Weddings are a time of joy and celebration. We're loving LOVE! However, in a heartbeat weddings can turn into a scene out of 'Psycho' or 'Dynasty.' And honey, that can be fun to watch too!
Redditor u/SittingOnTheToilet82 wanted those of us who have witnessed the drama surrounding the uniting of two souls by asking.... What's the worst/best thing you've ever seen happen at a wedding?
Hurt Me. No More.
Giphy
The minister was doing their speech during the ceremony and asked, rhetorically, "What is love?"
"Baby don't hurt me" was muttered by several groomsmen, who all started cracking up. PoseidonsHairyNipple
The Giant!Ā
My ex-husband and I were at his cousins wedding. Another cousin of his (25/M) was a groomsman. He was a GIANT guy (6'4, roughly 400 pounds) and the life of the party. Picking kids up and throwing them in the air, holding the Groom on his shoulders, dancing like a maniac. Having a blast.
I went to the bathroom and came back to the reception to the music cut and everyone circled around the dance floor just... panicked. There was Matt. Completely purplish red and on the floor while a guest performed CPR and others were calling 911, taking his pulse, screaming.
He passed away from a massive heart attack. Pronounced dead on the scene.
The reception ended right then and there, obviously. The bride and groom were supposed to leave for their honeymoon to Hawaii that same evening. They ended up not going and instead they stayed home to attend the funeral where the Groom was a pallbearer. YasMysteries
Broke Out.Ā
My buddy married a woman who was estranged from most of her family save her 90+ year old grandpa. They were so close and he was in poor health that the wedding was held in grandpa's backyard so he could be there.
36 hours before the wedding he had a massive heart attack and was rushed to the ER. They were recommending hospice/palliative care and bride to be was going to call off the wedding. Grandpa insisted it go on even with him not being at his own house because people were flying from all over the country. All during intermittent bouts of consciousness.
Fast forward to the wedding and this determined grandad "broke out" of the hospital. just unhooked all his equipment/IV stuff and took a cab to his own house hours before the wedding.
The family that was invited was incredibly upset but knew how close he was to the bride and he ended up staying through the whole ceremony without issue. Slept in his bed and then returned to the hospital the next day. Think he also drank a few beers
Absolute legend of a man. an4x
They Lived.Ā
Watching the groom and his best men ride the bathtub that was used for the beer down a hill and not die. It was a hill for loading boats into a river. It was like a 150 foot ride and they got going scary fast. The bath broke into pieces but all five of the men where fine.... somehow. TheGreatWitchPaige
The Long Pause.
Giphy
At my wedding, the maid of honor gave a 15 minute speech that did nothing but reference her breakup, and then me and my wife's prior relationships in gruesome detail. Longest 15 minutes of my life. We're no longer married. HackTheSystem-90
The Dance.Ā
My best friend's biological father, who took off when she was very young, threw a fit and made everyone from his family leave, because my best friend did her father/daughter dance with her step dad, who has raised her in her father's absence. watermelonoma
It Works Out.Ā
When I was a child, my cousin and I cut my our aunt's wedding cake while everyone was out of the room. We thought we were helping. I'd feel bad, she ended up divorcing the dude and her current husband is awesome. AbraxasEolh
Good for the Soul.Ā
I was at a wedding where the family had a tradition that between the wedding and the reception, the couple would take a fifteen minute break to share a large bowl of chicken soup. They ate at a table in the middle of the courtyard and no one was allowed to come near.
Not only does it prevent the starving bride problem, but it emphasizes that they are accountable only to each other. jeffbell
Destroyers!Ā
A guest let their children play in the kitchen a couple hours before the wedding despite repeatedly being told not to let their children in there (among other things, apparently they'd been misbehaving a lot). The kids destroyed the wedding cake. I believe they were related to the bride somehow and that's why they were there so early. Chickenpastalover
I Love an Evil Monkey.
Giphy
At my wedding the registrar said the best mans name instead of mine during the I do's and my wife was to busy staring at me to notice. My mate with pure class started to stand up and walk up to take my place! I gave him the evil monkey stare and the whole room was laughing pretty hard. The registrars face was bright red and she apologized for it. LOL Badger_bo
The Sound of the Tings....
