Weddings are by far one of the most romantic and life-changing experiences we can ever have. It’s the reason why toddlers dress their dolls up as brides and grooms. It’s why they grow up daydreaming about meeting “The One,” and having the perfect ceremony. And it’s why they’re so hell-bent on making sure that their special day is not ruined. A wedding day is a major turning point in life, and so when that day finally comes, there’s usually a ton of pressure to make it perfect. No lie, the struggle is real.
We can’t say that we’ve experienced this for ourselves, but we’ve seen enough rom-coms to know that having the perfect wedding experience with no mishaps or awkward moments is nearly impossible. Someone’s bound to show up super late or have a wardrobe malfunction. But these fictional weddings took things to a whole new level with embarrassing moments that would make anyone cringe.
17. Melanie’s sudden change of heart in Sweet Home Alabama
Melanie was only moments away from saying “I do” when her lawyer showed up to tell her that she was technically still married to Jake. After giving it some thought, she decided not to sign the divorce papers because she was in love with her ex all along. After convincing him that he “shouldn’t want to marry her,” poor Andrew was left hanging at the altar. And to add insult to injury, she punched the guy’s mom in the face for insulting her. This was way too much drama for a wedding day.
16. David’s drunken “best man” toast in The Wedding Singer
What started out as a sweet speech quickly went south when a clearly wasted David, aka the groom’s brother, started complaining about their father’s disappointment in him. He said that their dad saw him as a screw-up (which the dad actually confirmed in the crowd) and mentioned how he always saw the groom as “dependable” and “perfect.” So in an attempt to prove his dad wrong, he started telling a story about the time he and his brother went and picked up sex workers. Thankfully, Robbie intervened before things could get any worse.
15. Robbie’s breakdown while singing “Love Stinks” in The Wedding Singer
Well, J. Geils Band’s “Love Stinks” is a questionable song choice for a wedding. But then again, Robbie was recently left at the altar by his ex-fiancée, Linda. Instead of taking some time to cope and come to terms with what happened, he immediately returned to work and aired his grievances while singing at another couple’s wedding. He even started poking fun at the guests while he sang, but suddenly, the bride’s father knocked him out with one punch. Bet that couple regretted ever hiring Robbie…
14. Jeremy’s lesson on cake cutting in Wedding Crashers
He actually disrupted a couple while they were cutting their cake and insisted on showing them the “right” way to do it. So he told them “you gotta treat cake like a lady.” He cut it himself and then proceeded to feed it to the bride with his bare hands. But not before getting a bunch of cake icing on his own mouth… We’d definitely freak out if anyone tried that stunt at our wedding.
13. When John and Claire stole the spotlight in Wedding Crashers
Seeing John profess his love for Claire was by far one of the most romantic scenes in the film, but the timing of it was not great. Right in the middle of Jeremy’s ceremony, John opened up about his feelings in front of the entire congregation. And then, of course, Sack interrupted and tried to go after John when he realized that he was losing Claire. But Jeremy, being an awesome friend and a great sport, stepped in and knocked Sack out so John and Claire could reconcile. Yes, it was adorable, but these two practically stole the show on Jeremy and Gloria’s big day.
12. Doug’s big reveal in The Wedding Ringer
When Jimmy (or should we say “Bic”) was in the middle of his best man speech, Doug (the groom) suddenly got up and interrupted him. He took the mic and admitted that everything was fake, explaining how he’d hired his best man and an entire team of strangers to be his groomsmen. Plus, he revealed that he and his bride weren’t technically married because Jimmy/Bic, who performed the ceremony, wasn’t a real priest. It was the definition of embarrassing, but we can’t really blame Doug considering his bride literally admitted that she didn’t really love him moments before the wedding.
11. Madea’s shocking revelation in Madea’s Family Reunion
Towards the end, when everyone gathered at the church and waited for the wedding to start, someone shoved past Joe and Madea was tempted to retaliate. Thankfully, she chose to keep her peace because they were all in church. But of course, she didn’t let the moment pass without reminding everyone why they shouldn’t cross her. She said: “I’m a real thug! I shot Tupac! I did the first time we was arguin’ over a parking spot. I didn’t kill him though, that wasn’t me.” Um. That’s terrifying… And definitely not something you want to want right before a wedding.
10. Ben and Elaine’s escape in The Graduate
Well, how can we forget this classic scene? Ben rushed to the church and barely made it in time before the ceremony concluded. He banged on the glass at the back of the building and yelled Elaine’s name until she responded and yelled out “Ben!” Of course, she started to run toward him while all of her wedding guests tried to stop them from leaving. Pure chaos. Sure, it was thrilling and romantic, but it’s a shame that money was wasted on a wedding that would never happen.
