Etiquette Hell = Where the ill-mannered deserve to go

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My mother has a friend whom I will call "Jane." Jane and Mom have known each other for almost twenty years, and they used to be very close and good friends. Not anymore. Three years ago, Jane's husband left her for another woman; at that time, Jane weighed close to four hundred pounds and would cry constantly about how she would never find anyone to love her again.

Jane has since lost a good 200 pounds, and her former personality seems to have disappeared along with the weight she lost; she's gone from "no one will ever want me" to "I can have anyone I want." She actually criticizes my mother, who is "pleasingly plump" and one of the kindest, most patient and generous people you can imagine, for being overweight. She nitpicks everyone and generally drives everybody crazy. My sisters and I avoid her like the plague, and Mom does too as much as she can, because she has become the most overwhelmingly self-absorbed person I've ever known.

This past summer, Jane remarried. My mother was asked to be the matron of honor. Jane's daughter would be bridesmaid, and her two sons would give her away. She had been dating the groom for all of four months. She sets the date of her wedding for the end of July. Here are just a few of the amazing details of this wedding:

1. She scheduled it for the day of my grandparents' wedding anniversary, forcing our family to change its usual plans.

2. She actually coerced the pastor of our church into changing his scheduled vacation so she can have him there for the wedding.

3. Even though it's JULY, she puts Mom and the bridesmaid in black dresses. The only good thing about this is that they can pick out whatever dresses they want as long as they're black. Mom, ever possessed of a sense of humor, says she'll find something she can wear to the next funeral.

4. Jane printed a dummy copy of the wedding invitation off her computer. Now, invitations done on a computer can be very pretty (my own were done on my PC, and I was very pleased with them), so that's not the complaint. The complaint is that she took said dummy copy into our church office -- she's a deacon in our church -- and used the church's copy machine and ink and toner to make her wedding invitations.

5. As if that weren't bad enough, she didn't pay for postage. Her daughter (who is, if possible, worse than Jane herself) took the invitations to work and ran them through the office postage meter. So they were printed on the church's budget and mailed on the daughter's job's budget.

6. Anyone who informed Jane that they couldn't attend the wedding was immediately read the riot act. "Well, why not? Why can't you be there? It's so important to me that you be there! That's a flimsy excuse! I really want you there!" My husband actually cheered when he found out he couldn't get the day off from work...if it weren't for the fact that my parents and sister were in the wedding, I would never have gone without him.

Well, we come to find that Jane and her groom, "John" (who is kind of dopey, but seems mostly sweet and harmless) are already married. They got married three weeks ahead of schedule at John's church, which is half an hour away from where we live. My mother saw the photos. They had a reception afterward in the basement of his church, and all the people that John knows were invited. We are basically invited to the second wedding, which we can only assume is about presents and attention for Jane. The absolute kicker is that NO ONE was to know about this marriage other than Mom -- Jane didn't even tell her three children. (They eventually found out. They weren't too pleased.) Our pastor found out and read her the riot act, and ordered the church secretary to print the bulletins for the event so that it read "renewal of vows" rather than "wedding."

I'm sure it will come as no surprise that she never thanked my mother for anything she did; never thanked my sister for singing the solo (a song she absolutely hated); and never thanked anyone else for anything. As you might guess...no one has gotten a thank-you note for their wedding gifts, either!

Bridezillas0919-05


 

My cousin "Ted" had finally, after a long and somewhat stormy relationship, become engaged. Most of us in the family had only seen "Amy" at holiday gatherings, and barely knew her, but we were very happy that Ted was happy, and wished them the best. Invitations were sent and RSVP's were returned, and the entire clan gathered to celebrate.

Some months before the wedding, Ted indicated that he was having legal troubles. As in, his fiancée had two children, one approximately 6 and one approximately 4, neither of whom was his. Their father(s) did not appear in the picture at all. The difficulty was, DCFS had taken them away from Amy, and were attempting to keep her from regaining custody of the children. I felt this did not bode well for the marriage, but gave all the moral support that I could. Ted planned to adopt both children after the marriage.

On the day of the wedding, both children were in attendance, having been brought over by the couple who were providing foster care. The children were included in the service, which was designed to include them and create an entire new "family," instead of just a "newlywed couple." It was very beautiful, and the children were good as gold. The problem was the reception.

At the reception, Amy was so caught up in spending time with the children that she literally spent no time with Ted. At one point, I looked up at the head table, and every single one of the bridal party was gone except for Ted, who was eating his dinner all alone, looking sad. My cousins noticed this too, and ultimately Ted was brought down into the guest area so that he would not have to be alone at his own wedding (!). The bride did not spend any time at the reception talking to Ted until the foster care couple took the children home to put them to bed. I felt so bad for him. I understand that Amy missed her children, but this was supposed to be a celebration of their union, not a play date. I know that people say a wedding is supposed to be "the Bride's Day," but shouldn't she at least look at the groom? Shouldn't he be happy too?

