory was when I was walking back to the bridal dressing room in a hotel to pack up the remainder of my kit after the ceremony and bride touch ups for photos with the groom. Anyways, I was walking back to the dressing room and I was just around the corner when there was screaming.

Stumbling out into the hall, was the father of the bride who was an officer in the Marines and dressed in full regalia, with his trousers around his ankles and fully engorged—and his wife (mother of the bride) beating him with her rhinestone clutch purse.

The rhinestones were catching onto his uniform and damaging the fabric. She scratched his face badly that I saw red marks from twenty feet away. He was caught having sex with the MOH (bride’s bff) who was about 30 years younger and the same age as the bride.

Both the bride and her mom were screaming so loud that hotel security and the police were called. Everyone’s makeup was ruined, but I was relieved that I had already been paid before the ceremony. The hotel manager was arguing back with everyone and threatened to cancel the reception if they did not simmer down.

I waltzed back inside the room to pack my supplies, but I love watching drama so I packed much more slowly than I usually did. Unfortunately, I had to pick up the pace and leave shortly after because my blood sugar started dropping after six hours straight doing makeup for eight people and my ears starting to hurt.

I tried to stalk the bride’s IG to see any updates, but there was nothing. She worked really hard to maintain the perfect Insta-life and only posted pictures of her & the groom. I tried to find the MOH, but I don’t know if she had an account or deleted it because I couldn’t find her. - jasperjamboree

5. The wine meltdown...

I found out I was promoted to the maid of honor the week of because the previous one was sick. I accepted it and it became a mess. Not because of the bride either. The bride was getting overwhelmed the night of the rehearsal and needed a minute. I proceeded to take the bride to a room so she can scream, cry or do whatever she needed. Not even 30 sec later MIL comes upstairs and starts yelling at her for needing a minute.

Calling it drama and what not. Fast forward to the wedding day, we opened up bottles of wine that were given to us for mimosas. MIL screams at us (bridal party) and the bride. She was screaming about how we opened the bottles of wine because they were supposed to be for something special but she never said anything until that moment.

She made the bride cry on her wedding day because of this. Someone proceeded to give me keys and cash to rectify the situation by getting replacement bottles. I drove to several stores and no luck. Then I get a text message a few days later how I pissed people off. - weddingmessthorwaway

6. The 'can you just do everything?'

I was once guilted to be the maid of honor by a coworker I barely knew because she would have 'no one else' up on the altar with her. Cue the drama of me suddenly wrangling 4 other bridesmaids and planning a bachelorette and bridal shower (with her grandmother present dubbed 'racist grandma'). I nope'd out of that a few months before the wedding. - grumpyruckus

7. The runaway groom...

When I was in college my roommate asked me to be her MOH. She was marrying a guy she’d known for about 2 years and there was something a little off about the whole thing, but I didn’t ask many questions, cause it wasn’t my business. The day of the rehearsal, his parents were coming from one state over and weren’t answering their phones.

He kept saying they’d probably lost reception or gotten stuck in traffic. They never showed up that night but we rehearsed anyway. The next day he still couldn’t get ahold of them. People were so worried that they called the police in his hometown to check on them.

When the police showed up, his parents didn’t know he was getting married. They didn’t even know he was engaged. He hadn’t told them ANYTHING. They cancelled the wedding 2 hours before the ceremony. Of course we couldn’t get the word out to everyone not to come, so we sent those who did show up to the reception hall to eat all the food and cake that had already been paid for. - syracuseyou

8. The plus-one problem...

My bf since grade school told me at her shower (that I helped plan/pay for) that I wasn't being allowed a +1 since I wasn't married. I had been with my bf (who she actually introduced me to) longer than she even knew her fiancé. I dropped out the following week when I just couldn't shake the feeling of disrespect. She was disappointed, but invited me as a guest, with (you guessed it!) a +1. - occasionallystabby

9. The $1,000 bachelorette...

My cousin (we’d been like sisters for over a decade) demoted me from MOH a month before her wedding bc I didn’t go to her 4 day, out of state, over $1k bachelorette party. I tried throwing her a bridal shower and she said no. I asked her how I could help and she said nothing.

I told her from day 1 I wouldn’t be able to go to the bachelorette party if it wasn’t local. She said some bs about the MOH should be someone who knows the couple well (they’d been together for 6 months when they got engaged). Really she just wanted to promote her friend who had planned the bachelorette party and was kissing her a*s about the wedding.

I guess she thought she could toss me aside and I wouldn’t say anything. She regretted it after I dropped out of her wedding and her life. She then tried to play the victim bc she had apologized once over the phone. Idk what it is about weddings but they bring out the nasty side of some people. - nevaneva21

10. Oops...

I was the maid of honor. I got drunk and decorated the wrong car. Wish I could blame it on youth, but I was 33. Making matters worse, DJ Snake and Lil Jon's 'Turn Down For What' was the number one hit at the time, and for reasons only known to drunk me, those were the lyrics I chose to immortalize in window markers on a stranger's passat alongside a crudely illustrated, but unmistakable erect phallus - Historical_Ad_2615