Being a wedding planner can be a real tough job. From dealing with the bridezillas and high-strung moms to making sure everything is "perfect," there's a lot these wedding planners have to handle. Here are their most shocking stories.
Crushed Like Sardines
While small wedding venues can be cute, homey and intimate, having over 100 people in a small place is anything but ideal. If you have the budget, why not spend your money on something logical like a bigger venue? Just a thought. “One couple on a half-million-dollar budget could have held their wedding anywhere. But the groom insisted on having it in a huge underground, walk-out basement belonging to his parents. There was only one exit and 300 guests. I strongly recommended a tent in the backyard in case there was an emergency. But the groom and his family wouldn’t listen. What happened? It turned out to be a blisteringly hot, rainy night. It got increasingly hot inside the basement and, eventually, at the end of the cocktail hour, the air conditioner blew. There was silence. Everyone was trying to eat by candlelight and suffering from heat exhaustion.” Source
The Cat’s Out Of The Bag
We’ve all heard of bridezillas and bridesmaids getting too drunk and dancing the night away, but who would have thought a wedding would be so nerve racking for the father of the bride?! I guess giving away his daughter was a little too much to handle for this father of the bride. “No, seriously, how could I ever forget the father of the bride who got so drunk that he couldn’t make it through the reception? Instead of hitting the dance floor or enjoying dinner, he went to find somewhere to pass out. He then thought it was logical to strip down and flop — face up — on a bed in the first room he encountered. The room he chose to pass out naked in? The staff room. (That’s where we go to get to our stash of back-up supplies like extra votive candles, more hand towels for the bathroom, and the bridal emergency bag.) I will never forget the hysterical scream from one innocent server who encountered the bride’s naked dad when she went to find a basket for the dirty linens. Yikes!” Source
The Main Stage
Sure the reception can get a little rowdy. I mean what else do you expect from people when they’re given an open bar and a wide open dance floor?! But the ceremony is definitely not one of those times where a person should test out their singing skills like they’re auditioning for American Idol. While this mom may have thought a nice serenade to the newlyweds would be a sweet gesture, it most definitely was not. “One of the most ridiculous examples ever was when a mother of the groom stood up at the end of the wedding ceremony and suddenly broke out into song before the bride and groom could escape down the aisle. Not a specific song, mind you, but some random words she was fitting to a hymn involving “God bless this couple.” While I’m sure her heart was in the right place, she wasn’t in the right key. Or in tune. (Luckily, we caught this one on video.)” Source
The Wedding Dress Disaster
While the music, the food and all the other aspects of a wedding may seem important, nothing compares to that of the wedding gown. If that’s ruined, you bet all hell is going to break loose. Not only was this bride’s wedding dress turned into a complete disaster, but it was done by her very own mother! “Her mom came in from out of town and hung it on the sprinkler in the hotel room because it was the highest point in the room. But, the pipes broke and all the mold and dirt that had been in those pipes for the last 20 years went all over the dress. Luckily, I was able to solve the situation. At the last minute, my husband and the designer called and said they soaked it in some special solution that made it look as good as new. We blew it dry right before the wedding and no one knew it ever happened.”Source
A Change In Feelings
I guess there is nothing like the last minute to change plans. And no, we’re not talking about the food at the reception or the first dance song, we’re talking bigger changes than those petty things. “When I sat down with the couple the day before their wedding to fill out the marriage license paperwork, the whole vibe at our table suddenly changed. The groom then pushed the papers back and announced, ‘I’m not sure we’re ready to take this step. We’re not ready to get married yet.’ The groom then proceeded to break up with the bride, right in front of me!” Talk about an awkward day on the job and an even more devastating day for the bride. Source
An Exploding Eruption
Wedding planners are supposed to be there to do just about anything for the bride on her big day, right? Some wedding planners may get off lucky with a few simple tasks and simply making sure the day runs smoothly, other wedding planners on the other hand are definitely not so lucky. They’re left dealing with flower girls who won’t stop crying or a bride with a pee-sized bladder, or in this case, even worse. “I had to pop a bride’s pimple that was on her back, where the dress buttoned up to: she was afraid it would pop during the wedding and mess up her dress…” Talk about an awful day on the job! GROSS! Source
The Missing Bandit
Kids always seem to do the darndest things. Whether it’s screaming all the way down the aisle or being the life of the party on the dance floor, kids can sometimes steal the show in a good (or bad) way. This little girl definitely was not cute in her cake swiping antics. “At one wedding we planned, a little girl went up to the cake and swiped her fingers across the icing. The first few times it happened we didn’t know about it until the Maid of Honor called us on her cell phone and said, do you mind coming and doing something about this little girl, she’s ruining the cake. Sure enough we looked at the cake and there were little finger marks all along the bottom of the cake, literally ruining the design. When we approached the girls mother about it asking if there was something we could get little Sally to bid her time and occupy her the mother replied ‘You can cut the cake.'” What a savage! Source