Bridezillas0720-05


 

This is a long one, so bear with me. Two years ago, my best friend from childhood got engaged. We were both 20 at the time. I was thrilled for her. I adored (and still do adore) her fiancé and truly believed that these two, out of my many young friends getting engaged, were truly meant for each other. All our lives we had promised each other that we would be the other's maid of honor. However, over the past few years she had gotten really close to her sister and felt it was only right to ask her to be the maid of honor. This was fine with me because I lived 5 hours away and really just wanted to be part of the wedding in anyway I could. She, of course, still wanted me to be a BM. She really only wanted to have the 2 of us on her side because we were her two closest and most consistent friends. Her fiancé only cared to include his 2 brothers, so he was fine with the arrangement. However, her mother didn't think 2 people on each side was enough and insisted the bride ask our childhood neighbor to be in the wedding.

Well, it shortly became very apparent that the MOH didn't really want to be involved in the wedding in any way and therefore all the MOH responsibilities fell onto me. So for the next 2 years whenever we were together our time was consumed with wedding planning. We had a blast. We would go try on dresses together for hours on end and laugh about how silly some of the styles were. This was how we had always thought it would be. However, as the wedding drew closer (it was about a year away) things started to change. The bride would constantly ask me to drive the 5 hours across the state for things I just "had" to be involved in, which she really could have done on her own. I was a college student paying my own way through college and only able to work about 15-20 hours a week at a low paying job, so I just didn't have much money to throw around. I do have to say, had she been grateful for the time and money I put into the wedding I would have never thought twice about it.

One Thursday night I get a call from the bride telling me that I HAD to be there the next night in order to go dress shopping with the other bridesmaids and her mother. I had a fever of 102 degrees and had to work the next night and the following morning. I knew this was important to her so I called in to work and got people to cover for me and drove my sick self to see her. We shopped all day long and she insisted I be the one to help her try all her dresses on. So I spent the day lifting heavy dresses over her head and trying to zip up the back of dresses that were way too small. Being sick, by the end of the day I was exhausted and had to lie down on the floor in the dressing room to try to get the energy to make it through the rest of the day. The bride came in and started screaming at me that I was being a self centered brat who was trying to ruin her wedding! Just because I had to take a break from dropping dresses over her head. In the end, even though we all agreed on a dress for the bridesmaids, her 15 year old sister pitched a fit and got to pick out these hideous prom style dresses that were $50 more than the original dresses we picked out.

Cut to the month before the wedding. She decided to have her bridal shower and bachelorette party right before the wedding. I expected to be invited to the family shower since I had been her best friend for our whole lives and knew all her family and close friends. However, she decided to have me go the friend shower, the week before the bachelorette party, which I also didn't get invited to until the Tuesday before. Needless to say I had to do a lot of mad rearranging with my job in order to attend. I had never met a lot of the girls at the party before and so I was a little uncomfortable. The bride didn't care about any of this and instead of introducing me to people, she left me alone and started whispering to people that I was after her fiancé! This was completely untrue and there was no reason for her to think this. So as you can imagine, when the bachelorette party came around none of her new friends liked me or were very nice to me. It was so bad that when we came back from the bars that night they kicked me and another girl out of the house, in a town where we knew no one, and made us sleep in the car. There wasn't a peep from the bride in the way of helping us out. The next morning all she had to say to me was "I can't believe you slept so late and weren't in here hanging out with me when I never get to see you!"

Finally the wedding rolls around and I just can't wait for it to be over. My whole family was invited and was eager to attend. When I showed up at the rehearsal she wouldn't even speak to me, for some unknown reason. Then, when it came time to sign the marriage certificate, since her sister was a minor, we all (her family and I) assumed that I would be the one to sign. So her mother grabs me and as we start to walk up to the priest the bride grabs the other BM (whom she never even wanted to be in the wedding in the first place) and makes her sign before I could get over my shock. I was really hurt and ran out to my car to cry as soon as I could leave politely. I couldn't believe the way she was treating me after all our years of friendship and I wasn't even sure what I had done to upset her. Then when I got to the rehearsal dinner she made loud (untrue) comments degrading my date in front of everyone. I decided to go and rest and start fresh for the morning. 

