Wedding Disaster Stories and What to Learn From Them
Everyone wants their wedding to be perfect. With the amount of time, money, and planning that goes into the day, it’s never a good feeling when a problem arises and something unexpectedly goes wrong. However, every once in a while, there is a wedding that has a mishap so massive, so catastrophic, that it puts all other wedding imperfections to shame. These are the weddings that make national news, the stories you share with your friends on social media out of shock that people like the ones at these events really exist. As funny or cringe-worthy as they might be, there are also important lessons to be learned from each of them about what not to do at your own wedding.
Photography Predicament
Our first story takes place in England, where a couple hired a young photographer they’d found through her “professional” Facebook page to take their wedding photos. The first red flag appeared when, after hiring the woman, the couple couldn’t get back in touch with her to discuss details until the night before the wedding itself. From there, things only went downhill-- she showed up 45 minutes late to the event with only one camera in tow, produced a total of 15 low-quality photos from the entire day (some of which led to the bride’s dress being stained with mud and the groom’s recently-surgically-repaired knee being reinjured), spent a portion of the reception taking selfies in a photo booth instead of continuing to do her job, and then later refused to show up in court after the couple sued her for the $850 she had charged them. The photographer argued that she had done her best to showcase their wedding, but the couple firmly believed that she ruined their day.
The Lesson
Do your research! From the way the couple describes finding this photographer, it doesn’t sound like they did a very thorough exploration of their available options for wedding day photos. Don’t just look at portfolios and self-descriptions on a potential photographer’s website; look at customer testimonials, earned credentials, and offered packages, and see how they compare with those of their competitors. Actually meet in-person with professionals you’re considering hiring and ask them any questions you may have. Discuss in great detail your vision for your photos, your service expectations for the day, and what they’re realistically capable of providing you in both of those areas.
DJ Disaster
This one is ranked at number twelve on a compiled list of fifteen horror stories (all of which are worth giving a read). According to the storyteller, the DJ they hired for their wedding specialized in “weird electronic dance music” and spent the first portion of night playing non-traditional but still enjoyable sets. But things really took a turn when the groom’s brother got wasted on a combination of alcohol and pills, gave the DJ a bunch of pills to take as well, and then the two of them proceeded to wreak havoc on the remainder of the reception. The DJ’s competence went down the toilet, the evening’s schedule was completely derailed, and the brother ended up getting sick in front of everyone to bring the night to a truly terrible close.
The Lesson
Again, a lot of this comes down to doing research ahead of time and making sure that the person you decide to hire has been reviewed favorably by former clients and, while still making the event fun, is capable of maintaining a level of professionalism throughout the evening. Also, if you have friends or family who like to party and might get a little out of control on occasion, you might want to have a discussion with them before your wedding day about what kind of behavior will be deemed appropriate or inappropriate at your reception. Establishing a few ground rules in advance with your guests about acceptable conduct will help you to keep your event on track as well as ensure the safety of all attendees.
Funding Fail
Oh, boy. This is one for the history books. Four days before this bride(zilla)’s wedding, she made an expletive-laden Facebook post announcing the cancellation of the event, the end of her relationship with her almost-husband, and her impending departure to South America to spend time “exploring my soul and ridding myself of toxic energy brought on by my friends and family”. She then launched into an elaborate story about how a psychic told her to pursue an expensive blow-out wedding rather than one that would fit within her original $15,000 budget and how, in order to fund this “once and a lifetime party”, she requested that each of her guests pledge at least $1,500 apiece when they RSVPed to the event. Shockingly, only eight of their invitees committed, and after desperate pleading with loved ones and an unsuccessful GoFundMe campaign, things began to spiral even further out of control. Even more people (including the maid of honor and, eventually, the groom himself) began backing out and trying to convince the couple to lower their budget, and the bride snapped. She refused to give back any of the money she’d already received, accused her fiancé of cheating on her, and began rapidly cutting all of the “snakes” out of her life who weren’t willing to support her dream.
The Lesson
Uh...don’t ask your guests for thousands of dollars to help fund your wedding?
In all seriousness, an extremely valuable takeaway from this nightmarish tale is the importance of setting a realistic budget for your event. If the wedding of your dreams is a bit outside of your financial reach, look for areas of your personal life where it would be reasonable to temporarily make cutbacks on spending. Consider canceling any non-essential subscriptions until after the wedding, or if you have any debt from college, explore opportunities for refinancing your student loans to lower the monthly cost. Be sensible about what you can actually afford-- this one day of your life isn’t worth putting yourself at risk of financial (or life-wide) ruin.
Bad-Mannered Bride vs. Problematic Planner
Our final tale is a bit of a tricky one, as there continues to be disagreement over who is more in the wrong in this situation. After a less-than-perfect wedding, an angry bride lashed out on her hired wedding planner’s Facebook page, leaving a comment accusing the company of being rude and rushing the reception schedule. Instead of replying with the usual bland apology characteristic of companies under fire online, the company chose to respond with a similar level of venom. “We were going to let your disaster of a wedding slide but since you decided to initiate a negative comment, we are certainly willing to reply,” they began, and unleashed a flurry of insults on the the former customer, describing her and her spouse as “incompetent, discourteous and evasive”, and citing discussions they’d had with other vendors at the event about payment problems they had all encountered. Some readers have applauded the company’s boldness in standing up for themselves, but many others have loudly come to the defense of the bride and condemned the response to her review, resulting in the company deleting their entire Facebook page.
The Lesson
Regardless of who you think is most at fault here, it’s obvious that communication between the couple and their hired planning company, both before and during the wedding, was sorely lacking. If you’re looking to hire a planner or an event company for your wedding, be sure to speak with them regularly throughout the planning process, and make your expectations for the day abundantly clear so that they’re able to execute all aspects of the event at a satisfactory level. If you and your planner are on the same page the entire time, arranging your wedding plans will be much less of a headache for the both of you.
Bad-Mannered Bride vs. Problematic Planner
Our final tale is a bit of a tricky one, as there continues to be disagreement over who is more in
the wrong in this situation. After a less-than-perfect wedding, an angry bride lashed out on her
hired wedding planner’s Facebook page, leaving a comment accusing the company of being
rude and rushing the reception schedule. Instead of replying with the usual bland apology
characteristic of companies under fire online, the company chose to respond with a similar level
of venom. “We were going to let your disaster of a wedding slide but since you decided to
initiate a negative comment, we are certainly willing to reply,” they began, and unleashed a
flurry of insults on the the former customer, describing her and her spouse as “incompetent,
discourteous and evasive”, and citing discussions they’d had with other vendors at the event
about payment problems they had all encountered. Some readers have applauded the
company’s boldness in standing up for themselves, but many others have loudly come to the
defense of the bride and condemned the response to her review, resulting in the company
deleting their entire Facebook page.
The Lesson
Regardless of who you think is most at fault here, it’s obvious that communication between the
couple and their hired planning company, both before and during the wedding, was sorely
lacking. If you’re looking to hire a planner or an event company for your wedding, be sure to
speak with them regularly throughout the planning process, and make your expectations for the
day abundantly clear so that they’re able to execute all aspects of the event at a satisfactory
level. If you and your planner are on the same page the entire time, arranging your wedding
plans will be much less of a headache for the both of you.
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