The Lonely Bride
Weddings are a day filled with love, laughter and the unity of two people. But unfortunately for this bride, that was not the case for her and her husband. He was too busy making a name for himself instead of worrying about his new bride and the wedding planner had to be the one to pick up the pieces. “I had to sit at the sweetheart table with the bride. The groom was a politician and was too busy networking with his guests! The bride didn’t want to eat on her own and she asked me to sit with her. It did feel a little strange.” Source
A Mastiff-Sized Problem
There were no disastrous flower girls or ring bearers in this wedding; there were just destructive dogs. Sure it can be cute to have your fur babies share in your big day, but not when those fur babies are over 100 pounds and vicious! “Right as the bride was about to walk down the aisle, two ginormous dogs — turned out they were Brazilian Mastiffs — came barreling through the open front doors of the villa, slid across the tile, bounced down the stairs into the great room, slid across the great room’s granite floor, and then got up and ran across the back porch out into the yard. They both jumped in the pool, and then got out and started rolling around on the lawn that resembled a rice paddy.” Source
Another Case Of Cake Bandits
What would you do if the sweetest part of your day just up and went missing?! And no, we’re not talking about any one member of the wedding party, we’re talking about the cake. Yes, the whole cake went missing! How does that even happen?! “At one wedding I planned, the cake went missing after the bride and groom cut it. The bride soon asked where the cake was. Turns out the servers had taken it upon themselves to eat it! We cut the pieces smaller and the bride never knew.” Source
A Not So Secret, Secret
I guess parents don’t always have to give their approval, but waiting until the last few seconds to express their concern is definitely a recipe for disaster. I’m sure there’s nothing quiet like hearing your dad tell you to back out right as you’re about to say “I do.” Awkward. That’s exactly what happened during one wedding this wedding planner worked. “The bride’s father said to his daughter, in a stage whisper: ‘You know, it’s not too late to back out, honey. Nobody will think badly of you.’ Everyone in the church could hear the not-so-proud father’s declaration. Not the best way to start off the celebrations!” Well, that would definitely make for some awkward “I dos.” Source
There’s Always One Psycho
A wedding planner’s job includes many things, but family drama definitely shouldn’t be one of them. Especially when that drama is coming from a brother’s girlfriend. This day isn’t about you honey! This hot mess of a “guest” was unfortunately something this wedding planner had to deal with. “One bride’s brother had me apologize to his girlfriend during the reception because ‘and guest’ was written on their escort card. It wasn’t even my fault—they were broken up when we sent the calligrapher the names!” Source
The Boasting Mother
We all know parents love to show off their child. You know that “my daughter went to Yale,” and “yeah, well my son works at a prestigious law firm” battle that happens when two moms get together? Well, there’s nothing like a name dropping mom to turn a wedding toast into one of those battles. Seriously, put a cork on it lady. No one cares! “At one wedding, I had to deal with a mother of the bride who made a 22-minute toast, during which she name-dropped every famous person she had ever introduced her daughter to.” Geez Louise lady, get a grip! Source
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In case you ever wanted to see a real life, in person episode of Jerry Springer, this wedding has you covered. Family drama is one thing, but baby mama drama is a whole new ball game. And one that we’re definitely glad we weren’t apart of. This wedding planner is a saint. “I have extensive experience as an events coordinator, including private events such as weddings. The worst I’ve personally witnessed had a groom’s baby mama (and ex fiancé) come to the reception uninvited. She grabbed the wedding cake, chucked it at the newlyweds, and began screaming how he was a deadbeat dad while she grabbed table wine bottles that she smashed on the ground. Everyone was stunned in shock at first, but the ex fiancé was ultimately restrained by the groomsmen. We called the police, and she was charged with assault, assault with a weapon (from waving around a wine bottle and clocking a groomsman,) and destruction of private property (both from the couple and the venue.) What a charmer. In the end, the parents of the groom asked me to arrange a lovely (and secret) private dinner for the newlyweds and their bridal party to make up for the fiasco. Tl;dr: Psycho baby mama showed up, destroyed reception. So, not quite bridezilla, but the groom dodged marrying one.” Source
The Self-Centered Bride And Groom
Here’s your fair warning before you read ahead. If you have ever wanted to even remotely be a wedding planner, this lady’s horror stories may have you running from the aisle in every single possible way. Sure work can be hard some days, but man or man, this sounds like nightmare! “Yay, finally an ask reddit thread that pertains to me! I am a wedding/special event planner in Toronto. I own my own planning company, and I have been in the industry for about 8 years. I have so many horror stories that I don’t know which to choose. I had a bride that openly spoke utter and complete shit about the grooms family (in front of his face). She would say that they were “crazy, un-classy and annoying”, and come the wedding, her family was actually the hardest family I ever had to deal with, and the grooms family was absolutely lovely. On top of all this, the bride yelled at all of the vendors all day, resulting in the videographers leaving after just 1 hour of shooting, the photographer cried in the bathroom, and the groom and the bride’s cousins apologized to me for her behavior all night.