At this point I find out from my sister that I am supposed to get up in the morning and drive the 20 minutes from my hotel to pick her up and take her to her hair appointment which was 2 minutes from my hotel room. This seemed a little silly to me as her mother, the MOH, and the other BM lived in the same house and in the house next door and were all going there too. However, I sucked it up and went to pick her up. All the thanks I ever got was her complaining the whole ride about how I wasn't nice enough to my mother (where this came from, I'll never know). She didn't speak to me through the whole wedding and reception and never thanked me once in 2 years for being in her wedding or for all the help I had given her. The only saving grace of that wedding was the groom thanked me multiple times and told me he loved me and considered me family and her parents paid for my hotel room for one night as a thank you and in consideration of all the money I had put into the wedding when I didn't have it to spare. The bride and I are still friends, but I am still incredibly hurt with the way she treated me. Bridezillas1229-05


 

My husband, I will call him Dylan, has had the same best friend since middle school, I will call him Kyle.  Kyle has been dating the same girl since around the same time Dylan met him, about 15 years.  I met Dylan 5 years ago.  Last Christmas we announced our engagement to friends and family.  We set a date for the middle of June.  (Our wedding went perfectly, Kyle was the best man) In April Kyle and his gf announced they were engaged and had set the date for the week after ours.  I was a little irritated but didn't really mind as Kyle is a nice guy and we figured he didn't mean any harm by it. His fiancé asks me to be her bridesmaid.  I don't particularly care for his fiancé but agree because it is obvious that she is having great difficulty finding anyone to stand up for her (she doesn't have many girlfriends).  Mind you I am fairly busy with my own wedding plans.  I tell her as much.  

In April she calls to invite me to her shower (given by her MOTHER).  I accept.  When I arrive it is a total of 4 people (this includes myself, the MOB and bride).  I brought a teapot and various teas as a gift.  When she opens my gift she looks up and says, we don't drink tea so this is pretty useless to us do you have a receipt? I did have a receipt but not with me so I told her I would bring it later.  When I bring it by she looked at the receipt and scoffed "This is all you spent?"  It was a $40 teapot and the tea cost over $30.  I just smiled and left as soon as humanly possible.  

The next week she calls and asks if I have time the following day to go dress shopping.  I had lunch plans but to be the good bridesmaid I break those plans and agree.  When we get to the bridal store she points to a dress I can only describe as a hideous shade of orange and says "They say you should pick out the ugliest dress you can for your bridesmaids so they don't upstage you, can you try that on?"  My jaw dropped but I quickly recovered and dutifully went and tried the dress on.  When I came out she had the audacity to say "you could stand to lose some weight don't you think?". Well, that was the dress she decided on after making me try on over 20 different dresses.  I grudgingly plunk down my credit card to cover the $250 cost. 

Fast forward three weeks.  We received an invitation in the mail for a Bar stocking party, I have never heard of such a thing but it appeared that the bride and groom wanted the guests to bring a bottle of premium liquor to a patio party to help stock their bar for the wedding. I thought it was tacky of them to ask for us to pay for their liquor cost when the bride paid over 6000 dollars for her dress and almost 8000 for flowers but since my husband felt it would be rude for us not to attend we went.  

OK fast forward to the day before the wedding (we had to cut our honeymoon short so as to be there) The BTB is apparently on her period (You would have thought that she would have picked a day on which this would not be an issue) so she is complaining about her bloating, cramping, etc.  We go to the salon to get our nails done and she makes the manicurist redo her nails, count em, 3 times before she is satisfied.  All the while whining about her acne (another symptom of the monthly curse). While leaving she asks me to be at the church at 8 am.  The wedding is at 6pm.  I figured she wanted to do finishing touches or whatever so I agree.  I arrive bright and early and she is not there.  She wanders in around 11am.   Immediately starts arguing with the lady from the church about her flower arrangements.  She wants them where the candles (you know the ones you pray over or whatever) are sitting.  The woman calmly points out that they cannot be moved.  BTB freaks out starts crying and shouting at the poor woman about it being her day and she wants things to be perfect.  The lady is firm and will not change her mind.  

I remind the BTB we have hair appt.'s at 1 so we should go get some lunch and head over.  We arrive at the salon at 1 only to discover she forgot to make the appointments.  They are very busy and unable to accommodate us so I pull out my cell and found a place.  I drive her across town, we go in and it is an African American salon (we are both Caucasian), this is the point at which I realize this girl is a racist because she pulls me outside and yells at me that she isn't going to have any and I quote "nappy haired N***** touching my hair!" I am astonished to say the least.  I promptly walked in and sat down ignoring the stupid girl.  I must mention at this point that the stylist did an awesome job, my hair looked even better than it did for my own wedding.  Anyway, we leave the salon I ended up tipping her stylist as she didn't feel a need apparently.  

