Weddings are often considered joyous celebrations that mark a significant milestone in a couple’s journey together. However, the process of organizing such a major event can sometimes bring out the worst in people, especially those at the center of the event. The high expectations, stress to perform perfectly and the emotional weight of the day can turn even the most relaxed individual into the dreaded bridezilla – a term popularized by the media to describe brides who, overwhelmed by the pressures of wedding planning, act overly demanding or unreasonable. behaviour.
This bridezilla transformation isn’t just about high stress or wanting the perfect day; it is often intertwined with deeper issues of control, anxiety, and the immense pressure many feel to pull off the perfect wedding. These elements can culminate in outbursts that strain relationships, leading to conflicts that disrupt the festive nature of the event and sometimes cause long-term damage between family and friends.
Some brides have done the most unexpected things, from throwing tantrums on their big day to kicking out their bridesmaids over petty issues. These women were in a bad mood as they made decisions that hurt the people around them.
The day a woman ties the knot with the man she loves is one of the most important days of her life. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in her life, but it also comes with uncertainty and fear.
Fear and anxiety often plague brides when planning their wedding. They want things to go their way, and at the slightest inconvenience, they sometimes break down and turn into a bridezilla.
Some netizens on Reddit shared stories of brides-to-be who found it extremely difficult to deal with. Even their family and friends didn’t expect them to behave like this.
Comments have been edited for clarity and grammar.
1. Pregnant women are not allowed
u/hulagin 4737: I knew a woman who was a bridesmaid at a relative’s wedding.
She was married and had been trying to conceive for some time. Eventually, she and her husband got lucky and became pregnant.
Meanwhile, the bridezilla became enraged and threw her out of the wedding.
The bride-to-be was angry because the bridesmaid would look pregnant in the pictures. Three months later, the woman unfortunately miscarried. The bride called her with a response like, “Okay, now you can go back to the wedding.” Needless to say, she didn’t even attend.
2. The bride wanted a photoshoot
u/nadia61: It was a stinking hot, humid day and no one wanted to be outside at an outdoor wedding. We were taking photos of the wedding reception and everyone was dripping sweat and about to pass out so we decided to finish the rest of the photos in a nice shady spot. Meanwhile, the bride had other demands.
She threw a real, honest-to-God tantrum to make the party walk through the grounds to take pictures in front of the sun-filled pond. None of her bridesmaids wanted to do the ten-minute walk in heels and it would have been a terrible stop for the photos we were talking about.
She pouted the rest and they divorced a year later.
3. Couldn’t you wait, grandma?
u/childhood: | She had a friend who went on a screaming and stomping rampage because her grandmother dared to die a few hours before her wedding.
The bride-to-be said the seating arrangement would be thrown out because now there would be a big empty space. She is currently in the middle of her second divorce.
4. What a selfish man!
u/Blazingwand: Two weeks before my friend’s mother was to tie the knot, her future brother-in-law disappeared.
He was supposed to be the best man but he disappeared after going to get the van. No one knew where he went.
On the morning of the wedding day, the groom-to-be received a call that the police had found his brother. He was found dead in a ditch and his van disappeared.
The husband-to-be was horrified and told the bride that he could not marry that day. She slapped him and stormed out, screaming that she couldn’t believe he could be so selfish and that today wasn’t just about him and his stupid brother. My girlfriend was just as upset.
My fiancé and I left them that day and we are still good friends.
5. She replaced her bridesmaid
u/bored: | went to a wedding where the bride replaced her bridesmaid at the last minute due to a small problem. The bride took her requirements very seriously.
The bridesmaid she replaced dyed her hair a slightly lighter brown the night before the wedding. Apparently, it didn’t go well with the bright pink dress.
6. The violent bride
u/isstronglikebull: My friend, the bride, had this massive explosion of organza as her skirt. It was beautiful but completely impractically designed. She was drinking on an empty stomach and on the second trip to the bathroom where we all held these clothes while drunkenly hovering over a toilet she couldn’t see, she ordered me to wipe her.
I refused. So she slapped me. All parties dropped their skirts while I yelled obscenities at her. She screamed that this friendship was over if I didn’t do it for her! Over! Years later she tried to apologize but seemed surprised when I wasn’t interested in rekindling our friendship.
7. Hairstyle
u/Carsons_mom: I’ve seen a few brothels as a hairdresser. This touched me directly. So a woman comes in the middle of the week and asks about arrangements for a wedding this coming weekend. She told my boss she wanted to do something “funky” with her hair. My boss then booked her with me. It’s Saturday morning and she’s sitting in my chair. I’m starting. I’m almost done when she starts complaining that she wanted more of the classic Audrey Hepburn style.
I’m confused because it’s too late to change and my next client has come.
