Bridesmaid shares DIY wedding horror story: 'Everyone was staring...'

Bridesmaid shares DIY wedding horror story: "Everyone was staring..."

You know those weddings when you just know things are about to go downhill fast? This was one of those. This happened back in January 2023 and honestly, I should’ve said no from the start.

The groom is my friend and he told me his fiancée needed a bridesmaid from his side of the family. Somehow that turned into six of us joining and a total of 15 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen. I should’ve known right there it would be chaos.

We were told to send money for our dresses and our measurements directly to the bride. No fittings, no say in the design because they would be a surprise on the wedding day. Then came the group chat, where we were told to contribute more money for our bouquets and to help support the wedding. A few people dropped out at that point and I probably should have too.

On the day of the wedding, the dresses arrived about 20 minutes before we were supposed to walk down the aisle. Total madness. One bridesmaid was forced to cut off her hair charms because the bride said they were outshining hers. My dress didn’t fit, so I swapped it for another one that did which turns out it belonged to another girl who wasn’t around yet.

When she finally showed up literally about to walk down the aisle the bride’s mom tried to cause a scene with me but I just stood my ground. At that point I knew I wasn’t getting my money back anyway so I kept the dress.

And the bouquets? Six plastic ribbons that looked like they were DIY’d by kids which I guess they cost about $3 total. We didn’t even have a rehearsal so two or three bridesmaids ended up walking down with one groomsman. The ribbons were literally being passed around so everyone could hold one.

After the church the photo session was a disaster. The bride didn’t even know most of her bridesmaids, there was no coordination and we didn’t have enough cars to get to the reception. Guests had to come pick us up.

When we finally arrived, everyone was staring. Some bridesmaids were already fighting, there wasn’t enough food or seats. I was close to leaving but the bride was yelling at the groom nonstop to the verge of tears and I felt bad for my friend.

That wedding cured me of ever agreeing to be in a bridal party again. Never again. Since everyone is coming at me for the dress, let me give the context, there we're 16+ dresses since like I said the some part of bridal party had dropped. Also, the dresses we're in L, M and S, so the bride just wrote names on fabric tape for everyone.

We all knew she wasn't coming that's why the bride didn't have a problem. The bride's mother was picking on me for that dress literally minutes to walk down the aisle and added up to say I wouldn't get refunded anyway. Also, she came straight to church and never went to check the remaining dresses. It just happened that I had the M dress with her name on the fabric tape.

Here's what people had to say to OP:

OneMileAtATime262 said:

“The bride was yelling at the groom nonstop to the verge of tears…” Yeah, something tells me none of this was the grooms fault and I hope he knows a good divorce attorney.

VivianDiane said:

You're a better friend than I would've been. I'd have left.

Ginsdell said:

Never again! Right there with you.

Defiant-Purchase-188 said:

I predict the marriage will not last.

LadybugGirltheFirst said:

People brag about their budget weddings and saving money, but this is what you can end up with.

Ok-Trainer3150 said:

It's a three ring circus when it comes to weddings. "Buyer Beware" when it comes to accepting any offer to be in a bridal party.