'The 3pm wedding that started at 6:30pm... and somehow got worse from there. I will never forget.'
"The 3pm wedding that started at 6:30pm… and somehow got worse from there. I will never forget."
So my then boyfriend, now husband, was in a wedding, and the bride insisted the entire bridal party arrive sharp at 10:30am, even though the ceremony was scheduled for 3pm. He shows up, parks, and... crickets. 😅
He literally sat in his car until noon when the bridal party slowly started showing up. The groom (his brother) didn’t get there until almost 1pm, already drunk. The bride was late too because of hair and makeup delays.
I got there around 2:30pm and immediately ran into chaos with the seating chart. It was a mess. I and several other people kept getting moved around because we were at the wrong tables. The dress code? Non-existent.
People wore tuxes, crop tops, ripped jeans, Jordans, flip-flops, white dresses, white suits, leggings, club dresses, and mini-skirts. Someone next to me whispered they couldn’t tell if we were at a wedding, a nightclub, a barbecue, or a funeral—and honestly, same. Lol.
By 3:30pm, my boyfriend comes out like, “Everything’s behind schedule.” You don’t say. Lol The wedding didn’t actually start until 6:30pm, and I honestly think it only happened then because apparently the pastor was threatening to leave.
Let me remind you, the original start time was 3pm. There were zero announcements about the delays or when things would start. I only knew anything because my boyfriend was texting me.
People were sprinting back in from the lobby while the bridal party was already walking down the aisle. Since they used the reception hall as the ceremony space, we were already at our dinner tables, and the room was huge, so no one past the first few tables could hear a thing.
They had no microphones, and people were just talking over everything and snapping pictures with loud flashes. My boyfriend said it wasn’t even worth hearing anyway because his brother was drunk and slurring the whole time. Lol.
The ceremony ended at 6:55pm. No cocktail hour, no appetizers—just a cash bar which was charging $10 for beer and $20 for cocktails. People started leaving to grab food and alcohol. One table ordered pizza, others brought in tacos and BK and plenty of folks were just drinking straight from bottles they picked up from the liquor store. Lol.
The bride and groom came in around 8:30ish, again with no announcement. They had to walk out and come back in just to try and get the bridal party entrance right. The song kept skipping, and people were walking in and out and standing up, completely blocking the view for others.
Dinner didn’t start until about 9:00pm and it was so slow and chaotic. Also no announcement. My boyfriends table had already finished eating by the time mine got a bread roll.
Lol I didn’t get my food until 9:45pm due to mixups with other tables and we were served just water. Oh, and there was no cake—just melted ice cream soup. I was told dinner was supposed to be served at 5:30pm. So it explains the cold food and melted ice cream.
We quietly left at 10pm—no dancing, no toasts, nothing. And good thing we left when we did because they only had the venue until 10pm. So around 10:15ish they were being kicked out.
So anyone still there basically became part of the cleanup crew. Lol I told him that before we go to another one of his family’s weddings, I need to know all the logistics in advance. Lol.
Here is what readers had to say in response to the OP’s post:
"By 3:30pm, my boyfriend comes out like, 'Everything’s behind schedule.'"
Sounds like there wasn't much of a schedule to begin with...
No_Lavishness_7268 (OP)
No, there wasn't. lol my now husband said he should've known this was going to happen because rehearsals were a disaster. Also, the bride/now SIL was her own coordinator. So yea lol Funnily enough, she asked to be our coordinator 6 years later when we got married, and I gently denied lol.
You have my greatest respect for being able to deny gently. The shrieking laugh I just let out from reading that is nothing to what I have to imagine you were holding back at that moment. 🤣
No_Lavishness_7268 (OP)
Mannnn, let's just say I was grateful I had sunglasses on because if looks could kill. 🤣🤣🤣 My husband flat out said "nah we good" so abruptly. I quickly had to say that it was such a sweet gesture, but no, my friend is already doing it.... LIE!
And her response was, "Bummer, I guess I'll have to think of another wedding gift." Lol, my hubby and I laughed all the way home. She is an incredibly sweet person, but hell no lol.
🫣 slightly sounds like an Italian wedding I went to about 10 years ago. But we had free booze, that sounds awful, I know my husband who’s been a groomsman a lot would be pissed if we were sat separately.
No_Lavishness_7268 (OP)
The worst part was having to sit separately. At that point, we had been together for less than a year, and I had only met a few of his siblings once or twice since most of them live in different states or far away, and both of his parents had passed.
The siblings I had met were seated far from me, though they did check in on me from time to time. Still, I ended up sitting alone for most of the event. His best friend was at my table, but I had only been around him maybe three times before, and he ended up leaving to grab food and drinks—then didn’t come back for a long time.
Lol So I was left making small talk with the bride’s coworkers, who were clearly ready to leave. My husband did come check on me as often as he could, especially during all the delays, but it still sucked. That experience made us very intentional at our own wedding—we had a sweetheart table, but we made sure our bridal party and their plus-ones sat together.
Interesting the priest went through with the wedding. Here it would have stopped if one of the people where drunk because you can’t enter into a marriage agreement while intoxicated.
Is the couple still together? Lol.
No_Lavishness_7268 (OP)
Yes, they're and the bride/SIL wanted to be my wedding coordinator lol I would like to add that every event since then has always been a disaster with either food being nasty or significant delays.
We now go 2 hours late for any event they have (Still on time), eat early, and put snacks in my purse lol Don't even get me started on their gender reveal lol I love them but they're chaotic and perfect for each other lol.