This woman is losing it. She says I didn’t listen to her and calls her mother to talk sense into me. She is almost in tears, wondering how to explain her hair to her future in-laws. Her mom comes in and tells her her hair looks beautiful, pays me, and drags her out of the salon.
It was a shocking experience for everyone.
8. The groom’s alarm went off
u/EewStopitNow: My friend’s brother got married and the groom’s phone went off in his pocket in the middle of the ceremony. The bride jumped up and interrupted the pastor to reach into the groom’s pocket for his phone, which he had already silenced.
Then she started complaining, “I can’t believe you let your phone go off in the middle of our wedding.”
She handed it to the party and said, “Remind me to break it later.” She also rolled her eyes when the pastor talked about God, chatted with the groom during a talk about saving the marriage, and interrupted the pastor during the vows to say, “Father, son, holy spirit, yeah I know.”
9. You ruined my big day!
u/AlannaBraavos: The bride was very bad.
The groom proposed when she told him she was pregnant. She later said she miscarried. At that point, his friends urged him to call it off. The best man spent the morning of the wedding trying to convince him that it wasn’t too late. Soon the wedding table was arranged with the men on one side and the women on the other, as all the bachelors refused to sit next to her. When the bride looked up during the reception to see that she was the only woman at the table, she stormed into the ladies’ room to find her bridesmaids. The youngest bridesmaid, thirteen years old, officially entered womanhood.
Unprepared, she hung out in the ladies’ room until someone she knew came by. The two older bridesmaids tried to find a solution. That wasn’t good enough for Bridezilla, who screamed and accused the young bridesmaid of ruining her wedding.
intentionally. She asked the other two bridesmaids to come out and attend to her immediately. She screamed so loudly that everyone at the reception knew what had happened. Apparently, a guest came running to help with the supplies. The older two bridesmaids eventually come out and sit at the wedding table because Bridezilla won’t shut up until they do. In fact, the bachelors felt like they were having TMI.
10. Unacceptable sunset
u/Himsjustaboy: I was working at a popular East Coast vacation spot where a bride wanted her ceremony on a sunset beach with the sun setting over the water.
She lost her cool when she learned that the sun would set over land, not over water. She didn’t understand that the sun was setting in the west and she was on the east coast.
11. I was a substitute for/[deleted]:
I was a last-minute replacement bridesmaid at a wedding… because the woman I was replacing was sent to prison for beating her child.
The problem was that the original bridesmaid was two feet shorter and two hundred pounds heavier than me. It was amazing to find me a dress that day.
12. Bride in another country
u/rammaam: I once flew overseas for this woman’s wedding because I was a bridesmaid. During the time I was there, I witnessed her push her daughter, starve and neglect her pets, constantly fight with her fiance, try to control what I eat, and accuse me of stealing from her because I took a Pepsi from the fridge after they told me to make myself at home I was freaking out the night before when we were getting ready because everything was wrong.
After the day came and I flew home, about a month later I got an email saying, “You really pissed everyone off! Everyone thought you were rude and lazy. My husband doesn’t scold you. He just calls you to see how you are doing. ” I told her to have a good life and blocked her. The next thing I knew, someone was threatening and harassing my friends and family, creating fake profiles with my name and photo, and adding my number and address on Facebook with some inappropriate messages.
13. My aunt
u/[deleted]: My father is one of eight and has four sisters. My grandfather, who worked hard all his life, lived off his pension for twenty years after retirement. He paid for the weddings of each of his daughters. My third-time aunt lost her cool when my grandfather refused to pay for her 300-person island wedding in the Bahamas. He was cool with paying for a small wedding in their hometown and offered to finance her honeymoon in the Bahamas. He had previously paid for both of her honeymoons.
She responded to this offer by calling him stingy and said she was glad my grandmother died young because she didn’t have to see her husband become greedy. So finally, with family support, my grandfather told her to pay for the wedding.
This happened about five years ago and my aunt has not contacted anyone except my other aunt since then. She apparently divorced her third husband and “retired” at age 45 to live in an apartment in Florida. He lives off divorce settlements.
14. I could not attend the wedding
u/[deleted]: I work in an industry with a busy season so you can’t get time off towards the end except in life-and-death situations. When my wife’s sister announced to us (3 months in advance) that she was getting married right after the busy season, I told her I was glad it was then because if it had been three days earlier I wouldn’t have been able to attend due to the time it would take to drive 900 miles to be there. The next day she called us that they moved the wedding two weeks earlier.
I explained to her apologetically that I couldn’t be there because it would end my career. She didn’t listen to a word I said and tried to convince me to go. Despite knowing I wouldn’t participate in this situation even before they changed the wedding date, either SIL or MIL called me every other day, yelling and screaming at me because I was going to ruin the wedding by not being there. My wife went to a wedding. I ate pizza. It was damn tasty.
