What a beautiful occasion a wedding is, and it’s even better when the bride and groom are a young couple who have just decided to get engaged. Love is felt in the air, and the beginning of a love story that can last for an entire lifetime is something that restores faith in humanity.
However, for the Original Poster (OP) of this story, this wasn’t the case. Honored to be the groomsman for one of his closest friends, the narrator tried to be supportive of the groom when he canceled the wedding two days before the ceremony. But what happened next left our groomsman bursting with anger.
More Info: Reddit
No wedding is without anecdotes and tales of things that went wrong, but some stories are so insane that they belong in books and movies
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The author felt honored to be asked as a groomsman, but soon discovered how expensive it was to take part in his friend’s wedding
As the wedding approached, he noticed his friend acting off after mentioning an old high school acquaintance, though he assumed it was just nerves
Image credits: SkelDry / Magnific (not the actual photo)
What started as a wedding weekend turned into chaos when the groom abruptly called off the ceremony and left town without explanation
Image credits: prostooleh / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The groom broke his silence weeks later and shocked everyone by revealing he had replaced his honeymoon plans with another woman
Image credits: wavebreakmedia_micro / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Image credits: tp323
Getting cold feet is a common thing, but this groomsman lost it when he learned why his friend had canceled the wedding
A 22-year-old man was thrilled when one of his closest college friends asked him to be a groomsman at his wedding. The couple had met during their junior year, gotten engaged quickly, and spent months planning a ceremony to be held after graduation. Wanting to support his friend, the OP happily paid for everything the role required. By the time the big day approached, he had spent roughly $850.
Everything seemed to be moving forward until the week of the wedding, when the groom began acting strangely and seemed completely unlike himself. The next morning, just hours before the rehearsal dinner, he sent a message to the wedding party announcing that he was calling off the wedding. Shocked and confused, the groomsmen learned he had left town and had no intention of explaining himself further.
Wanting to be supportive, the man reached out to his friend, but received no response for weeks. Then, the groom finally got back in touch with an apology for canceling the ceremony. However, he also revealed an awkward truth: instead of canceling the honeymoon, he had gone to Mexico with a woman from his past, whom he had casually reconnected with before the wedding.
The narrator decided he no longer wanted anything to do with his friend. Frustrated that he had spent hundreds of dollars supporting a wedding that never happened, the OP sent him a request for the full $850 and then blocked his number. He never expected to get the money back, but he wondered whether asking for reimbursement had crossed the line or whether ending the friendship was the right decision.
Image credits: whyframestudio / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The story seems drawn out of a bad wedding comedy movie, but we bet this isn’t the first story you've ever heard about a canceled marriage. Getting cold feet before the big day is a tale as old as time, and, in fact, according to wedding experts, it’s supposed to be a good thing. It’s okay to listen to your instincts and your fears; after all, getting married is a significant life change.
In the case of the young couple in OP’s story, they had only known each other for a short time and didn't take the time to develop their relationship further or get to know each other better. There was no security and certainty in their relationship, nor the maturity that only patience can bring.
The people who replied to the narrator pointed out that the ex-bride dodged a bullet, and they might be right about that. This law firm published some divorce statistics among young couples, explaining that a solid 60% of couples that married between 20 and 25 years old end up in divorce. We are no fortune tellers, but with a groom this insecure and untrustworthy, the couple didn’t seem to have a bright future.
As for the OP’s concerns, if he was wrong, the community ended up siding with him. In fact, netizens are right when they say that asking for reimbursement isn’t a crazy idea. This article on wedding etiquette indicates that “you're supposed to return all the engagement, shower and wedding gifts you've received to the guests who sent them”, so at least the author should get some of his money back.
What do you think about this? Is the narrator of the story right or wrong to be so mad at his former friend? Let us know in the comments!
The community agreed the author did the right thing in losing all contact with the groom, and was happy that the ex-bride dodged a bullet
