We’re all familiar with the idea of a bridezilla or an entitled groom, but as it turns out, anyone at a wedding is capable of exhibiting terrible behavior. Guests may wear white gowns, groomsmen may make tasteless jokes, and wedding planners might send out lists of unreasonable requests to everyone attending. We’re all supposed to be on our best behavior at a wedding, but the Wedding Shaming subreddit makes it very clear that many people have a lot to learn about etiquette.

This subreddit, which is “a place to shame wedding themes, brides, grooms, wedding party, in-laws, outlaws, guests, Uncle Bob, vendors” and more, has amassed an impressive 535k members since its inception in 2018. Common topics in the group include bride/groomzillas, “dressed like a bride,” monster-in-law, family drama, horrible vendors, tacky, greedy, rude guests, drunk as hell, foul friends, step-monster, terribly groomed and cringe. And as you'll soon find out, there are plenty of those waiting for you down below! 

The photos on this list might make you start to associate weddings with absolute nightmares, rather than the joyous and loving celebrations they are intended to be, but the reality is that weddings often aren’t the picture perfect movie moments that we imagine them to be. Sure, the day might be absolutely wonderful and a great time. But 58% of couples say they were stressed on their special day, and 76% of newlyweds admit that, if they could have their wedding again, there would be things they would do differently. 28% even regret how much they spent on the celebration, which might not be surprising, considering the average wedding costs around $30,000.

It’s important for brides and grooms to understand that their wedding day may not actually be the happiest day of their lives or go perfectly according to plan, but that’s totally fine. In fact, having expectations that are too high might actually come back to bite you, if you feel pressure that the day must be flawless. Don’t have unreasonable expectations, don’t demand too much of your guests, and remember what the day is truly about: celebrating your love.  

It’s interesting how weddings have turned from sacred celebrations of holy matrimony to events that spark family drama, create bridezillas and destroy friendships. There are so many stories of couples with expectations that are anywhere from unreasonable to outright offensive featured on this list, so we were curious where this behavior comes from. According to Madani, bride/groomzillas are often formed by the immense stress that comes with planning a wedding. There’s typically a lot of pressure put on their big day to be perfect, and with that can come unreasonable expectations. It’s hard to sweat the small stuff when you’re acutely aware of how much money the whole celebration is costing you and the fact that all of your friends and family members will be in attendance.     

Just because planning a wedding is stressful does not mean that brides and grooms can be excused for displaying inappropriate or outright rude behavior. For a previous Bored Panda article discussing breaches of wedding etiquette, we reached out to Los Angeles-based wedding planner Alexa Farese to hear her thoughts on bad behavior at weddings.

“I've seen it all, from guests wearing white (not cool!) to guests being so belligerently intoxicated they lock themselves in the bathroom and can't figure out how to open the door!” Alexa shared. “At one wedding, the groom became so intoxicated that he face-planted into the cake, breaking the dessert table on his way down!”

“Early on in my career, I was at a wedding where the bride's ex showed up with a group of his friends,” Alexa previously told Bored Panda. “They snuck in through the kitchen and started a fight with the bridal party! It was NUTS! Luckily, security put an end to the chaos quickly, but it was wildly inappropriate and took the spotlight off of the couple for the moment. Some of the less extreme and common faux-pas are showing up late, whispering (or outright talking) throughout the ceremony and/or speeches, and over indulging in the bar.”

When it comes to what we should all be keeping in mind as far as wedding etiquette goes, Alexa says, “Weddings are meant to be a celebration of love and union - all guests and vendors should remember this! Arrive on time, smile big, be quiet through the ceremony and toasts, pay attention to special dances and moments, dance the night away, and always, always drink responsibly! As long as you show up ready to celebrate your loved ones' special day and stay committed to that mindset throughout the wedding, then you are doing it right!”

For another previous article, we reached out to the founders of Bespoke Bride, Emily and Jessica, to hear why wedding planning is so challenging in the first place. “Planning a wedding is a complex process that involves lots of research, good and efficient communication and knowledge of project management,” the experts explained. “It involves a great deal of patience, problem-solving, time management, and people skills. Rather than trying to fit into what society deems a ‘wedding should be’ - a good wedding planner needs to focus on the special moments that define who the bride and groom are as a couple.”

“Planning a wedding can be extremely stressful, so be prepared and make sure you only take on what you can realistically achieve,” Emily and Jessica previously told Bored Panda. “If you have your heart set on DIY-ing the entire wedding but work full-time - forget about it. There is a good chance you will not have the time or energy to take on so much responsibility.”

It sounds like realistic expectations are a crucial part of throwing a successful wedding that won’t get you shamed on Reddit. So if you plan to tie the knot any time soon, keep this in mind, pandas!

We hope this list isn’t making you lose faith in love, pandas. If you’re planning on going to a wedding sometime soon, just make sure that the bride and groom don’t have any unreasonable requests, and I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time filled with love, delicious food and dancing the night away. Keep upvoting the pics that you find most appalling, and let us know in the comments if you’ve ever been to a wedding that deserves a spot on this list. Then, if you’re interested in checking out even more photos from the Wedding Shaming subreddit, you can find Bored Panda’s last article featuring the group right here!