9. Gwen’s “grand” entrance in 28 Days
The bride’s sister, Lily, not only showed up late to the wedding but she also showed up drunk and disheveled. She delivered the most awkward toast and knocked over her sister’s entire cake during the process. But even worse, in an attempt to replace it, she stole a limousine and crashed it into a house while trying to get to the cake store. It just sucks that it took Lily ruining an entire wedding for her to get the help she needed.
8. When Jane got knocked out while trying to catch a bouquet in 27 Dresses
Watching these ladies try to catch the bouquet was almost like watching a team of athletes prepare to tackle their opponents. And of course, Jane was no different since she’d been a bridesmaid over two dozen times. But while trying to catch the bouquet at one particular wedding, she was knocked unconscious. Meanwhile, the rest of the ladies went wild trying to get the flowers as if their lives depended on it. Is it really that important?
7. Liv and Emma’s huge fight in Bride Wars
Remeber how Emma walked down the aisle to see embarrassing footage of herself being broadcast to everyone? Well, things got ten times more awkward when she completely lost it and interrupted Liv’s wedding. She basically ran in at full speed and tackled Liv before she could make it to the groom. The two went at it for what felt like forever while all the guests looked on in disbelief. Eventually, Emma just gave in and said she “couldn’t do this anymore.” Seeing them go out of their way to sabotage each other’s wedding honestly made us suspect that they were never really close friends to begin with…
6. When Ronald’s friends tried to save the wedding The Wood
In the film, Ronald went missing without a word on his wedding day. So his two best friends, Mike and Slim, scrambled to find him in time for the ceremony. When they finally located him, he was completely drunk, and he was actually having second thoughts. Still, all three of them made it to the wedding, and Ronald’s friends tried to explain to a furious bride that Ronald was only feeling nervous. That scene turned out to be just as awkward as it was heartfelt since a clearly drunk groom kept banging on the door and yelling his fiancé’s name while Slim told him to “shut up.” It’s a miracle that Ronald managed to make it through the ceremony.
5. Melissa and Stu’s breakup in The Hangover
Part of us smiled with pride when Stu finally stood up for himself, and another part cringed because it all happened during Doug’s wedding. Melissa confronted Stu after he’d unsuccessfully tried to avoid her, and as a result, they got into a heated argument that basically turned into a screaming match. Right in the middle of the reception. Also, it really didn’t help matters that a weird rendition of 50 Cent‘s “Candy Shop” was being sung in the background.
4. Annie and Helen’s hilarious “toast off” in Bridesmaids
Okay so technically, they weren’t at the wedding when this happened, but at Lillian’s engagement party, Annie and Helen tried to outdo each other by giving the most touching best friend speech. It all started when Annie got jealous of Helen’s emotional words for Lillian, and so from that point on, their speeches became an awkward back-and-forth until they eventually broke into this weird duet. It went from touching to awkward real fast. But on the bright side, Lillian seemed happy!
3. When the priest made tons of mistakes in Four Weddings and a Funeral
To be fair, Mr. Bean was a newbie and this was his first ceremony. But though he tried, it was just way too hard to ignore all those mistakes. For instance, he asked the groom to repeat: “I call upon those persons present to witness that I, Bernard Delaney, do take thee, Lydia Jane Hibbott, be my awful wedded wife.” Seeing the crowd struggle to hold their laughter while Bernard looked visibly annoyed and the priest fumbled in a panic? That definitely made for good comedy.
2. Jason and Meredith’s awkward wedding duet in Dirty Grandpa
This entire scene made us cringe so hard. Only moments after the two started serenading each other in front of the crowd, Jason’s grandfather hacked into the computer system to reveal embarrassing photos of Jason. Meanwhile, a clueless Meredith kept on singing with a huge display of Jason drooling over a woman’s naked boob, right behind her. Guess that goes to show how far family will go to stop a wedding they really don’t want to see happen.
1. When Lucy finally confessed to everything in While You Were Sleeping
To be honest, we expected the groom’s brother to interrupt the ceremony and profess his love for the bride. But when the priest began, it was Lucy who piped up and confessed that she was in love with Jack (the brother) and not Peter (the groom). She admitted that the whole engagement was just a misunderstanding and that Peter did not, in fact, have memory loss after his coma – the two were never together. And after this, Peter’s true fiancée (Ashley) arrived and insisted that the wedding be stopped. This led to a huge family argument. But you know what? We’re glad this happened, because it would’ve been such a shame if Lucy and Jack didn’t end up together!