When my uncle got married the best man dropped the ring. In the dead silence of the church you could hear it 'ting ting ting' as it bounced along the floor, followed by one of the groomsmen stage whispering "Jesus Christ" loud enough for everyone to hear. The pastor didn't even bat an eye, just said, "The ring has already been blessed, thank you" and carried on. ink_monkey96
We hear You!
I walked by an outdoor wedding in which the bride walked in to "Maneater" and the groom walked in to "Gold Digger." Either the whole family has a great sense of humor or the marriage is doomed. GKrollin
Roll Away.
Giphy
Roller Skate wedding. Bride fell down and opened a gusher on her head. They finished the ceremony and took her to the hospital. She ended up needing emergency surgery to drain fluid build up in her head and ended up having to relearn how to walk.
The adverse effects were from the surgery that saved her life, not the accident itself. Sometimes to save someone, you gotta mess some crap up. TheLightningCount1
Interruptions.Ā
They rented a huge manor.... Music? Not a problem: Spotify.... Premium you ask? Nope..... with the commercials. osktox
This couple asked everyone to request a song on their RSVPs and they made a playlist. It was all random songs in random order. A lot of them weren't even good dancing or party songs, just songs people liked. Spotify sounds better. jittery_raccoon
Besties....
There was a couple who had been "best friends" forever- like... many years. They never put the boyfriend/girlfriend label on anything, but they were both in the military, lived together, and were an item long before they introduced each other as girlfriend and boyfriend.
By the time they started "dating" they only really dated for about a year before they got married, even though they'd effectively been together for over a decade. Their families knew each other, everyone who knew them knew they were going to eventually get married- it wasn't weird if you knew them.
During their wedding, they were brought to the dance floor to play some kind of newlywed game while the DJ (who didn't know them) MC'd the event. He asked how long they dated, to which they said just under a year. The DJ goes on this rant about how he can't believe people that only know each other for a short period of time and get married. He ironically asked them if they understood that they were getting MARRIED and that he seriously doubted that they'd known each other for long enough to make that kind of commitment. Yiiiiikes. raddlesnake
Beware the Rando!Ā
My wife was recently a bridesmaid for her friend who she hadn't really seen in a few years. It was actually a nice wedding and the reception was also pretty nice. Unfortunately the groomsman my wife was paired with was under the impression that she was going to go home with him after the wedding. Me and my wife have been together for almost 20 years. And some rando she met one or two times is going to sweep her off her feet when her husband and kid are in the same room? PunchBeard
Tears and Upstaging!Ā
Best: Bride and Groom both happy crying at the alter.
Worst: Another man proposing to his girlfriend during the reception.
Never seen but heard about: Someone else proposing to the bride during the ceremony. Somuchtoomuchporn
What a Zoo....
My cousin had her wedding at a zoo because she was a vet tech and her first date was at a zoo as well as her engagement so it just made sense. I was a bridesmaid so we got to get especially up close to the animals. The giraffes kept trying to eat the bouquets during the pictures (and they were nontoxic so it was mostly just funny and cute). detrimentsLament
BOO!
Giphy
I was at my "cousin's" wedding (not actually related but she's my godmother's daughter). Her and her husband hired this performer for their reception. This woman was dressed up like a plant and was in what looked like a large cement planter outside.
My mother and I decided to sit right next to where she was. Every so often she would change position but did so kind of slowly, almost like she was being moved by the wind in slow motion.
Now that in and of itself isn't really that cool. What was great though, was the fact that this woman dressed as a plant was manufacturing fun for herself. She would stay still and wait for people to stop in front of her and start a conversation. When she was sure they hadn't noticed her, she would start moving and scare the crap out of the people that were there. My mother and I got a good hour or so of amusement from that. EsotericTaint
HEEEEEEY Boys!
Gay male wedding in England. Registrar stands at front of the ceremony before starting the vows and for some inexplicable reason says "get your rings ready boys." Cue 30 gays bursting out in uncontrollable laughter, and the older family members at the front looking round confused and/or disapprovingly. Didsburyflaneur
Maybe it's PTSD. When I was a kid, there was a haunted house across the street from my apartment in Queens. Some murder had taken place there so of course nobody would buy it. And the owners let it fall into decay...