We get back to the church and we go upstairs to get dressed and her dress was so tight that we had to safety pin the top so it would stay closed (I am laughing on the inside at this point, serves her right).  The rest of the wedding goes off without a hitch.  I never received a thank you card for the bridal shower gift or wedding gift and upon returning home I informed my husband that we would not be seeing them socially anymore.  He still talks to Kyle since he and his wife are now separated (it has only been 2 months since the wedding) and are planning to get a divorce.  He has no idea how lucky he is to be rid of that cretin!!   

Bridezillas0827-05


 "Once you have completed the casting list, er...um, selected the attendants for your wedding, you next get to experience the joys of finding a bridesmaid dress that pleases the varied fashion preferences of all your attendants.  Once the bridesmaid dress of your dreams has been swathed across the smorgasbord of sizes, and the reality of bulges in the wrong places has smacked face-to-face with your dream of everyone in sleek, fashionable sheaths, you have the character-building opportunity to replace fantasy with reality and learn the adult life skill of compromise."

Jeanne Hamilton, Wedding Etiquette Hell: A Bride's Bible for Avoiding Everlasting Damnation, page 38


 

I agreed to be a BM for my friend who soon after turned into Bridezilla.  She demanded that all BM's grow our hair long so we could wear it up, no nail color allowed, tans were encouraged, etc.  I spent nearly $1,000 to participate (shower, b'ette party, gifts, etc.) & I thought after "I do" I thought it was over.  I was soooo wrong!    After she returned from the honeymoon, we met for dinner to look at some pictures from the "big day".  She brought her lap top because her father had created a slide show, set to music, of the wedding.  (I was in none of the slide show pictures.)  I excitedly told her that my boyfriend and I had begun looking for rings!  She shared my excitement & agreed to look at some jewelers with me.  At the first store, two ladies helped me shop.  They noticed her ring and asked when she got married.  ALL THEY DID WAS ASK ONE QUESTION & she pulls out the lap top!  Cue the cheesy country love song and roll the slide show!  She could not stand that the focus had shifted and her big day was OVER. Bridezilla returned AND as usual, the sequel was worse then the original!!!  

Bridezillas1108-05


 

A couple of years ago, my wife "Sakura" was invited to be a bridesmaid in one of her sorority sister's wedding. "Beth" wanted to get married the June after they all graduated from university, so, needless to say, she was going to school full-time while trying to plan an enormous wedding. When Sakura suggested that Beth hire a wedding planner (her family is ridiculously well-off and could more than afford it), Beth went into a tirade about how she "could do it as well as anyone and are you saying that there's something wrong with my vision?!?!" Yes, she said vision.

Meanwhile, Beth was having screaming arguments with her parents over where the wedding was going to take place, what was going to be served, what musicians to hire, etc. And of course, she made the ladies she was living with listen to a play-by-play recap after every hissyfit, throwing a tantrum if they didn't immediately reassure her that she was in the right.

When they all went shopping for bridesmaid dresses, she criticized Sakura's figure, saying that she "really should do something" about how "flat" she was, and that the dresses Beth wanted would look terrible on her. Another bridesmaid was told to "keep from putting anything too ethnic" in her hair and "make sure she gets it professionally straightened."

Her registry was at several very expensive stores (I think the least expensive thing on the list was $60). Apparently Beth forgot that many of the guests attending would be just-graduated students who were a bit lacking in funds.

During the reception, she dragged aside yet another poor bridesmaid to shrilly berate her for her boyfriend's lack of suitable attire. He was wearing a conservative suit, but with a kind of garish tie. It wasn't offensive, just not subdued. Apparently this called for an abusive public dressing down of his girlfriend. To give her credit, the bridesmaid gave Beth several pieces of her mind regarding her behavior and left before the pictures were taken.

Finally, the thank-you notes were a generic mass mailing, computer generated and not even having a personal salutation.

Oddly enough, Beth has never been invited to anyone else's wedding that I know of. Go figure.

Bridezillas0815-05


 

I once had a college roommate, Bebe, who consistently amazed me with her lack of couth and common sense.  After years of partying and indiscriminate sex, she met the "man of her dreams" who had swept her off her feet.  They got engaged about six weeks after they met and planned a wedding after her graduation which was just a few months away. I truly think I am the only friend she had; she could be a sweet girl but, mainly, she was just a huge mooch who turned everyone off immediately.   Luckily, her fiancé, Shep, was also a notorious mooch so I felt good that they had found each other.   

She called me one day to ask if I wanted go with her to look at wedding dresses.  The bridal shop was a well known business about thirty minutes from her hometown.  She told me that no one else wanted to help her pick out her dress.  Her sister was her only attendant and she didn't live nearby.    When I arrived at her apartment, she shouted from the bathroom that she would be ready in a few minutes.  I exchanged pleasantries with her new roommate, Tallulah.  Tallulah couldn't stand Bebe and tried to spend as little time around her as possible.  Like I said, I felt sorry for Bebe but I did understand that she was weird and abrasive.    