15. Mother-Zilla
u/Trei_Gamer: My mother went full mother-zilla 2 hours before my wedding and insisted I didn’t want her to be part of the wedding because my wife’s family rearranged the reception hall table she had set up. the night before the exam.
I couldn’t believe I had to say “I’m getting married in 2 hours and you want it to be all about you?!” Funerals and weddings bring out the worst in families. It’s a little daunting.
16. No food, no water
u/DrewTip: I used to work for a tent company and we did weddings. One time it was 95 degrees outside in the middle of July and we were all suffering. It was a big wedding with a big tent, stage, dance floor, tables, chairs, plates, cutlery, lights etc.
When we arrived at the bride’s parents at 7 o’clock, she was nice and calm. She said she would buy us all lunch around noon to thank us for our hard work. She also said she would get us water because it was so hot outside and we could tap the keg when we were done.
Great deal, right? Poorly. Around noon, we set up the tent, did the lighting, and partially built the stage and dance floor. She ran out and said we had to move the tent three feet.
My first response was, “Are you kidding me?” Was not. After talking it over with her we decided to move the tent (we had to because the customer is always right. Even if they say that’s where I want the tent to go. We set it up and she changed her mind). We take it down, move the tent 3 feet, and put it back up.
Now it’s pushing 8:00 p.m. No water, lunch, or dinner. 10 in the evening. they roll and we unload the tables. She ran out and said:
“You are making too much noise!!! BE QUIET.” One guy I was working with asked, “Can we have some water, please? We drank all the water we brought.” She says, “Hmm… The house is around your back; take a little, but not much. Water is expensive.”
17. Everybody Wanted To Leave You/[deleted]:
I attended the wedding of a family friend’s daughter, so I didn’t really know her. It was a night reception, probably from 6 pm to 11 or 12, the ceremony immediately preceding. When we walked into the reception, we were expecting a buffet, but there was nothing. We later found out that there was no food for the 120 guests, but a cheese spread, fruit bowl, and vegetables with dip. An hour later people started getting hungry and some started leaving.
When the bride found out, she ran across the room in her dress and blocked the door, screaming that everyone was ruining her wedding. She shouted, “Bride’s day, bride’s journey!” It was such a scene that the father had to peel it off the door. Meanwhile, all the people who didn’t know her that well left. I heard through the grapevine that she was inconsolable all night and even threw up.
18. My aunt and sister
u/omneeatlas: My sister was a bridesmaid at my 38-year-old aunt’s wedding. During church practice, my aunt yelled at my sister for being out of time. My sister was only seven at the time and having a seriously stressed bridezilla in her face because she didn’t put her foot in the right place at the right time was terrifying. She burst into tears, and according to my mom, my aunt said, “Oh, and NOW she’s crying. Can you remind me how old you are?!”
My mom was mad at her. My aunt is stubborn, so my mom told my aunt for weeks to find a new maid of honor. My aunt didn’t budge until my grandmother finally begged her for her hand in marriage. Even now my sister doesn’t like my aunt. My aunt is still very picky. Now he has a little daughter whom he treats like a queen. If something happens to her, she turns into the Hulk.
19. My wedding is more important u/syriquez:
Not my experience, but a former co-worker told this story. He and his wife went to a wedding in Hawaii and took two whole weeks off (they arrived two days before the wedding, which was a Saturday). They figured going to Hawaii for this wedding would pay off and take a vacation.
Apparently, they were the only couple who decided to do so. The bride lost her cool when she found out. She screamed, “IT’S MY WEDDING! WHY IS IT JUST A FOOTNOTE TO YOUR VACATION NOW?!” His wife apparently laughed in her face and told her to call if she decided to grow out of it. To her credit, the bride later called to apologize profusely for her outburst. Nerves, I guess.
20. A winter-themed wedding
u/kittenhiccups: I was a bridesmaid at this winter wedding. We wore blue silk dresses with white faux fur capelets and MUFFIES. At one point we were getting ready for the ceremony and the bride said:
“Kittenhiccups let me see your muff. | I batted my eyelashes and quipped, “I’ve been waiting so long to hear those words from you!”
The look she gave me could have killed a moose. She started telling me that I wasn’t taking things seriously enough and that maybe I should go hang out with the bachelors instead if I wanted to make dirty jokes.
Yeah. Maybe I should.
21. Only six guests from his party
u/Gipperfish: My brother’s first wife didn’t allow anyone from our family she didn’t know to attend the wedding. We have a large family, so that would mean inviting one cousin she met, but not their parents or siblings who lived out of town, etc. We offered to have an engagement party so she could get to know some of our neighborhood- out of town, but she refused.