Bless Me Father
max von sydow priest GIFGiphy"A pastor died of a heart attack in the house I grew up in (before we owned it)."
"When I was a baby, I was sick with Croup. Apparently in the night I was having trouble breathing and was beginning to suffocate. The ceiling light fixture in my nursery fell out of the ceiling and smashed on the floor, waking my parents who found me choking. Parents are absolutely convinced the pastor's ghost had intervened and saved my life."
"shave and a haircut"
"When I was little, I had a loft bed with a desk underneath. I've always been a pretty heavy sleeper, I could fall asleep at a concert, so it was strange when I began waking up at 3 in the morning every morning. What was even more strange were the noises coming from the attic. Shuffling, knocking, boxes moving. My 9 year old brain rationalized it as an animal or bird that had gotten in."
"After a few weeks of crap sleep, I decided to knock back on my ceiling the "shave and a haircut" pattern because I was bored and hadn't interacted with whatever was in the attic. I waited in silence for a few minutes until I was about to fall back asleep, and then I heard it. From the ceiling a foot from my face, it knocked back the pattern. Every night when I woke up, I'd knock and sometimes get a response."
"It gradually stopped over the years but I still wake up at 3 am every night. It's weird but it only happens in my room, I sleep fine in hotels and other houses. 13 years later and I've just been getting weird vibes around my house. I feel like I'm being watched. I sometimes hear someone saying my name, most notably before bed and whatever said it is VERY close to my ear. I can feel their breath as they whisper, and it freaks me out so much that it takes hours to get back to sleep."
"The shuffling in the attic also started up again but I don't want to knock back anymore. There's a lot of weird sh*t that happens, things get moved, my dogs and cat stare at the same blank spot, but these are just what's been currently happening. I just don't know what to do anymore."
"don't be scared'
"I was a kid outside playing in the middle of the day. We lived in a 2-story apartment complex and I was located underneath a set of stairs and between two apartments so the air was very calm. My childhood friend and my sis were a bit farther from me by a locked storage room and my friend stopped and swore she saw the doorknob move. The door was usually open if it was in use but it was locked shut."
"They both stood there staring at the doorknob trying to see if it moved again but I was spooked and turned around to book it when halfway through my turn, a whisper in my ear stopped me in my tracks. It was the voice of a young girl. I stood there listening to her and I could feel her breath tickling my ear."
"I don't recall much but I do remember that she said "don't be scared." I think the gist was that she was trying to be encouraging. After she was done I turned around to see who was talking to me but no one was there. I was completely surprised to see that there was no girl so I finally booked it out of there lol."
"AWEEEE"
"My house is super haunted, but its too many little instances to put into one story. I guess I'll just go with the most recent one. A few nights ago I heard running upstairs, despite being home alone. I thought it was my cat, but then he came downstairs, and the running continued. I was a little spooked, but its not the worst thing that's happened in this house. The running lasted for quite a while, plus a few knocks."
"The next morning I was cleaning upstairs in that room and my cat crawled into a box of fabric. I thought he was being cute so I said "AWEEEE" and started to pull out my phone to take a picture. While I was still reaching for my phone, I heard a mocking "AWEEE" right behind me. I completely froze and just let myself process it for a few seconds before checking the room. Obviously I was still alone. That one spooked me a little."
Spinning
Librarian Ghost GIF by GhostbustersGiphy"When I was younger I set up the camera on my PSP to spy on my brother, later on, I watched the video just to see the office chair spinning around on its own, wish I was joking."
- Mosey04
And the neighborhood kids, we were all idiots who thought it would be fun to take turns daring one another to go inside, at night. If you didn't go in, you were ridiculed and laughed at. I should've said go ahead laugh, I don't care, I'm not going in. But I didn't say that...
Carl's House
Horror Reaction GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy"My friend Carl's last apartment had 2 ghosts. One was a little girl who would play with your hair while you were hanging out in the living room as well as running along the vertical blinds making them swing back and forth. The second I never saw or heard but I did feel him. One night, I locked myself out of my apartment (we lived in the same complex one building over from each other) so I asked to crash Carl's place for the night while he went to work."