We had just started on the trip (I maintained that she would have to drive and, since it was her dress that we were looking for, that she would have to buy the gas) when Bebe apologized for not being ready when I arrived.  She then proceeded to tell me that the reason that she was tardy is that she had developed a big yeast infection and was trying a new over the counter treatment and was itching like crazy. Okay, yuck.  Just drive.  Anyway, she was relieved that it was just an yeast infection and not VD since she and Shep were getting it on like loud teenage rabbits.  She was always trying to regale me with stories of Shep's ladykilling single days and how lucky she was to have roped this stud.    

Finally, we make it to the bridal shop.  Now, Bebe, is attractive (she would tell you so, anyway) and she was dressed casually in a sleeveless sweater with appropriately fitting blue jeans and boots.  We both looked fine.  The shop had only a few customers when we arrived but we were promptly ignored by a clerk as soon as we approached the counter.  The woman actually saw us and went to the back.  We waited patiently until another clerk made her way over to us and rather condescendingly said, "Yes, did you need some help?"  I have no idea what is wrong with these people but they should have remembered that they were working in a shop in the middle of Missouri, small town, and prom season is over.  I would have walked out and gone to another shop but, to Bebe's credit, she chose this moment to be patient.    Bebe wanted to try on four or five sleeveless wedding gowns, and yes, honestly, she probably would purchase one of the dresses at this shop, after her mother was consulted.  The clerk slapped an armful of dresses on a chair and told Bebe to call her if she needed help.  Bebe tried one on after another, and she, indeed, looked lovely.  She was having a great time and she was quite careful not to rip or tear.  She was doing very well with only minimal assistance (zipper) from me.    

Bebe found the dress she liked, wrote down the number, and told the clerk that she would be back.  The clerk nodded and told us to have a nice day.  Honestly, I don't know what was up with these people.  In the car on the way back home, I asked Bebe if she was sure that she wanted to come back to this rude place?  Wouldn't she be happier going to a bridal shop in Kansas City or someplace?  Bebe said "yes," she had noticed that they were rude and that had decided that she probably wouldn't come back.  She had recorded the dress label and number and figured that she could probably get it elsewhere just as cheap.  I told her that I was sorry that she had had such a bad experience during this happy occasion when she replied "Piss on 'em, I'm not wearing any underwear anyway."

Bridezillas0811-05


 

I suppose I should preface this by explaining that Gail and I had been very close friends since freshman year in high school.  Soon you will understand why I do not speak with her very much any more...except when she calls me to gloat about her perfect life.  :)

At the tender age of 19 I met a fellow that proposed to me after knowing me for a whole month.  I, being stupid, said yes. (but that is a whole different story) I asked Gail to be my Maid of Honor.  Was something we had always talked about when daydreaming in high school.  The wedding was VERY small, only 30 or so people...and had to be planned in two weeks, thanks to the United States Navy.

I found out that Gail said her parents were very upset that they were not invited.  <shock>  I was completely unaware that they wanted to be invited, seeing as how they despised me.  They even once grounded Gail from "having contact" with me, said I was a horrible influence.  Needless to say, they were invited and were even nice enough to give us a lovely gift.

The wedding was nice, despite the fact that Gail cried during the entire ceremony.  Nothing like having your best friend bawling her eyes out right next you to really calm you down :\ .  I used to think it was due something sweet like "my best friend is moving away" but now I'm pretty sure it was "She got to have a wedding before I did"

Fast forward a few years... (and throw a divorce from that weenie in there somewhere)   Having snagged the best friend of the man of my dreams, it was Gail's turn to get married. She called me the day after the proposal and asked me to help out, and be in the wedding party etc...  That was the last I heard from her for two months.  No invitation, nada.

She calls to remind me where she was registered.  Then she informs me that my invitation was "lost"  (and the next day she told me she had it, but just never mailed it thinking that she would see me) I asked her about bridesmaids dresses in a way that would confirm my thoughts.  Sure enough, it was never even considered to have me in the wedding party.  And I'll never forget these words "But you can keep the book for us, if you really wanted to help"

Then she proceeds to ask about my date for the wedding (My fiancé' and her DO NOT get along)  as "I just put your name and a +1" on the list.  Um, did she think I was going to bring someone other than him?  He just so happened to be the groom's best friend since 6th grade!

So, I made the choice not to attend the wedding.  And she can forget being invited to mine.

Bridezillas0919-05


 

Several years ago, my friend "Melinda" became engaged. Like many in our group, she and her husband decided to have a Pagan handfasting, with the legal ceremony later on. Melinda asked me to officiate at the handfasting and I happily agreed.

