You’ve probably heard that about half of all marriages end in divorce. That’s true, though the divorce rate is actually declining in recent years. This is most likely due to less generational pressure to marry young; there was a time not long ago when a first marriage in your 30’s or beyond was pretty shocking, now it’s perfectly normal.
It makes sense if you think about it. If you wait until you’re really sure marriage is a good idea, you’re less likely to find out you made a mistake later on. That’s the kind of patience that probably should have been practiced by a lot of the folks in the stories from a recent thread on r/askreddit. User flyoverthemooon asked:
What happened at a wedding that made it obvious that the bride and groom shouldn’t be getting married? Are they still together?
byu/flyoverthemooon inAskReddit
Over 6,000 comments flooded in about big days with even bigger red flags. Many were deeply sad, centering on addiction and disturbance. Others just make you scratch your head and wonder how that couple even got to the aisle in the first place.
1. It’s a bad sign if the fighting starts early
My sister-in-law got married last fall and after the ceremony they got in an epic fight over the marriage certificate and didn’t come to the reception until 2 hours after it started.
A week later, they separated for a few weeks while trashing each other on Facebook.
They’re still together and she’s now pregnant.
– Mobius153
2. There are some big oofs in here.
When the priest equivalent said “You may kiss the bride” she turned so that it would be a kiss on the cheek.
Even as a child that set off alarm bells.
– MyHandisHandle
3. Some clearly wanted out.
Shortly after the ceremony the groom announced to everyone including his bride (my niece), that he had enlisted in the Navy and was due to report in a few weeks.
She was beyond surprised, They didn’t even make it a year.
– ALinLOSANGELES
4. Others did nothing to hide their true motives.
At a friends wedding ( 2 years ago) the bride kept the bar open until 3 am after the groom went home at 10pm.
She kept telling everyone that she is just with him because he has money and a flat.
They are now going through a divorce after she cheated on him
– Andwhy99
5. Some people just clearly aren’t mature enough for this.
The bride got so drunk that the bar cut her (and everyone else) off. The groom was also drunk.
People started leaving at midnight, and the bride got mad and yelled about how they were all “ruining” her wedding because she wanted to dance and drink more.
I was their designated driver to get them to their hotel.
The entire drive there, they fought. She berated him. He cried. That was a long 20 minute drive.
I could have scrubbed vomit out with cleaners, but the awkwardness has stained that car forever.
– trabbaro
6. Some weren’t subtle at all.
About an hour before my cousin’s wedding she made the comment that her next wedding wasn’t going to be as big and complicated.
She was right- her 2nd wedding was super small.
– PapillonMom
7. This one makes you want to cringe and cheer simultaneously.
While getting up the stairs, the groom stepped on the bride’s gown, she turned and slapped him and called him blind.
He turned the other way and left.
– RobertDentist
8. It’s probably not a great sign if you’re bored at your own wedding.
Husband disappeared two hours in to a six hour reception because he was bored.
Just went into the house and hung out on his phone.
– ohheycole
9. …or if you waited till this moment to break up with your ex.
The bride showed up late to her own wedding, crying and needing to compose herself because she just said goodbye to the other guy she was seeing.
– brighteyes82
10. Some were too weird to be believed.
Groom snogging his cousin in the garden
– littlesnowlamp
11. And finally, a personal favorite with three twists.
The groom had his car stolen on the morning of the wedding and spent the whole day swearing and punching inanimate objects because, as we all heard a thousand times that day, not only was it “the most important thing in his life” it also wasn’t insured.
The wedding was at a boy scout hall, for no apparent reason… and the reception was in the cafeteria at one of those Underwater World places with the glass tunnel, but no one was allowed to go see the fish because, get this, the whole day had a Lion King theme.
Then towards the end of the night the bride beat one of the bridesmaids half to death because she caught her f*cking a groomsman who she tearfully admonished for “cheating on her’.
I have no idea how long the marriage lasted for, I never saw or heard from them again.
– hokeyWB
If there’s anything we can learn from this, it’s probably that it’s super-duper OK to wait until you’re absolutely sure you’re ready to get married. You’ll know when you find the right one.
Got any wedding disaster stories of your own?
Dish ’em out in the comments.