"But he had told me don't go in to his room. There is a male ghost who will tell you that you don't belong in there. His previous roommate had let several friends crash his room and a tall black shadow opened the door and said get out to all of them. Freaked them the hell out. So here I am on the couch in the living room. Head on the end of the couch that looks down the hall to the bedrooms and bathroom. I swear I was being watched. Then it hit me. I needed to pee. And the bathroom is right across the hall from Carl's bedroom. Fan. Tastic."
"So I slowly creep down the hall and about 5 feet from my goal I said hey man I just need to use the bathroom. Then it felt like a cloud of energy got pulled back into the bedroom despite the door being closed. So I did my thing and hauled @ss back to the couch but I put my head on the other end of the couch. Nothing outstanding but just a really creepy vibe. On the positive side at least Carl had someone looking out for him."
On Camera
"I connected a webcam to my computer way back when I was a kid. Middle of the night the camera was trained in the hallway. All of a sudden hallway lights flicker on and you see a dark figure run into my brothers room. 30 minutes later you see my brother walk down the hallway himself going towards his room. He had been playing on the family desktop all night. Really freaked me out in the morning when we reviewed I'm the footage. I believe it's still saved to the laptop not that I know where it is lol."
finally morning...
"I used to live in a basement apartment when I was in grad school. The landlady lived in the main house and while she herself was super nice and cool, her house always felt really off to me. However, she charged a reasonable amount of rent and I was only 2 miles from school. About a week or two after I moved in, I had gone to bed and the apartment was pitch black at night."
"If my landlady ever wanted to speak to me, I would hear the doors above the stairs unlock and she would call out to me. One night, I heard movement on the steps but I didn't hear her unlock the doors and it was probably 2 in the morning. She certainly didn't call me saying she needed to talk to me."
"I hear these heavy steps descending the stairs but I'm so scared that I shrink further in my bed to hide. The floor begins to creak towards my door and then nothing for a few seconds. I'm not sure if it is safe to relax and go back to bed. Then I hear the door knob start to turn. My fear makes me so scared that I pull the covers over my head to hide."
"I prayed the whole time under the covers. The next thing I know it's finally morning. I stayed in that apartment for two years. When it was my graduation, I slept in a hotel because there was no room for my family to sleep. That night in the hotel was the first restful sleep I had in what felt like forever."
"fire monster"
"Growing up our house was blessed 3 times before it became... Normal. Stuff would fly off shelves and countertops. The dog would constantly bark at the attic entry as my brother screamed "fire monster." And 1 night it sounded like someone broke in and was stomping down the stairs so my dad got his gun ready... And nothing was there. As a child I would see shadows around but probably had no idea what to think of it. Me and my brother would go to the basement together cause we were both too scared to go alone. Lol."
I didn't do it.
Neon Flickering GIF by Samm HenshawGiphy"Found random crucifixes on door knobs. We aren't Catholic."
"One morning, my sister woke up and everything that was in the attic was in her bedroom. She had attic access in her bedroom. Mom was shocked, sister was lazy, dad was out of the country. I didn't do it. Explain that."
When I went in, I swear I heard screams. So I screamed and turned to run and fell through the floorboards. That did not go well. I hate haunted houses.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Why are Americans so stubborn in our behaviors when we travel? Would you go into a stranger's home and just put your feet up on the coffee table? Apparently the answer for many of you is yes.
When I am preparing for foreign travel I do a ton of research first. I want to make sure I know as much as I can, as to have the safest and most enjoyable experience possible. I also want to understand customs and the culture as to not be rude or leave a lasting bad impression.
And from the sounds of it, I'm an American minority on this topic.
Redditor u/Bugginette wanted Americans to listen up so that the next time we travel, we leave a better impression. So they inquired:
Non Americans of Reddit, what is the weirdest thing you have seen an American tourist do that would be considered very disrespectful/inappropriate in your country?
The only time I really caused a scene while traveling was when I was with a theatre troupe. We went to Amsterdam to tour a show. And let's just say we might have "indulged" in some cannabis, and run amok in the towns square for a bit. You could feel the disdain from the locals. Sorry, y'all. We'll do better next time.
Thieves...
