A wedding is meant to be one of the happiest days of your life, but as many married couples know, the mix of free-flowing alcohol along with family and friends coming together can sometimes lead to absolute disaster.
That's become more evident than ever with a new Reddit thread asking users: "Those who have been to a ruined wedding, what happened?"
The post quickly went viral, racking up over 20,000 comments. Answers ranged from dire experiences with drunk guests, no shows, wasp attacks and even death.
Here are some of our favourite submissions:
An empty barn
"I've catered many weddings, and there have been some memorable ones… Fights between guests, wedding cakes falling over, red wine spilt on wedding dresses. The lot. The one I'll never forget - an all-day do, small ceremony (a few close friends and family) and a big reception filled with a huge buffet, every type of food you could imagine and a free bar. All in the same venue.
"They had booked and paid for 250 evening guests. But 30 guests turned up, at most. My heart broke for this couple. A massive beautiful converted barn, loads of food and drinks, great music - but no guests.
"At about 10pm (the venue was licensed until 11pm) the buffet food had barely been touched (the few who were there ate - but it hardly made a dent as it was planned for soooo many more people), I asked the mother of the bride if she wanted me to cover and refrigerate the untouched food so the new couple could take it home and her response of "Oh no, there are still a lot of people coming" was the most awkward I've ever felt in my life.
"No more guests showed."
A sting in the tail
"I went to one where the reception was in a field with a marquee. I didn’t know anyone because I was a plus one.
"The cake melted and fell over before the married couple arrived. Wasps got into and died in the Pimms that was to be offered out. A bridesmaid got stung. I later bonded with a stranger over fear of spiders when some ran across the table (we were packed in tight, couldn’t escape and made a scene).
"The generator broke down after sunset so the lighting cut out and the music stopped. Someone played music on their phone and we lit candles."
An unexpected discovery
"When I was six or seven I went to a cousin's wedding. Everything was fabulous for little me: so much sugar everywhere, basically heaven. The reception was in a big community centre that was reserved for the occasion. Went to the girls' bathroom, passing by the men's room to see my uncle on the floor. Went back to the main room to tell my dad my uncle was looking weird. Well, my uncle had a stroke and had died.
"The bride spent the rest of the afternoon crying, and everyone except close family left."
"Vinny will never give up prostitutes"
"Was a guest of a friend of the bride, did not know anyone attending. Very expensive over the top place, several hundred guests of this very Italian wedding. Maid of honour grabs the mic at the cocktail hour and begins her rambling, drunk, speech. Quickly devolves to stating the recently deceased mother of the bride was against this wedding and that's basically what killed her. Plus Vinny will never give up prostitutes. She is tackled by several people and dragged away."
Family ties
"The groom's father groped both the bride and his daughter, my then-girlfriend, multiple times each. Ended up getting punched out by his son, and locked in a mini-van for a few hours until he sobered up. Edit: half the questions are the same, and the answer is yes, he groped his own daughter, as well as his son's wife."
