Worst Wedding You've Ever Attended

[SWTXBelle]

[badgeguy]

Worst wedding ever attended? My own!!

Bg

[NinjaPoodle]

lolz^^

[PeppyGPhiB]

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I attended the wedding of some friends. They rented out a facility on a beach, at night, in October. They didn't have a lot of money, so they decided to DIY...or so we thought. We knew that ahead of time, so my husband volunteered to help with grilling when they told us that was their plan. Well, we showed up an hour before the wedding - to get the lay of the land - to find none of the food preportioned, laid out or prepared. Other friends were setting up the tables, making the placecards, setting up the music/AV. We were handed a card telling us that photography would be provided by us, the guests, and on the card was a list of shots we were tasked with taking. After a lovely ceremony, which I witnessed without my husband because he was helping the non-caterers get food opened and placed in containers for the "cocktail hour," everyone was asked to go outside for a while so the room could be re-set. It was cold and raining outside. Meanwhile, my husband was still trying to help get the food going, and the two tiny grills started. He discovered there weren't enough steaks for the 100 guests, and the chicken was frozen in two square blocks. I thought they were roasts when I saw them. Another guest went and got ice for the bar since there was none; another guest went and bought salad dressing since there was none. My husband and another one of our friends were outside all night cooking the steaks and chicken while guests ate, the cake was cut, first dances happened, etc. At one point the father of the bride went outside and hollered at them for not having the chicken - which never did defrost - done and served. I eventually insisted that they come inside, chicken or not. I made my husband a plate of food and sat with him as he ate, all alone at our table. After about a half hour, the music on the iPod changed pace, slowing down and eventually ending with "Hit the Road, Jack." Then the bride got on the mic and said they appreciated everyone helping them clean up, because they had to be out of there by midnight. This was at 11:30. A lot of the guests grabbed trash bags and started cleaning up, but we took off. My husband had already missed the whole wedding...he didn't even get to see them get married!

I was pretty appalled. It's one thing to DIY...most brides these days do a lot of DIY. But it's another to ask your guests to throw the party for you, and that's what this was.

[christiangirl]

^^^I'm reminded forcefully of an acquaintance who recently "decided to throw" a barbeque. By this, she meant asking people to RSVP then, once everyone did, updated the FB invitation to say who was assigned to bring meat, who was bringing buns, who was bringing beer, etc. I thought it was bad enough to do this for a party but a wedding? Wow.

[chi-o_cat]

This wasn’t really the “worst wedding”, but it was memorable, in a negative way, due to poor communication between the couple and the guests. I was invited to a wedding a few years back. It was someone I’d been friends with, and she moved to another city a few hours away. The invitation stated the ceremony would be held at a church in their new city, with lunch to follow at a nearby Olive Garden.

So we drove down for the wedding, they had the ceremony, and then afterwards, there was a table set up in the lobby of the church. This was a very small church- it did not appear to have a fellowship hall or similar room, this was just in the area between the front doors and the sanctuary. There was punch and cake all sort of snacks and finger foods. I was thinking, Hmmm, this is weird to have so much food out, when we’re all going to Olive Garden, but I figured it was just to tide us over while the couple, their attendants and the families did all the photography in the sanctuary. And would we be eating the cake before going to have lunch? Okay, that’s cool, maybe Olive Garden wouldn’t allow them to bring in their own cake. After the photo session, everyone joined us in the lobby, and more snacks were eaten. At this point I was starting to suspect that the reception had been moved and this was it. Eventually I heard someone (one of the mothers?) say something to someone about how much money they were saving by not having the Olive Garden lunch. I discreetly told my date to go ahead and have more snacks, since this was our lunch. I was standing at the food table, talking to one of the other guests, and I commented on one of the food items, and asked if he’d tried them. He said “I haven’t been eating much of this, I’m saving my appetite for Olive Garden.” So I had to tell him (a total stranger, by the way), that there wasn’t going to be an Olive Garden. That was so awkward!

There’s nothing wrong with punch & snacks in the church as your reception. But if you send out invites stating one thing, and then change to something else without even telling the guests- just leaving them to figure it out themselves, that’s not cool. Even a line in the program like “The couple invites you to share punch and refreshments in the lobby after the ceremony” would have clued us in about what we’d be doing.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by chi-o_cat

This wasn’t really the “worst wedding”, but it was memorable, in a negative way, due to poor communication between the couple and the guests. I was invited to a wedding a few years back. It was someone I’d been friends with, and she moved to another city a few hours away. The invitation stated the ceremony would be held at a church in their new city, with lunch to follow at a nearby Olive Garden.

