WeddingSEP 21, 2023

“This Guy Blew His Life Up In Less Than 6hrs”: Best Man Makes The Worst Decisions

During a wedding, it’s typically the happy couple that’s the center of everyone’s attention. Yet some guests are able to steal the spotlight; sometimes for all the wrong reasons.

Redditor u/Specialist_Peace_135 recalled that during her sister’s wedding, the best man became an unforgettable figure. After having one too many drinks, he made bad decision after bad decision, which led to him basically throwing his life away in less than six hours.

The wedding day should be all about the happy couple, but that's not always the case

Image credits: David Herron (not the actual photo)

This best man made his friend’s wedding unforgettable by making one bad decision after the other

Image credits: KEREM KSLR (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Sisi (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Specialist_Peace_135

The happy couple can’t control everything that’s happening at their wedding, but they can control their reactions

For most happy couples, their wedding day is one to remember because of all the positive emotions and abundance of love surrounding it. But in some situations, it becomes unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. It’s likely that you have heard a wedding horror story or two yourself, whether related to family drama, disastrous weather, or any other unfortunate scenario, for that matter.

The Knot listed some common ways a wedding can get ruined based on actual guests’ actions—from texting too much to wearing white—and the best man in the OP’s story ticks at least three boxes on the list: giving an improper toast, hooking up with a guest, and drinking too much. But whether it’s man-created calamities or mother nature that threatens to ruin the wedding, they’re not always possible to predict. That’s why the happy couple might not be able to prevent them but they can choose how to react to them.

“The first thing is to remain composed and speak calmly, just as you should in any negative situation,” wedding planner Desiree Dent told BRIDES Magazine. “Address the problem as soon as possible by seeking out onsite vendors or staff to help you resolve the issue. Don't allow it to ruin your day of celebration and love!”

Another professional wedding planner, Sara Fried, pointed out that in order to avoid another common debacle—lengthy toasts,—it’s important to discuss the expectations regarding it in advance. Whether it’s the length and the contents of the speech, or the question of who gets to give one, it’s best to talk to the involved parties about it beforehand. “Give them a time limit—definitely less than five minutes. It’s better to plan ahead with this situation,” Fried suggested.

Image credits: Jonathan Nenemann (not the actual photo)

It’s not only the soon-to-be-wed that tend to get emotional during the wedding

Following tips, no matter how useful or effective they are, is often easier said than done; especially during weddings when emotions tend to run high. And despite typically being a day full of love and joy, it can also evoke certain negative emotions or reactions.

“Weddings are highly emotional events that signify growth and potential, but they also shed light on sensitive wounds that have not been addressed,” relationship and sex therapist author Stephen J. Betchen pointed out in Psychology Today. “While residing in our unconscious, the remnants of these wounds may slip through enough to create symptoms that make one’s special day special for a host of other reasons.”

According to a behavioral scientist, Mariana Bockarova, it’s completely normal to feel negative emotions during a wedding or because of it, and there can be numerous reasons for feeling this way. “The reason we become so sensitive about weddings—or even not being invited to a wedding, or not having a coveted space in the bridal party, or maybe even being single at these events—is because at the end of the day, as social animals, we want to be included," she told Refinery29.

The behavioral scientist added that weddings can also elicit what is known psychologically as ‘social comparison’, which encourages people in a relationship to compare it with the relationship of the happy couple. She explained that in those moments, individuals compare the joyous moment of marriage with their everyday life being coupled up—fights and bickering included—and such comparisons might make them wonder about their own happiness.

It’s unclear if the best man in the OP’s story was affected emotionally or he simply enjoyed one too many drinks, which made him act the way he did. But statistics reveal that he’s far from the only one who might enjoy raising a glass at a wedding; a survey of 1000 Americans found that more than half of them prefer weddings where alcohol is served over dry ones. Be that as it may, fellow redditors didn’t seem too fond of the best—‘worst’, in some people’s eyes—man and shared their opinions on him and the situation in the comments.