I had one horrible bride who I planned an amazing wedding for. She raved about how much she loved the food all evening, but the day after the wedding, she wrote a bad review about the caterer on Yelp, and told me she wouldn’t remove it unless they gave her a discount. She’s a horrible person.
I had one horrific couple that didn’t care about anyone. The groom was 30 minutes late for the ceremony, but it was no big deal, because the bride was 2 hours late. After the ceremony, we had to shorten cocktails to make up for lost time. The couple got wasted in their limo, and both ended up falling asleep. They were both so late for their own reception, that I had the venue serve dinner without them. Their parents were furious. The brides parents left early, and the couple didn’t arrive until 11 at night. Half of their guests left before they arrived, and they yelled at me for allowing dinner to start before their arrival. (This was a 400 guest wedding)
I had a really high strung groom who yelled at one of his young guests (the kid was 12) for sitting out of his assigned seat, and told the kid and his parents to leave. Later at night, the bride’s father (who was single) made out with one of the bridesmaids, and the groom punched him. We had to call an ambulance, and the groom was arrested.” Yep, never going into wedding planning. These horror stories will haunt our dreams and we weren’t even there! Source
There’s No Room For Second Chances
The more and more stories we read, the sorrier we feel for these angels sent from heaven we call wedding planners. From out of control mother-in-laws to groomzillas (yes, they’re a thing and we’re pretty sure they’re scarier than their female counterpart), this wedding planner has had her fair share of disasters. “”During the first dance between the bride and groom, the MIL began crying and cut between the two of them, danced with her son for a moment, and then sank down to her knees. She gradually kept moving down until her face was on the floor. When her husband and the bride’s father went over to get her up, she was a blubbering mess; mascara like wild tree roots across her cheeks, snotty nose, red eyes, quivering double chin…the works. It was painful to watch.
Bride wasn’t happy with her husband-to-be’s vows, so she requested a ‘time out’ in order for him to go to the back room and come up with better ones. When the guy marrying them politely explained that he was on a very tight schedule, she called him a ‘lying bastard’ and huffed back up the aisle into the room. We kept everyone else seated, and she appeared a few minutes later with freshly written vows for her future husband. He read them, and the wedding continued as planned. Again, uncomfortable.
It’s rare that we get a groomzilla, but one in particular stands out. The groom wasn’t happy with anything. The bride had her heart set on white roses, but he said he didn’t like roses, so he requested sunflowers and white chrysanthemums. When we presented him with an example display of sunflowers and chrysanthemums, he said he didn’t like that either and requested another two or three separate types before finally settling on a bunch of plain peonies. He did the same sort of thing with the food, music, entertainment, ignoring the fact that we have deadlines to meet. The bride had zero say and didn’t try to fight him on it.” All we have to say is we feel bad for this planner! Source
The Dadzilla From Hell
And here’s a kicker we haven’t heard of before. A dadzilla. Of course there’s bridezillas and sure a few momzillas, but a dadzilla?! That’s a new one. “At another one of the weddings I helped at when I first started, we had a ‘dadzilla.’ He was the father of the bride and he was a drunk. Toward the end of the evening he asked that I play “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston (no, they didn’t have a DJ, I was using my phone hooked up to our ancient sound system to play music for their reception). I obliged and he decided that he wanted to sing along. Whatever. Well, my coworker who had taken over in between my predecessor leaving and me starting decided to unplug the mic because he was, in her words, killing the song. I didn’t care one way or the other, it was no skin off my nose if he wanted to warble along, but whatever, she cut off maybe the last 30 seconds of the song. Cue months of angry phone calls and demands of a refund because she ruined his daughter’s wedding. This in spite of the fact that his daughter had both warned us about him and apologized to us for him. He showed up one day to pick up the remainder of a few decorations they had left behind and claimed that my boss was supposed to have left a $450 check for him and wouldn’t leave until we paid him. I had to deal with this guy harassing me for money for probably 45 minutes before he finally gave up and left, claiming that he was going ‘straight to the courthouse’ to sue us in small claims court. We haven’t heard anything since then–he was probably put off by filing fees, would be my guess–but my husband still asks for ‘microphone guy’ updates every once in a while and I sincerely hope that I won’t have any more to give!” What a nightmare! Source