So we drove down for the wedding, they had the ceremony, and then afterwards, there was a table set up in the lobby of the church. This was a very small church- it did not appear to have a fellowship hall or similar room, this was just in the area between the front doors and the sanctuary. There was punch and cake all sort of snacks and finger foods. I was thinking, Hmmm, this is weird to have so much food out, when we’re all going to Olive Garden, but I figured it was just to tide us over while the couple, their attendants and the families did all the photography in the sanctuary. And would we be eating the cake before going to have lunch? Okay, that’s cool, maybe Olive Garden wouldn’t allow them to bring in their own cake. After the photo session, everyone joined us in the lobby, and more snacks were eaten. At this point I was starting to suspect that the reception had been moved and this was it. Eventually I heard someone (one of the mothers?) say something to someone about how much money they were saving by not having the Olive Garden lunch. I discreetly told my date to go ahead and have more snacks, since this was our lunch. I was standing at the food table, talking to one of the other guests, and I commented on one of the food items, and asked if he’d tried them. He said “I haven’t been eating much of this, I’m saving my appetite for Olive Garden.” So I had to tell him (a total stranger, by the way), that there wasn’t going to be an Olive Garden. That was so awkward!

There’s nothing wrong with punch & snacks in the church as your reception. But if you send out invites stating one thing, and then change to something else without even telling the guests- just leaving them to figure it out themselves, that’s not cool. Even a line in the program like “The couple invites you to share punch and refreshments in the lobby after the ceremony” would have clued us in about what we’d be doing.

This became "worst wedding" for me when said the reception would be at Olive Garden. Quite frankly, I think snacks and punch are more appropriate.

[Gusteau]

Originally Posted by agzg

This became "worst wedding" for me when said the reception would be at Olive Garden. Quite frankly, I think snacks and punch are more appropriate.

LOL, this.

[chi-o_cat]

Originally Posted by agzg

This became "worst wedding" for me when said the reception would be at Olive Garden. Quite frankly, I think snacks and punch are more appropriate.

I know....I didn't want to sound too judgey. I wanted to make sure it was clear that my problem was they didn't tell people about the change. Yeah, Olive Garden wouldn't really be my choice, either, but it's their day.

I probably should have just said "a restaurant" instead of specifying Olive Garden.

[SWTXBelle]

Haters.

http://gawker.com/5891587/grand-fork...arilyn-hagerty

[agzg]

Originally Posted by chi-o_cat

I know....I didn't want to sound too judgey. I wanted to make sure it was clear that my problem was they didn't tell people about the change. Yeah, Olive Garden wouldn't really be my choice, either, but it's their day.

I probably should have just said "a restaurant" instead of specifying Olive Garden.

I love Olive Garden, not even ironically (unlimited breadsticks? HECK YES), but wedding reception material it ain't. I'm totally down with someone serving punch and snacks as a reception. But yes, you're right, they should have told their guests of the change.

[Sciencewoman]

Agreed that they should have notified everyone on the change.

I saw the Grand Forks restaurant critic being interviewed after her review went viral. Hey, it was a big deal for them to get an Olive Garden!

When we were on an Alaskan cruise in 2008, we were told how the residents of Haines, Alaska were so excited when the first McDonald's opened up in Juneau, they chartered a plane to bring burgers and fries to the whole town. They met the plane on the tarmac. Those must have been some cold fries!

[ASTalumna06]

I just came across this article of the top 10 things wedding guests complain about:

http://www.bridalguide.com/blogs/rea...est-complaints

[ASTalumna06]

I was just asked to be in my best friend's wedding. The wedding isn't for another year, but I have a question, and I figured this is (potentially) the best thread for it:

The ceremony is in NH. The reception is in MA. The distance between the church and the reception location is about 30 minutes. We (the bridesmaids) received a message from the bride saying that her and the groom were looking into group hotel rates in NH, in the same city as the ceremony.

So.. it will be a half hour drive from the ceremony to the reception, and also from the reception back to the hotel. Is it just me, or is this pretty far? And is it REALLY far to ask people to drive after a reception?

Also, because this reception location is so popular, you have to book it 2 years in advance if you want to book a Saturday. So the wedding is on a Friday. Normally I wouldn't mind, but depending on what time the wedding is, we could be competing with weekday traffic, and potentially, rush hour, for what's already a decent distance to drive.

Am I crazy for thinking this is crazy?

[SWTXBelle]

I'm from Texas - 30 minutes? Pshaw!

That said, would the happy couple entertain the idea of a party bus to ferry at least the attendants and perhaps the guests? Even if you got caught in traffic, it would be like the reception had already started!