Jurassic Park Dinosaur GIF by VidiotsGiphy"When I was in France a couple of American tourists tried to sneak out of the Paris Catacombs with a bone they had stolen."
Cheapskate...
"Not buy their round. In a pub in Ireland. When the pub round system had been explained to them. And they had happily taken drinks from everyone. And when it was their round, and everyone had empty glasses and it was mentioned that "Think it's your round..." and they responded " I think I'm good now thanks" Mortified for bringing them with me!! (and yes I bought the round for everyone else on their behalf.)"
NO!!
"I'm an American but I was visiting England and touring the Tower of London. There was a cannon behind a rope with a "Do not touch or climb" sign. This American woman lifted the rope and told her kid (maybe 7 years old) to go sit on the cannon so she could take a picture. The KID protested and said the sign said no... The woman said she didn't care, and ordered her kid to do it or she'd ground them."
Hush up Karen!!
Karen GIF by moodmanGiphy"I overheard the guy standing in front of me in the queue at mc D's having a meltdown:"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T ACCEPT AMERICAN DOLLARS. THIS IS A MCDONALD'S!!!" This was in Poland, Europe."
U Crazy Girl!
"An American exchange student who complained to me in anger that book stores in Germany have so many books in German. I mean, it's not unusual here for every book store to even have a small section of books in other languages including English so it's not like she never got to buy a book here she could read."
How do you not research the currency? It's literally the FIRST thing you should be doing. For the love of God. There really should be a bad behavior travel ban list. It's not that arduous a task to not act like a fool. Oof.
Take It!
Megan Mullally Lol GIF by Will & GraceGiphy"I was in Rome and a lady was confused why the confectionery stand man wouldn't take her dollars."
Crazy Bird
"I was working a bar in Scotland. There was a woman one night with her daughter and she refused to pay with anything other than American cash. It was a super uncomfortable situation, me trying to explain how stupid it all was, her daughter (who I think was living in Scotland) was trying to calm her down and trying to pay but the mother kept pulling the her hand away from the card machine saying "you people love our money, our money is more important than yours."
"She kicked on for a solid 5 to 10 minutes, her daughter ended up paying and leaving. Then she had a go at me for embarrassing her daughter and she even left a review on trip advisor explaining the situation, she explained it perfectly literally wrote herself as the bag guy in the review. Freaking mind boggling how delusional this bird was."
- jaxxie04
"Haven't you planned your trip?"
"Probably only weird but when on a flight back to the UK from the US, the American lady sat next to me, started asking questions about England about 40 minutes before landing and not just like any "local recommendations" but really basic stuff like what currency do we use. It seemed like she had got on the plane knowing absolutely nothing about the UK, which blew my mind."
"Not just from a "haven't you planned your trip?" POV but having the confidence to do that. She seemed to think it was a small place and everything she wanted to see would be in front of her hotel. She was very polite and lovely about it in a naive way though."
To what end lady?
"In Canada some stores will accept American cash as payment, but by law have to still give Canadian change. I worked in a city that got a lot of American tourists, and it was crazy how often someone would get really frustrated with us for not giving them American change. I had someone even accuse me of lying about it being the law. To what end lady?"
"It's been pointed out that this may not actually be a law, it may just be the rules at the store or some accounting thing. It's been like ten years so the details are fuzzy."
Unimpressed Loop GIFAmerican Karens are just running a global mess. I mean who thinks this is decent, human behavior? Y'all need some serious discipline. And Americans are the first ones to point out bad behavior of visitors here. Help it make sense Lord.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
If tragedy had struck me at 5, I know I would've asked to meet ALF. I thought he was real...and Kermit & Piggy. Like I would've loved a tea and ice cream party with them. Actually... I would still ask for that now.
Mulan
China Oops GIFGiphy"I had cancer when I was very young and I was able to get a Make-A-Wish. Without hesitation, I said I wished I could eat Butterfingers with Mulan."
"It was my favorite candy and my favorite Disney character at the time so it made sense to me. But they didn't really know what to do, so they just sent me off to Disney World lol. Every time I go to Disney, I always bring Butterfingers with me & I always try to find Mulan in hopes my wish can come true. Maybe one day!"
"Ayo. Wish higher."