She said she doesn’t want to invite family members she’s only met once and doesn’t know very well. In the end, we decided to go with only the immediate family. We figured it would be less awkward and rude than choosing between family. As a result, my brother had six people at his wedding and around 65 from the bride’s side.
22. The groom left her
u/hotmoves: My girlfriend and I went back to our hotel the night of my brother’s wedding. There was an after-party for another wedding down the hall, people in tuxedos and bridesmaids’ dresses drinking and celebrating in their room. As we walked by, the bride ran outside yelling into her cell phone, and told someone to get back there right away.
When she hung up, she yelled into the room with the gang, “Who leaves their bride on their wedding night?!” The groom was apparently at a bar down the street with some friends. I don’t know if she represents Bridezilla because she said it well. Who leaves his bride on the wedding night?
23. My cousin was a Bridezilla
u/livmaj: I dated my cousin’s best friend before my cousin and his now-wife got married. I was the maid of honor while my boyfriend at the time was the best man. My boyfriend and I broke up before we got married. As a result, I received an email from the bride-to-be that I was no longer a bridesmaid.
I said no problem. I could see it coming, but since I lived 3000km away at the time, I politely explained that I was unlikely to make the trip. My cousin lost her cool. She cut ties with me and told me my family was no longer welcome at the wedding.
To this day my family doesn’t speak to my cousin’s family because of her.
24. My best friend’s wedding
u/lhadacow: My best friend, who is usually very sweet and quiet, was rude when she was getting married. First, she told me when I would be having her bridal shower (she set the date without consulting me) at my house and what I would be serving. I was in the middle of my undergraduate honors year in another city (a
15-hour drive) and the date she set was in the middle of my exams. She also planned to make all kinds of things for the wedding to save money (down the aisle, decorations, arch, veil, etc.).
I came into town the night before the wedding when she said, “I haven’t had time to make anything, so I need you to do it.” I stayed up all night sewing and arranging flowers while she slept. It was the middle of winter and when we arrived at the lobby the floor was dirty.
It couldn’t be cleaned with anything other than a bucket and a rag. So after working all night, I had to clean the floor on my hands and knees. I was exhausted, sore, and hated every minute of her wedding. After that, I didn’t talk to her for several months.
25. I lost a friend
u/SeabgfKirby: My friend of eight years was getting married and asked me to be her maid of honor. I agreed, not knowing that she would turn into a big-headed ego bridezilla. She demanded that everyone wear these hideous dresses that we had to pay for and asked us to dye our hair because she wanted to be the only one with blonde hair. I have naturally blonde hair and I didn’t want to dye it for a single day. She got angry and replaced me with another girl.
She also had the nerve to ask everyone who wasn’t at her wedding party to pay $80 per guest ($160 for me and my boyfriend) for food. She had a BBQ buffet. She also expected a gift worth more than $50. She sent all this via Facebook. I replied that I would either pay for the meal or the gift. I recently received a printed invitation and realized that her wedding was on the day my friend is doing the Tough Mudder. I chose it before her wedding.
25. Sister’s Betrayal
u/Deleted User: My sister was getting married soon, but she didn’t invite me. I didn’t even know she was dating anyone. I asked her about it a few days before the wedding.
Me: “Mary, did you forget my invitation?”
Her: “I can’t explain it now, but trust me.”
Then on her wedding day, a mutual friend of mine texted me: “HURRY TO THE WEDDING ASAP. YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS.” | Hurry up and I’m completely blown away by what I see.
Me: “Why does my boyfriend have a wedding suit?”
Nurse: “We wanted to tell you… your ‘boyfriend’ and I have been seeing each other for years. We didn’t know how to tell you, and I thought if I didn’t invite you, I’d spare you the pain.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as the weight of betrayal hit me. I lost not only a boyfriend but also my best friend. It was heartbreaking to find out that they chose to hide their romance rather than face it honestly.
These brides made sure their requests were met, even if it meant offending their bridesmaids or losing friends. Have you ever witnessed a bridezilla moment at someone’s wedding? We would love to read about your experiences.
The stories of bridezilla behavior shared above reflect the complex mix of emotions and pressures that weddings can bring to the surface. From unreasonable demands for appearance and attendance to outright meltdowns over minor inconveniences, these stories underscore the potential for weddings to escalate from joyous celebrations to stress-filled showdowns. These incidents not only highlight the inability of brides to manage their expectations and emotions but also the strain that such demands can place on relationships with friends, family, and loved ones.
These stories serve as cautionary tales about the importance of keeping perspective when planning a wedding. They remind us that even though it is a significant event, a wedding is ultimately a celebration of love and should not come at the cost of cherished relationships. For couples preparing for their big day, these stories may encourage a more relaxed approach, emphasizing the joy of the occasion rather than perfection in its execution. Ultimately, a wedding should be memorable for the happiness it brings, not the conflicts it incites.