Melinda had decided to wear a white wedding dress for the ceremony. She bought fabric and dropped it off with a seamstress another friend had recommended. The woman never called her in for fittings and she began to fret about getting her gown. Two weeks before the handfasting, Melinda called me. "I'm going to go over to the seamstress right now. If she hasn't done anything on my dress, I'm picking you up and we're going to buy a pattern so you can make my dress." A couple hours later she arrived at my door and we headed out to the fabric store. She picked out a fairly simple pattern and showed me the fabric. It was very old and not in great shape; apparently she'd bought it at a garage sale.

We bought more fabric, ribbons, etc and I headed home to start working. It took me most of the next two weeks to finish the dress. Fortunately, it was summer and I didn't have to worry about classes! My schedule was basically to sew until my hands hurt, stop for something to eat, and go back to sewing. Fortunately, Melinda was available for fittings, though she spent one describing her sex life in unnecessary detail.

The dress was finished and we had the handfasting. Melinda thanked me for the dress, and informed me that this was my gift to her (never made any offers to pay me for my work.)

Not long before the handfasting, Melinda had discovered she was pregnant. So by the time the legal wedding came around, she could no longer fit into the dress I had made. Instead she borrowed a white maternity dress from her sister-in-law.

The wedding was going to be during the school year, but my college was less than two hours away, so it would have been no problem to come home for the day. However, Melinda called me up and told me I would not be invited. "We are having the ceremony in my in-laws living room and there's no space for friends. Only the groom's family will be there [Melinda's mother was dead and she was not close in touch with her father]." I was disappointed after my close involvement with the handfasting, but understood.

A few weeks after the wedding, Melinda invited me over to watch the video. Imagine my surprise when I saw a few of our friends at this "family only" ceremony! Clearly she had lied and just didn't want me there for some reason.

A few years later, the subject of her wedding came up while we were talking with some other friends. One woman asked me if I'd thought it was a nice ceremony. Before I could try to reply, Melinda jumped in and said, "Oh she wasn't there. She was away at college and couldn't make it."

Bridezillas0830-05


 

I'll keep it brief, but when the bride's father is referring to her as "the bride from hell" you know it's just not right. My favorite part of being her bridesmaid was my "attendant gift." The bride gave her girls jewelry she wanted us to wear for the wedding, but was quick to tell me she didn't think I'd care for it so I could feel free to give it back to her after the wedding because she really liked it and had not bought a set for herself.

Bridezillas0714-05


 

I would love to share this story with your site.  I formally worked for a company in which day travel was a normal part of the week.  In order to save on gas, my coworkers and I would often travel together to sites we each needed to visit that happened to be in the same area.  Therefore, we got to spend a lot of time with each other and I grew to be friends with one employee in particular, Carla. 

Carla was an enthusiastic spirit and acted like a good friend would, sharing her life stories and trials and going out for lunch with me.  When she announced her engagement I was thrilled for her since I thought we had grown so close.  During the next year leading up to her wedding I helped her with all sorts of details.  I mulled over invitation choices, helped edit her wording, gave her advice and input on flowers, color schemes, food choices and anything else she needed help with.  She was sewing her own dress and I spent some time at her home helping her out with the design.  I even allowed her to use our lunch hours on the road for her wedding errands.  Instead of sitting down to lunch we would drive to stores where she needed to look at dress patterns or talk to the vendors. 

When the months grew closer to her wedding, her sister decided to throw her a wedding shower and Carla gushed about the party.  She told me she would be inviting EVERY female from work to the party BUT that she was only going to ask her close friends at work, and here she specifically said “such as you”, to the wedding itself.  I thought this was a bit rude at the time, but I was just out of college and this was one of the first “friends” of mine who was getting married.  I thought that perhaps this was customary and at least I knew I would be going to the wedding.

The shower was held about three months prior to the wedding and I came with a nice gift in tow as did a lot of the women from my department.  I was expecting a dinner as the shower was held in the evening between 4:30 and 7 and she told me there would be food, and I was expecting something grand based on Carla’s description of her rich Uncle who was hosting the party and always had things catered.  Sure enough, I arrive and her Uncle’s house is a small mansion, however the only food provided was a few finger sandwiches and some chocolates and pretzels.  Not enough to feed everyone.  At this point I was feeling sorry for my coworkers and anyone else who had gotten invited to this shin-dig and brought a nice gift, but wouldn’t get to partake in the wedding.  Little did I know I should have been feeling sorry for myself too.