"I shot an internal promotional video for Make a Wish once. I got to read through a big book of wishes they had granted. Some of them were so extravagant and amazing. Family vacations, celebrity meetings. And then I saw a 3 year old who wished for a banana split for breakfast. And that's what they gave him. No one was like "Ayo. Wish higher."
Jewels...
"I helped host a visit to a planetarium by a kid whose wish was to go to the moon. The front office folks thought I could just give her a personal tour of the planetarium and show her some nice high-resolution visuals, but I thought she deserved better than that. I commissioned a jeweler friend and meteorite enthusiast to make a silver crescent moon necklace, which he graciously donated to the cause, and I donated a small lunar meteorite from my own collection."
"It was a gorgeous necklace very much to the credit of my friend's artistry and generosity. We couldn't take her to the moon so we gave it to her instead. She was thrilled, but later said her real highlight of the trip was the astronaut ice cream. Ah, kids."
A Few Ideas...
- "To be a "merman" (a boy mermaid). He got a tail and swam in the giant tank with other mermaids at the aquarium.
- To play football with "the red team" (no pro or college preference - just had to be red). USC made it happen."
"3) To be a "cool kid": Got a limo ride to the mall.. red carpet entrance with cheering fans, signed autographs, shopping spree for clothes. 5 years old- So cute- and very "cool."
"4) To be Robin (not Batman... he said he wasn't ready for that). Went on an epic adventure fighting crime with Batman."
Thanks Vlasic
Big Deal Sunglasses GIF by Dietz & WatsonGiphy"There was a Make-a-Wish kid in a class I taught once and their wish was to tour a pickle factory. Pickles were their all time favorite food and they wanted to see how the sausage was made so to speak. Apparently Vlasic rose to the occasion in a major way and she had the time of her life."
Now I want a pickle and I think I need to rewatch "Mulan." At 12, I def would've asked to meet Madonna. No, I would've asked to go on tour with Madonna. And I would've wanted an endless supply of Fun-Dip. Remember that?
2 of a Kind
baby delivering GIFGiphy"I know someone who was granted a wish. Of all things they could choose, they asked for 2 tiny birds, 2 budgies."
- jdicaire
What up LEGO??
"I worked at a LEGO retail store in the 2000s and Make-A-Wish approached us for a child with terminal Osteosarcoma who wanted to be in the store for a day. LEGO unfortunately denied the request (which surprised myself and the rest of the staff because LEGO was a pretty great company)."
"Staff decided to honor the request ourselves. We closed the store early on a Sunday, then invited the kid and family in. He had a full run of the store, we collectively paid for like $1000 worth of toys for him to take home, and just spent the entire evening building w/e he wanted. He died a few months later š."
Hey Brandon
"In wizard 101 there's a quest with an NPC named Brandon, named after a make a wish kid who played the game, and his request was to design a side quest for the game. You meet Brandon and go help him clear out this dungeon with 2 really freaking hard bosses, was a lotta fun. At the end you get a gem you can socket that lets you summon Brandon into battle as a follower, pretty cool. Not sure what ended up happening to Brandon, but it's really cool that thousands of ppl have gotten to enjoy being a part of his wish tbh."
The Doc is In...
"I was approached by a similar organization who wanted to arrange a day for a kid to shadow a veterinarian. I'm just a small animal veterinarian with a small hospital so I found it odd that I'd be approached. I said yes (who tf would say no?) and we picked a day and had our regular patients in the hospital and the kid got to watch us do our thing for a day."
"We gave him a lab coat and a stethoscope and let him tag along and see x rays and ultrasounds and watch surgeries. I brought my dog in so he could try the ultrasound on her. He seemed to enjoy it. It wasn't a terribly strange request really, it just seems like my day-to-day isn't something anyone would consider their dream experience."
- TankVet
FORE!!
golf swinging GIFGiphy"My cousin was a Make a Wish kid. He loved golf, like had a scholarship to go play college, he loved it so much. He got to meet and play a round of golf with Payne Stewart. Unfortunately, he died not too long after that. I hate you cancer!"
I love these stories when I hear them. They make me believe in humanity, briefly. At my current age... I'd still want to meet ALF and Madonna but also, bourbon and tea with Adele. And you?
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.