In the next few months Carla continues to seek my help and advice and take us on excursions to do her wedding errands.  Finally with a month away she announces that she is SO happy all her relatives are coming to the wedding since they have all returned their response cards.  This is where it starts dawning on me that I did not get invited.  She must have been reading my mind because she then goes on to say how sorry she is that she couldn’t invite anyone from work as she and her fiancé decided that no one from their respective work places would attend. The reception was just too expensive to be paying for extra people so she didn’t invite anyone from work.  I was upset, but I didn’t say anything.

After her wedding she comes back to the office with pictures galore and starts fawning over them with everyone.  When she came to show me the pictures she began by describing who was in each picture and what their relationship to the bride and Groom was.  This is where she lost my friendship.  She pointed out a group of young people and described them as her husband’s coworkers.  Oh!  But I thought you said no one from either or your workplaces were invited.  She then says “you should have been there, it was so much fun”.  Well if you had invited me…

A few months later Carla invited everyone (male and female) from work to her house warming party.  I did not attend.  Then, over three years later after I had left my job with that company and had not had any contact with Carla in at least two years, she invites me to her baby shower!!!  I don’t think so. 

Carla did give me a lesson though.  Now that I am getting married I will be sure that everyone who attends my shower gets an invitation to the wedding.  Although it is tempting to have her invited to the shower and not the wedding.  But, I don’t work like that.  I would rather be a generous bride than a stingy two-faced one.

Bridezillas1005-05


 

Ok, so I love my friend Anna, but sometimes we run into trouble about money. She's no heiress or anything, but she definitely comes from more of it than I do and doesn't seem to understand when people have less than her. It seems to strike her as rude when people are poorer than she is. Anyway, when she got engaged she and her husband decided that they wanted to get married in a tiny village in Ireland. Neither of them are Irish, no one has family there, I guess they just thought it would be romantic. The only problem is that everyone they know, or almost, is American and lives in the states. 

Anyway, there was absolutely no effort made whatsoever to assist the less well-off to attend this extravagant, far-flung affair. Not only would people have to come up with international plane fair, but seeing as the town was a good four hours away from the nearest airport it also meant a car rental, and staying in the expensive bungalows which were the only lodging available. The total cost to attend for me, a single person putting herself through graduate school, would have been at the very least $1,000. Needless to say, I could not come up with the money. I was filled with guilt about this, apologized, and was depressed that I had not been able to make a better life for myself as the other people she knew. But not a single shred of sympathy was shared, not a dollar was offered to help with my ticket . . . even though she told me a story about her parents buying tickets for a neighbor . . . no one even offered to pick me up from the airport or share a car rental with me. Nothing! And I am not a casual acquaintance at all, but one of the bride's best friends for many years.

In the months leading up to the wedding, Anna was totally obsessed with all of the material possessions she was getting --- the right bedspread, the right throw pillows. She traipsed all over the country attending no less than four bridal showers! And did I ever get a thank you for my gift? Of course not! She was completely obsessed with her registry and expected me to commiserate on her quest for the perfect pillow case, even though I was eating top ramen and she and her fiancée had already been living together for years in a house stocked with kitchen supplies and nice decorations. Oh, and did I mention she scheduled the wedding to take place over my finals week? I was trying to sell my possessions on ebay just to make enough money to buy the ticket, when I finally got a grant for my tuition. But it was just for that - tuition and nothing else. I told Anna about the grant, thinking she'd be happy for me, and she immediately suggested that instead of sleeping on the couch in her other friend's cottage that I rent my own cottage for $300 a night!!!!! I realized that literally starving for months just to be unappreciated and snapped at was out of the question, so I didn't go to my friend's wedding.

Bridezillas0715-05


 

Okay let me say this is a wedding that was apparently horribly awful and has since ruined a friendship that could have been semi-decent.  My husband and I, while we were in college, became friends with this fellow named Tom.  He was one of my husband's frat brothers and we always used to hang out.  Tom never had much luck with the ladies as they were always dumping him and he never had more than maybe 5 girlfriends ever, needless to say he was not the most experienced fellow on the block.  Tom met an overbearing, overweight, and overly sensitive girl named Pam, it was his sophomore year in college, her junior.  They date for three months, break up over the course of those three months because she cheated on him, proceed to get back together and then find out they're Pregnant.  Not because of the fallibility of contraceptives, mainly because they didn't BOTHER to use ANYTHING.  They both also claim to be incredibly religious and have spent countless time looking down upon those people who have pre-marital relations.    

So Pam is pregnant, but ultimately so vain.  Our friendship continues and she decides that she wants Tom to propose.  (Before they were pregnant she didn't even really want a long term relationship with this guy!)  Tom finally proposes when the baby is born and Pam decides she wants to get married within 6 months of that.  Pam and I haven't known each other forever, but she constantly tells me I'm her best friend and thanks me a ton for always being someone she can count on support (insert my version of complain and nag unmercilessly) from.  Pam then divulges her bridal party plans, everyone people who she no longer speaks to are included in her 6 person bridal party, but I am not.  She does say however that she would like me to read a passage during the ceremony.  I am overwhelmed that she would include me and am genuinely happy.  My husband was selected to be Tom's best man.

Pam proceeds to buy anything and everything needed for a wedding going into debt for over $10,000.  Neither Tom nor Pam have a job and no one's else will pay for this wedding, but that does not inhibit Pam's spending.  She still has yet to  buy a dress and claims that she needs my invaluable opinion.  I call her several times to see if there is a time when she'd like to go dress shopping or if she needs help with the wedding.  Well she wants help in the form of me spending 2 days writing in calligraphy all of her 200 + invitations.  I do it, because I don't mind helping as I thought we were actually good friends.  I continue to ask Pam about getting together as couples and hanging out and of course we have a daughter also around the age of their child, so sitters are not an issue.  They continue to not answer phone calls or return messages.  Whenever we do make plans it takes 3 tries, to complete.  First try, they bail last minute, Second try they deny we made plans, and Third try they show up for about 5 minutes and leave early.  This behavior continues until up to 1 month before the wedding.  At this point we have bought my husband's tux and my dress for the wedding.  Our daughter is not invited to the wedding, which is actually understandable, as she might interrupt the ceremony, so I procure a babysitter.

Three days after I get a sitter, I receive a voicemail from Pam.  She says and I quote, "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind acting as the general babysitter at my wedding and keeping an eye on all the children during the ceremony and just keeping general tabs on them at the reception.  There are going to be 7 kids total and they go from age 2 years to 8.  I would prefer you do this to read that passage we talked about.  Thanks so much."  I was livid, but at this point trying to remain level headed since my husband was the best man.

Again my family and I try to make plans with them and are blown off.  My husband finally calls his friend Tom (who is spineless and has no ability to say anything to his Bride to Be) and tells him the truth.  That he doesn't feel like a best man or a best friend anymore, since they never want to spend anytime together.  Also he doesn't understand how this happened as distance is NO ISSUE, they live 5 minutes away.  My husband trying to be gracious and understanding says that if Tom would like to select a new best man that would be okay, because he wants Tom to have someone he really loves up there.  Tom says he'll call my husband back.  Tom calls back and says that he would like to select a new best man and it is going to be the Bride's Brother (whom he's known for all of 4 months).  At the point we assume, that we'll still be invited to the wedding, since we thought we were just being demoted and she still wanted me to baby-sit.

Well it is now 3 weeks before the wedding and we have received no invitation.  I find out through a mutual friend that she doesn't want us there, should we cause a scene.  And said mutual friend whines to me about having to be the new babysitter.  Well the wedding date passes and we eventually hear from them.  My husband gets an apology from Tom about his horrible behavior and the Bride to Be has nothing to say to me.  I still am cordial and polite, they finally come visit us in our new home.

Pam begins to tell me about the wedding despite my disinterest and she begins to complain about her MIL.  Her MIL is a saint and I am good friends with the woman.  I won't say anything mean about her it isn't in my nature.  Pam then proceeds to ask me if I want to watch the wedding video and I politely decline.  Now let me ask the general population would you ask someone you disinvited to your wedding, without even actually disinviting them to watch the video, when they clearly aren't interested???  Thank god that wedding was over, now my husband and I simply wait patiently for the divorce.

Bridezillas0923-05


 

I am engaged to a wonderful man I am very in love with. He planned a beautiful proposal, and gave me a lovely ring, which he had spent quite a bit of time searching for, etc. I get along splendidly with his family. My family lives out of state, so they have truly become my family. My fiancé has a cousin that has been seeing the same girl for ten years. She lives at home, so does he etc. She refused to marry him until he bought her a very particular VERY expensive ($30,000) ring. RED FLAG!  Anyhow, this past Christmas, he wrapped the ring, put it under the tree, and promptly FORGOT about it! Well, on Christmas day, he was playing his brand new Playstation, and she unwrapped the ring. She was shocked, and said "OH XXXX" WITHOUT TAKING HIS EYES OFF OF THE GAME, he said "Oh yeah...will you marry me?"  She said yes, his mom was horrified, etc. They opted for a long engagement, because she refused to marry him until he built her a certain house.  I got engaged to his cousin 6 months later. To this day I still have not met this woman, but she sent her aunt to "check out" my ring (I discovered later that this woman was her aunt) When her aunt reported back that my stone was larger (My ring came from a wholesaler, and thus in our budget) she made him return the ring that she had insisted on for TEN years, and is threatening to call off the wedding....everyone hopes she does!!

Bridezillas0921-05


Page Last Updated May 15, 2007